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Build notes · Bar Bistro

Photography

Notes by Hana · Sunday Office

Food and drinks for the feed, kept dark and warm.

These are my notes on the food and drink photos I shoot for Bar Bistro's social media, and a table shoot with Tacoma Uncovered. One question guided all of it. Does each photo feel like a seat at their bar?

For: Bar Bistro, a New American restaurant and bar in Tacoma
What I did: Food and drink photos for their social media, plus a table shoot with Tacoma Uncovered
Where: 1718 99th St E, Tacoma, WA

Take the tour · Tap a moment

Photos by Hana.

barbistrotacoma.com ↗

The candle round — 01 / 05 · The candle round

00 · Where they started

Northwest flavors in east Tacoma.

Bar Bistro is a New American restaurant in east Tacoma at 1718 99th St E. The menu is built on Northwest flavors, with a full kitchen and bar.

Every Sunday they run Sunday Supper, served family-style in limited portions until it runs out. They needed food and drink photos for their social media.

The photos · Photos by Hana

The candle round: three cocktails beside a lit candle at Bar Bistro

Shrimp and risotto topped with crispy shallots at Bar Bistro

Strawberry cake in front of the Bar Bistro menu

The peach: a peach cocktail with a sugared rim at Bar Bistro

The mojito: a tall mojito with mint and lime at Bar Bistro

The trio: three cocktails with berries and citrus at Bar Bistro

Sunlight service: cake, a cocktail and the menu on a sunny patio table at Bar Bistro

Brief · Rules I set myself

Four rules before the first frame.

Dark and warm

The edit stays dark and warm, so the feed reads like an evening at their bar.

Kitchen and bar

They run a full kitchen and a full bar, so both get their turn in the feed.

Made for the feed

These photos live on their social media, so I frame them tall for a phone screen.

Their name in the frame

When the menu is on the table, it stays in the shot so people know where they are.

The calls · Decision by decision

What I decided, and why.

01 · Edit

Dark and warm.

The call: I keep the edit dark and warm, with candles and low light behind the glasses.
Why: A bar is mostly an evening place. Keeping every post in the same mood makes their feed look like one place, photo after photo.

The candle round: three cocktails beside a lit candle at Bar Bistro — The candle round

02 · Format

Tall frames for a phone.

The call: I shoot the drinks and plates in tall frames, close enough to see the rim, the garnish and the ice.
Why: People see these on their phones in a feed. A tall, close frame fills the screen and shows the details that make someone want to order.

The peach: a peach cocktail with a sugared rim at Bar Bistro — The peach

The mojito: a tall mojito with mint and lime at Bar Bistro — The mojito

03 · Collab

One table, shot together.

The call: Tacoma Uncovered, a Tacoma food account, came in and we shot the whole table together.
Why: A local food account brings the restaurant in front of people who already follow Tacoma food. Shooting the same table side by side keeps their posts and Bar Bistro's in step.

The trio: three cocktails with berries and citrus at Bar Bistro — The trio

04 · Light

A little daylight too.

The call: One frame breaks from the night: cake, a cocktail and their menu on a sunny patio table.
Why: A feed that is all night can feel heavy. A sunny frame now and then shows another way to spend an afternoon there.

Sunlight service: cake, a cocktail and the menu on a sunny patio table at Bar Bistro — Sunlight service

The short version

A seat at the bar, in every post.

I shoot Bar Bistro's food and drinks in one dark, warm look, so their feed feels like their room.

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