Photographer Tom McGovern (photo credit: Jami Carlton) During his career so far, Tom McGovern has worked on assignments that have placed him in great restaurants, working with top chefs, and photographing unique dishes that are the definition of #TabletopMatters. It’s said that you’re judged by the company you keep, so it’s no surprise he is rubbing shoulders with such esteemed colleagues of the hospitality and restaurant industry. Whether it’s an order of mozzarella sticks from a diner that’s served on cast iron, or octopus plated on mirrored dinnerware, Tom knows how important the tabletop is to the restaurants brand being identified, and a crucial part of the story being told when you take a seat and place your order.
Tom reveals that he enjoys working with another artist (the chef) and interpreting their work in his way, “But I really enjoy the atmosphere of a restaurant, the reaction from people when they see a food photo that gets them hungry, the comments from people when a picture of mine gets used on social media and people a clamoring to go order that dish.” Working a lot with the branding agencies and marketing companies that help the restaurants with logo and other branding materials, Tom comes to a collaborative agreement on the look of the photos. This is done either by the client providing key describing words – such as airy, gritty, rustic – or by the creation of a mood board of found photos that they would like the mood of the images to match. Sometimes the client will hire him seeking his unique style, and others hire him knowing they are confident that he can emulate a mood they are looking to achieve. Tom has created photographs for Stinson Vineyards, Ankida Ridge Vineyards, The Angelika Film Center, 42 of the Ritz Carlton, and featured in print by DuJour, Manhattan, Food & Wine, Connecticut Magazine, Greenwich Magazine, and Edible Blue Ridge. When he’s putting together his chapter of the restaurant story, Tom explains, “I want to show first and foremost the food of course. Secondly, does the tabletop match what we are shooting. It makes no sense to shoot things that don’t match together in a typical meal. Your average consumer is not going to have a beer, wine, and martini all on the table at the same time, I want the story told through the tabletop to be as close to true as possible. I want to customer to see the images, come to the restaurant, and be able to recognize elements from the image in real life, whether that a napkin that was in the corner of an image or a specific surface, that connection from marketing to real life builds a lot of trust for the guest.”
This directly relates to brand authenticity and making sure your guests experience exactly what they believe they will. Tom describes, and brings up some really great details about why the tabletop is so vital, “I think tabletop is extremely important to taking a great food photographs. Every element of a photo creates a reaction in the viewer’s mind, so every part from the food to the table has to callback or reinforce the concepts of your restaurant.” He continues,“the role of the tabletop add to the story of the guest’s dining experiences. I think every product today needs a story that its consumer can tell others. Everyone wants to be a storyteller. I eat out 2-3 times a week and my dining choices are scattered across the country, but out of all the excellent meals I’ve eaten the ones that I can recall to people have always included the tabletop, whether it was mozzarella sticks served in cast iron from a diner or octopus served on a mirrored plate in a high- end gastronomy place, the tabletop is part of the story.”
In addition to his tabletop and restaurant photography, Tom has photographed many celebrities in a more portrait/documentary type aesthetic. He says this has ‘really helped in developing a personal style as well as understanding what people and consumers really want from the imagery that’s marketed to them. You don’t think shooting celebrities and shooting tabletop have overlap, but both niches are catering towards a mood or the expectation of a feeling that a product is going to convey through the images.’
Whether it’s the mozzarella sticks at the diner sitting in cast iron or the mirror plated octopus while overlooking beautiful White Plains, NY in 42 (of the Ritz Carlton) , each tabletop is essential in the guest dining experience, and reinforcing your brand’s story to the consumer.
Perfect examples and explanation from Tom on why tabletop does truly matter.
– Sean Dackermann
