A short walk from Peckham Rye Railway Station, London, is Levan, a cosy contemporary European eatery that provides an inviting bistronomy-inspired menu. Lisa’s job would be to capture the restaurant’s honest, à la carte dishes and homely atmosphere, under the watchful eye of professional food photographer Nic Crilly-Hargrave. The apprentice would have enough on her plate, presenting the trendy dining space’s tantalizing dishes in the very best light, but adding to the challenge was the working environment. Levan was open for business, so the pair would have to navigate a lively kitchen and bustling restaurant.
“No, no, after you,” said Nic as he lunged to one side – camera aloft – allowing a chef carrying a trayful of fresh rhubarb to pass. “I spend the first half hour letting the kitchen staff know that I won’t get in their way,” he explained to Lisa before turning towards the chef who was now sorting through the vibrant pink stems. “If I’m in the way, just shove me aside. Don’t even bother asking,” he said with a chuckle.
MAKING A MEAL OF IT
The pro handed his apprentice a wireless trigger, so her Nikon Z 7 could communicate with the Godox flash head, positioned on the right side of the kitchen. “It’s out of the way there,” said Nic, “but I’m an advocate of side lighting anyway. The window opposite will act as a fill light, but even so, we’ll get some nice shadows so we can pick out some lovely details.”
“What are your go-to camera settings?” asked Lisa as she slotted the transmitter into her camera’s hotshoe.
This story is from the May 2023 edition of N-Photo: the Nikon magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2023 edition of N-Photo: the Nikon magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Master luminosity masks
James Paterson gets to grips with Photoshop Channels and makes use of our 10 free actions
Photo hoot
Andrew Mason finds and photographs one of the UK's most beloved birds
Seeing double
Edyta Rice shows you how to use reflections to balance and enhance landscape compositions
Zoom, zoom, zoom!
Mike Harris reckons that Nikon's new Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR could be the one lens to rule them all for keen photographers
Manfrotto Befree Advanced Carbon Fibre Travel Tripod
Sturdy and lightweight tripod that's packed with features and built to rack up the air miles
AstrHori 25mm f/2.8 Macro 2-5x
A macro lens and then some, this specialist optic gives you anything from 2x to 5x magnification, but it's a bit of a one-trick pony
Gone walkabout
Chris Aldred rambles through rural Somerset with his trusty Nikon D3500 and covers four different genres in the same week!
NIKON KNOW-HOW - How to track the action
Keep focused on moving subjects with all the latest autofocus finery
Horsing around
Wildlife photographer and autism campaigner Alfie Bowen tells how spending time with horses and photography changed his life
Tony North
Less than 10 years ago, Tony North only took out his camera on holidays. Now the Manchester-based macro photographer is winning international awards and writing a book. Keith Wilson hears how he has spread his wings from photography's chrysalis...