Hey Hey, Toro Toro!
If you don’t know this about me by now, take heed: I am a major foodie. That’s not always the best thing to really, really love food, but when it comes to being a Dallas commercial photographer who shoots food, it’s a perfect union. I mean, if you don’t love food, how are you going to be motivated to make it look as tantalizing as possible for the client? Plus this passion gives me the excuse to try all kinds of great stuff. Enter the shoot for Toro Toro, which opened a location at the Fort Worth Renaissance Worthington Hotel last fall. I always love a fun challenge, and this shoot definitely provided that for me. You see, the grand opening was close, and the restaurant had been completely remodeled from the former restaurant that was in the hotel. Well actually my tense is off there. It was being completely remodeled, but wasn’t quite done just yet. So the front of the house was still being put together, and the kitchen too. There were workers and dust everywhere, and I even had to dodge a huge lift while shooting out on the bar counters. I enjoy being around construction too, which is certainly an aspect of my Dallas commercial photography, but I can’t say I have ever mixed it with food photography in Dallas.
However, no matter what was going on around me, I knew that I had to come up with some beautiful promotional content. All of the dishes I was shooting were going to be used to promote on social and any other channels as needed.
Let me tell you, this food was beautiful. When you have dishes that range from Wild Hamachi Crudo, which was gorgeous, to the Oxtail and Bone Marrow Toast, you are going to have a good time. There was so much variety and depth to each of the dishes, and we moved around throughout the restaurant to take advantage of the different textures and surfaces that the space had to offer.
What had to be the coolest part was when I photographed the cocktails, especially the Casual Encounter. The whiskey cocktail was made and then put in a glass case and filled with cherry wood smoke. Rarely have I seen such a dramatic presentation, and ask any food photographer in Dallas and they will get excited about smoke. Scroll down to check out all of my favorites, including the Casual Encounter, and make sure to stop by and check out the cuisine!
