Nashville Food Photography | FatBelly Pretzel Bakery & Deli — East Nashville
SPREAD LOVE LIKE MUSTARD — FATBELLY PRETZEL'S ANNIVERSARY SHOOT
As a Nashville corporate and social event photographer, everything has to be documented, even the food — especially at social events. I'm usually photographing it in stolen minutes, still hunting for the best light while half my attention is on whatever's happening next. So when I get hired specifically for the details — to slow down and actually photograph the food and the space without an event pulling my attention elsewhere — it's a genuine treat. That's exactly what happened when FatBelly Pretzel Bakery & Deli in East Nashville brought me in to mark their shop anniversary with a day of food and space photography. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law own the shop, so I already knew and loved their food long before I ever picked up a camera there.
Food coverage like this is the same instinct that shows up at Music City Food & Wine Festival — knowing how to make a dish look good fast, in whatever light is available.
WHY I PHOTOGRAPHED ON THE MUSTARD TABLES
FatBelly's branding is built around their tagline — spread love like mustard — and it shows up everywhere in the shop, right down to the mustard-yellow outdoor tables. At a corporate event, almost every photograph needs to do double duty: it has to look good, and it has to carry the client's branding, whether that's a logo on a step-and-repeat or a color that ties back to the company. Photographing the food directly against the mustard yellow and white brick meant every image was already doing the work of representing FatBelly, no logo required. When the shop was less busy, I photographed the counter and interior first for clean, straightforward images of the food as it's served, then moved outside for mouthwatering macro close-ups of the pretzels and sandwiches against that brick-and-mustard palette — the same branding instinct I bring to a conference photo or a step-and-repeat, just applied to a pretzel instead of a podium.
I went home with some of the spoils. Want to know how to keep a photographer around? Feed her.
LOOKING FOR FOOD OR BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHY?
If your restaurant, bakery, or shop needs photography for a launch, an anniversary, or just an update to your marketing and menu images, I'd love to talk through it. You can see more of my event and food work on my Nashville corporate event photography page, or reach out here to start the conversation.