You’ll find the Tradroom down a street in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. It’s an intimate Japanese restaurant with fun rustic Japanese decor. You’ll find Daruma doors and old game tables. Caught in time it’s an easy way to escape from the wilds of New York city. Have a seat at the bar and you’ll find old lamps and classic swivel stools. Behind that a smiling bartender with a well stocked array of Japanese liquors and anything else that you might be thirsty for.
The kitchen is also prepared to satisfy your hunger with an impressive list of Japanese favorites. From Karagee to salmon rolls, Edamame to Shisito Peppers, and a sashimi plate that is devine. Everything you could want from a delicious meal to little bar nibbles. A roll to cleanse the palette in-between trying that new Japanese whiskey.
For this shoot the owner wanted to go with a more dramatic feel. He showed me some photographs that he liked and we had a quick conversation about what he envisioned for the shoot. I had my beauty dish with me which was perfect to achieve that look. The beauty dish produces an extremely soft directional light. It’s design is intended to soften the light and make it spread out slowly. I like to use it with a 20 degree grid spot to focus it into a beam that falls off quickly. It has a dramatic feel something like an actor standing under a spotlight onstage but the light that it produces is very soft and pleasing. Food in general likes soft delicate light and is very akin to smooth feminine features. It’s more fluid and bending rather than being rigid and geometric and the light that you choose makes a dramatic difference in the quality of the photographs.
