Time was short, about twenty minutes, and at first I was a little daunted by the look of the dispenser whose designer seemed to have been inspired by 1970's disco balls.
This is the first shot - the dispenser is in sharp focus but isn't inviting as the light is 'cold'. The background isn't blurred enough and detracts from the dispenser. There is also little in the background to add value to the dispenser. The dispenser itself also doesn't look good - given how dark the liquid in the column, it could be coffee. Similarly, the glasses of sangria are dull. In short, this photo isn't going to bring customers to Toros and it won't get me repeat business.
To make the dispenser's column appear interesting, I got the chef to fire a flash into it.
I then did the same for the two glasses. Next I used a wide aperture to blur the background which was too distracting. I waited until a diner at an adjoining table was drinking and then took the photo - this is because the diner acts a cue as to what to do with the dispenser and thus enriches the image.
Finally, I bathed the image in warm tones, again reinforcing the pleasant mellowness of an afternoon drinking sangria.
Below is the final image which merges four images.
Finally, this is an example of how the image was used by the restaurant.
