Bonfire Restaurant at the Barbican specialises in burgers, beers, and fiery fried chicken. This Christmas, they went all out with their incredible festive burger: a turkey burger with bacon and cranberry sauce, topped with pigs in blankets. It’s Christmas on a plate!
A Christmas photoshoot: Shooting the festive burger at Bonfire
Bonfire at the Barbican is an industrial-chic casual restaurant, with quirky art and a spacious summer terrace.
This Christmas, they had a winter makeover. The restaurant featured beautiful seasonal decorations, complete with a stunning wreath by the talented Yan Skates. By popular demand, they brought back their delicious festive turkey burger.
The aim of this shoot was to capture the Christmas specials and team, in order to populate their social media, as well as some of the items they were low on photography for. These included one of their veggie burger, some sides, and Freedom beer.
The photography brief
The focus of the shoot was:
- The festive turkey burger
- The Christmas wreath
- The halloumi burger
- The burgers with the Christmas decorations
- Some sides, beers, and the festive dessert
- The team with the wreath
The festive burger
The Bonfire festive burger features a turkey patty, rashers of streaky bacon, cranberry sauce, and is topped by three pigs in blankets. The client requested photos of the entire burger, as well as photos of the pigs in blanket.
The Christmas wreath
While there were lots of Christmas decorations, the wreath steals the show. I shot it both in its entirety and zoomed into some of its features. I also used the wreath as a backdrop for lots of the photos, to create a cohesive look on social media.
The halloumi burger
While Bonfire’s menu is short and sweet, there are several vegetarian and vegan options. During my photography session, I shot the halloumi burger – both on its own and with veggie sides. I also photographed the burger with the wreath, to be used during the festive season.
Sides, desserts and Freedom beer
The last part of the food brief consisted of sides, shot with and without the Christmas background, the Christmas special dessert, and bottles of Freedom beer.
The group shot
Once all the individual shots were done, I photographed a group scene with all the elements from the shoot.
The team
Lastly, I photographed the team in front the wreath, holding burgers. The photos were used on social media, as well as the restaurant’s newsletter.
The nitty gritty
This was a two-hour shoot in December 2021. I used a Sony a7iii, with a 24-70mm lens and a 50mm lens, and a Manfrotto tripod.. I only used natural light, and also shot short videos to create Instagram Reels. Alexa Harris assisted.
Bonfire is located on Level 1 of the Barbican Centre, EC2Y 8DS.
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You can also check my previous festive shoot at Sabine Rooftop Bar, and restaurant shoots at SlowBurn, Chuku’s, The Haberdashery, and Pastore – or get tips on how to pick the right restaurant photographer for your business. You can also see some of my food styling gigs!
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