From café table to potter’s wheel
At Grayshott Pottery, there's a natural connection between the food served at The Kiln Café and the craftspeople whose handmade ceramics bring it to the table. We went along to capture both sides of the story.
It started with a mini bobble hat
Some photography commissions begin with a detailed creative brief. Others begin with a fun & festive bobble hat.
The Kiln Café was one of three winners of Sequoia Studios' festive Bobble Hat Challenge, a light-hearted competition inviting local hospitality businesses to get creative in exchange for the chance to win a professional photography shoot.
Our visit began in the café, photographing a selection of freshly prepared dishes and drinks. But with the pottery workshops just beyond the café, there was an opportunity to capture something more than the food alone.
Made here, served here
There's something particularly satisfying about photographing food on ceramics made just a few steps away.
Throughout the shoot, dishes and drinks were presented on crockery produced at Grayshott Pottery, with additional styling pieces selected from the Pottery Emporium. Rather than bringing in props from elsewhere, we could build the photography around objects that genuinely belonged to the setting.
The result was a collection of images with a natural sense of place.
With social media a primary destination for the photographs, much of the food and drink imagery was composed in portrait format. Colour, texture and careful styling helped create images that would work individually in a social feed while retaining a consistent visual character.
The handmade ceramics weren't simply supporting the food. They were part of the story.
“The shots were beyond our expectations and we were really pleased with the final outcome.”
MARKETING TEAM · GRAYSHOTT POTTERY / SURREY CERAMICS
Behind the craft
Having completed the commissioned photography in the café, I found myself with fifteen or twenty minutes to spare and an opportunity to observe the talented people at work in the pottery workshop.
It was an entirely spontaneous addition to the shoot. No brief, no carefully arranged compositions, just an opportunity to capture the makers absorbed in their work, surrounded by the tools, materials and processes of pottery-making.
Managing Director Glenn Myers was also present during the shoot. Having worked his way up through the business since his schooldays, Glenn's own history with Grayshott Pottery reflects the experience and continuity behind its craft.
These candid photographs offered a different perspective on Grayshott Pottery, revealing the skill and concentration behind the ceramics we'd been photographing in the café.
A few unexpected minutes behind the scenes completed the connection between the food on the tables and the hands that made the ceramics beneath it.
More than just food photography
The most interesting hospitality photography often comes from looking beyond the obvious.
A beautifully presented dish deserves a beautiful photograph. But sometimes, it's the unexpected moments between the planned shots that reveal something more about the people and places we're photographing.
At Grayshott Pottery, a few spare minutes in the workshop brought another dimension to the story, capturing the skill, concentration and craftsmanship that make the place distinctive.
What started with a festive bobble hat became a collection of photographs celebrating much more than food. And sometimes, it's those unplanned moments that make a commission particularly rewarding.
The details make the difference.
Great hospitality is about more than what's on the table. From the people behind the scenes to the finishing touches, we photograph the details that give a place its character.
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