The Marine Room | La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club | Restaurant Photography
The Marine Room at La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is an iconic restaurant in La Jolla, California. and I was honored to photograph their new remodel. My goal for this interior photography restaurant shoot was to highlight the newly renovated oceanfront lounge. Capturing the gorgeous essence of The Marine Room posed some unique challenges, but with some creativity and expertise, we created some breathtaking photographs!
How I Planned This Restaurant Shoot
This restaurant photography shoot required extensive planning around many moving parts, so I broke down the photoshoot into two phases. First, I wanted to capture The Marine Room's natural, beachy beauty while the sun was still up. I wanted the room empty to capture every angle and detail elegantly built into the oceanfront lounge.
For the second phase, I staged the scene with models to liven up that space. I wanted to highlight the idyllic ocean views and warm sunset vibe as the shoot went on. As the sun went down, I had to quickly adapt to the lighting changes and direct models in a limited amount of time. But we captured the incredible visuals that twinkle with beachy luxury.
Angles were a bit more difficult to pre-plan, but I knew I needed patience and flexibility to capture as many details as I could within one single shot. This project felt really special and the plan felt perfect for the space!
My main goal was to show how it would feel to eat at this restaurant so the guests would feel the moody high-end Vegas vibes before they even got to the restaurant. Of course with my expert eye, I knew I had to make it a point to capture this restaurant at night to really create that feel in the images.
Capturing the Lounge's Essence
The oceanfront lounge has floor-to-ceiling windows, a slanted roof, decorative furniture, ornate rugs, and fine details that I wanted to highlight for this interior photography shoot. While the sun was still up, I kept the room empty to best reflect the coastal decor. First, I used my experienced eye for my wider shots to choose the best angles, and then I brought my camera closer to photograph the finer details in the lounge.
The Marine Room's new oceanfront lounge is large windows circling it entirely. This exposure posed many challenges when it came to lighting the room without overexposing the pictures and dodging harsh shadows. I wanted the people in the foreground as well-lit and visible as the colorful sunset behind them. This was a fun challenge; we captured the relaxed, upscale atmosphere well.
Staging the Scene
After I finished the daytime shoot, it was time to capture the sunset. I brought in our lovely models to create a cozy, luxuriously coastal atmosphere. I staged the models around the couches and tables and directed them to sit in various locations of the lounge to tell a story of people coming in to visit and give the audience a set of expectations for when they visit.
Illuminating the sunset and the models was a fun challenge, but after playing with many camera angles and settings, we captured the moment perfectly. We kept the ocean and sunset views brightly lit in the background and used that natural lighting to our advantage. What materialized were dramatic portraits and artistic action shots.
Highlighting the Natural Beauty
The Marine Room is an iconic place in San Diego and is packed to the brim with beachy beauty that reflects its natural environment. I truly wanted the color scheme to shine in this restaurant photography shoot, and I used clear blues as the centerpieces of many shots. During the daytime, when the restaurant was empty, the sandy tan and warm whites in the architecture were the perfect backdrops for the blue accents. As the sun began to set, I used the warm light from the scones to break up my photos, so they were more visually pleasing.
This interior photography shoot was challenging but extremely rewarding for my team and me. I balanced many variables and adapted to my environment to utilize our natural light. I learned a lot during this shoot and was privileged to photograph such an iconic location.
