If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you know I had a Friday photography column at A Photo Editor from 2011-23.
I’ve bobbed and weaved, when it comes to how I handle programming here at Sunshine and Olly, but after a year + away from the regular grind, I’ve decided to try to resurrect Photo Fridays.
(There are a few other stories in the pipeline already, so it seems doable, especially with a new, online Q&A format.)
To kick off the new column, I’m starting with a photographer I’ve never met, nor spoken to.
Scott McDermott got my attention when he sent out a PR email with some great pictures he shot of Mike Tyson for a cigar magazine.
Top notch, and I told him so.
It stuck in my mind, and when a new email came in, featuring “Les Chef,” of course I was impressed again.
Having seen every season of Top Chef, (except the first,) and worked in restaurants for years, this was my wheel house.
Yet again, Scott’s editorial/commercial work shines.
The dude is obviously a major pro, so I’m happy to share his pictures, and his thoughtful, (though diplomatic,) responses to my questions.
In the spirit of my long-time work at APE, the information below can definitely help photographers with their careers.
Thanks for being generous with your work, time, and knowledge, Scott!
Let’s get to it.
Jonathan Blaustein: Given that you’ve shot all sorts of celebrity types, did you notice any specific vibe, or personality type, to the celebrity chefs?
Scott McDermott: Celebrity chefs at this level are really CEOs. Many of them have upwards of 20 restaurants across all different brands. So they are quite media savvy, usually pretty outgoing and have done photo shoots many times before. They know the drill. It’s a part of the job. But unlike many CEOs they seem much more at ease and playful at a photoshoot, and a lot of times have fun ideas for shots. Like Jean-Georges just offered up “Do you want to go on the roof?” His restaurant is on the ground floor of a 52 story building at Columbus Circle.
The answer is always “Yes!”.
JB: I worked for Bobby Flay for a couple of years in NYC, back in the day, and the dude had massive swagger. (Exaggeratedly so.) Did any of the chefs have next-level charisma, beyond all the rest?
SM: I would say they all have a baseline level of type A confidence that’s not uncommon for very successful people in any field. Most of the chefs I’ve shot are pretty cool and down to earth, but you can tell by how everyone around them acts that they are A VERY BIG DEAL in their world.
Having said that, most shoots happen during the day at one of their restaurants, with the idea being we get it done before they open that night. So it’s usually a morning situation for them at first, and mornings are not traditionally the best time for chefs.
A lot of time, they are pretty tired and not necessarily putting on a show for me. Not that they were up all night in the kitchen necessarily (There is a chef-de-cuisine for that,) but usually they just flew in from somewhere or had just hosted a big dinner at another of their restaurants or came from some event.
Then there is someone like Mario Carbone, who has what he calls the “Carbone Stare”. He doesn’t like how he looks when smiling, so he deliberately does the stare. He’s up front about it, so fair enough. So in his case he is kind of deliberately dialing down the charisma.
JB: It’s been a while since he passed, (RIP!) but what was Tony Bourdain like, in the time you had with him?
SM: The shoot with Anthony Bourdain was for DIRECTV and the concept behind it was, he’s been everywhere, but where is his home turf? He chose a punk rock bar in NY’s East Village called Manitoba’s, which looked great and had a very authentic vibe. However, even though we were in his happy place, he was quite edgy and wary of me and the whole thing.
It wasn’t until after we sat at the bar and finished a pint together, while the crew was putting up some lighting, that he loosened up. After that, he relaxed considerably and we had a nice afternoon. The “Man’s Ruin” painting on the wall by the door was a cool background we both really liked for a shot. I was a huge fan of all of his shows, but after he passed, I can’t bring myself to watch them…
JB: Padma Lakshmi has gone on to assume Tony’s mantle, in a way, with her current Hulu food-travel series. Did you get to chat with her at all about food, or the Bravo-Top-Chef-world she helped create?
SM: I’ve been lucky enough to cross paths with Padma for a few different shoots. Her show on Hulu is fantastic, and is very much in the same vein as what Bourdain was doing, as you said. I think I’ve told her how much I enjoyed it on the last shoot.
But for Top Chef, there wasn’t a lot of time to chat. Those key art shoots for TV shows are a big production with a very tight schedule. You have to shoot all the contestants and the hosts in 2 different outfits on several sets.
The producers have spreadsheets with blocks of time designating who should be in front of the camera when and where and in what clothes, etc.
I was proud to have gotten to the end of the day still on schedule, at which point Padma asked if I could take a few shots of her in a new dress Roberto Cavalli had sent over for an upcoming award show. She wanted to see how it looked on camera.
Like I said before, the answer is always “Yes!”.
She started out as a model, and certainly knows what to do in front of the camera.
JB: Of all the restaurants you’ve been in, which would you most like to dine, if money were no object?
SM: Honestly, all of them!
On a few occasions they ask if you want to stay for dinner, and that’s always a real treat. Daniel Boulud said “Would you like to have some pea soup and chicken?” – “Yes!”.
At his flagship restaurant Boulud, there is a skybox table that is in a kind of glass loft overlooking the kitchen. So my crew and I had an amazing meal in the skybox, which honestly we almost couldn’t tell which part was the pea soup and the chicken because each dish was so elaborate.
Torrisi is Rich Torrisi’s new restaurant in the Puck building that we shot at, and it’s been described as the most NY of the high end restaurants out there.
11 Madison Park is the first restaurant to win 3 Michelin stars that is entirely plant based, I’m super curious about that.
Daniel Humm is a rock star. Like I said, all of them.
JB: Did Morimoto wave that big blade around at all, or was it only out briefly for the shoot?
SM: Morimoto is a lot of fun, and is generally up for anything. I asked him if we could do a shot with a knife and he went in the kitchen and came back with what I would call a sword, used for slicing tuna.
He did some interesting poses with it, and the shots are much cooler than they would have been with a regular knife.
When I was scouting his restaurant before the shoot, I noticed he had a lot of geese and chickens hanging in the fridge, and it made me think of the classic Albert Watson photograph of Alfred Hitchcock holding a goose in a very deadpan way.
So I asked him to do a similar pose in the freezer in, an homage to Mr. Watson.
After that, Morimoto said, “Why so serious?” and grabbed a tuna and started tossing it around.
JB: Finally, how would you describe your style of interaction, as a portrait photographer? How do you approach working with such high-profile people?
SM: Shooting celebrities is very much a transactional encounter. We are both there to do a job.
I try to be personable, relaxed and make a connection as much as possible, but I’m not under any illusion that we are going to be friends afterwards. Sometimes you hit off with someone, just like in any situation, but for the most part we do what we came to do and that’s it.
One thing they all appreciate, and something I pride myself on is that I shoot very fast. I know what I’m going for, get it quickly and then move on. Once they see that, a lot of people relax because they realize I’m not going to drag it out and be indecisive.
Once they are relaxed, then they start to collaborate, and that can be when it gets fun. I always have a few concepts in mind going in, and sometimes those need specific props or whatever to pull off, so you have to have those ready.
Then it’s a question of pitching the idea and being ready for what they say. A lot of times it’s “That’s kind of cool, but what if we did it like this instead?” And suddenly you have a shot you never thought of, that happened in the moment, like with Morimoto.
Sunshine and Olly 
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