The 8 Best Food Photographers in St. Louis

The River City’s home to not just the Mississippi and the Arch, but toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, and — believe it or not — the ice cream cone. Plus, the city claims some of the finest photographers in the nation to bring your brand to the fore with stunning food styling and studio lighting. If your burger or taco truck is in need of a makeover, have no fear! Here are the most talented St. Louis food photographers for your next culinary photoshoot!

1. Jonathan Gayman

Jonathan Gayman specializes in producing commercial and editorial images of food, beverages, and products. Operating around the country and based in St. Louis, he’s a regular contributor to national publications like Feast Magazine and Sauce Magazine. A number of his images have also appeared in Time Out New York, USA Today, St. Louis Magazine, and National Geographic Traveler. Jonathan works with teams of food stylists in his commercial food photography, using controlled lighting and compositions for maximum effect. And, as an editorial photographer, he takes a more documentary-style approach, seeking organic moments and angles to tell the story of a particular dish, venue, and the people who make it happen.

2. Rob Grimm

Commercial food and beverage photographer Rob Grimm discovered his love for photography through the gift of a Kodak X-15 at age 8. Since then, his life has been a love affair with travel, cultural explorations, culinary adventure, and photography. From preparation to the actual shoot, Rob is fully involved in each step of the process of making your brand come to life through the visual medium.

As a specialist commercial culinary photographer, he uses a variety of styles to meet your needs. Working with both studio and on-location environments, he uses backgrounds that tell stories, create ambiance, and always enhance each view of the dish. He shows us angles that emphasize layers, textures, and lighting that suggests moisture, freshness, and other visual cues for emotional food responses. Rob Grimm’s talent easily makes him one of the best St. Louis food photographers.

3. Jennifer Silverberg

What’s striking to us about Jennifer Silverberg’s approach is how much she values collaboration and connection in her work. In her own words: “I am down-to-earth; passionate and far from perfect. I don’t take myself too seriously and I firmly believe being on set should be fun. I value my crew as much as my clients. It’s these things combined that allow for the creation of authentic, artistic and head-turning imagery.”

Jennifer aims to create images that not only show up as delicious and beautiful, but also tells the story of where it came from and how it ended up on your table. Her work is the art of cultivation and of preparation as much as the final result. If you’re looking for a documentary take on how your products get to your clients, Jennifer Silverberg is one of the most brilliant St. Louis food photographers to work with.

4. Rolf Ringwald

Lifestyle, food, and beverage photographer Rolf Ringwald covers St. Louis and other Midwestern cities. With over a decade of experience working in advertising, Rolf knows exactly what sort of compositions and subjects will attract people to your brand. What’s striking about his images is how well he finds the “hero angle” for his shots. Natural compositions that emphasize the form of a dish to best effect, bringing the viewer tableside and salivating. Rolf also covers agricultural angles, traveling with the field hands and using a documentary angle to teach us where our food comes from. In doing this, he highlights all of the hands that take part in bringing your dish from farm to table.

5. Jonathan Pollack

Jonathan Pollack, along with his partner Stefani and son Myles, run J. Pollack Photography. Together, they capture not just food, but families, events, weddings, and editorial work for clients across the Midwest. Their work has been featured in several publications, including the Huffington Post, Feast Magazine, and many others. In addition, they have an impressive array of satisfied commercial clients, including Bonefish Grill, Chaumette Vineyards & Winery, and NHB KnifeWorks, just to name a few.

Browsing their work, we really enjoyed their combination of food vignettes showcasing masterfully arranged dishes, as well as their usage of bold lighting choices that add a bright, zesty character to their work. Jonathan’s also a master of showcasing aspects of restaurant venues that are artistic and inviting at the same time. We get a great feel for the layout, the general vibe, and what sort of dining experience to expect thanks to his work.

6. Matt Seidel

Matt Seidel has a passion for images that goes beyond simple beauty and a desire for expressing the driving forces behind the shoot. In his own words, “I’m drawn to character and story-driven pictures. I’m interested in the why of images, the creative decisions and subtle nuances that quietly drive a message. I’m a sucker for good design, lifestyle brands, and creative strategy.” We’re consistently impressed by his editing style as well, with punchy colors and up-close angles that direct us to details, hues and tonal subtleties, and background choices that accentuate the subject without relying simply on shallow depth of field.

7. Amy Schromm

Commercial photographer Amy Schromm started learning photography in college interning and learning the trade before jumping headlong into a career at an international full-service marketing company. Having worked with name brands like Anheuser-Busch and Panera, she branched out as a freelance shooter in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since. As an insider to how photography and marketing are intertwined, Amy’s style is attractive and keeps you coming back for another look. She uses careful compositions and angles that give us a full spread to work with, with visual cues highlighting textures, flavors, moisture content, and other gastronomic cues. We especially love how even her lighting style tends to be, as it does not include overly bright highlights or moody shadows.

8. Studio C Photography

Studio C is a full-service commercial photography and videography studio staffed with some of the most talented St. Louis food photographers. Working out of a 20,000 sq.ft. facility, Studio C. uses an on-site professional kitchen with a full range of props, surfaces, and backgrounds for each one of their projects. Thanks to the variety of talents, angles, styles, and equipment available, Studio C can create exactly the look you need for your brand, be it contemporary and modern, vintage and moody, punchy and whimsical, and much more!

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