Red River Pro
LOU MANNA
The Photographer
Lou Manna is an award-winning photographer, author and
teacher whose work has appeared in national ad campaigns,
major magazines and in more than thirty cookbooks. After
shooting for the New York Times from 1975 to 1990, he went on
to establish his own Fifth Avenue studio where he works with
corporate, advertising and restaurant clients to create exquisite
food images.
The Client
Inocente Tequila.

© Lou Mana
The Assignment
Images to illustrate cocktail recipes at inocente's website.
The Execution
"I shot this image of an inocente Asian –lit with a softbox from
the side– using an Olympus DSLR camera with a 100mm macro
lens at 1/100 sec at F/16 with an ISO of 100. When the
straight-on photographs required for the client's website were
finished, I took my camera off the tripod and shot at various
angles to create a different look and feel.
"The overhead angle allowed me to get more of a reflection in
the glass and I was able to highlight the glycerin used for the
water droplets. I love the contrast of the star anise against the
pale color of the drink. We added cinnamon sticks, ginger and
more star anise to the surface at one point but it made the shot
too cluttered and took away from the beauty and simplicity of the
drink itself."
Post Production
"I used Photoshop to tweak the levels and enhance the contrast
slightly. I prefer to get my exposure and lighting correct when I
shoot."
The Output
"I like the look of the Red River Arctic Polar Gloss paper for this
image. When I tested it against other brands it was quite obvious
that Arctic Polar Gloss gave me the most detail in the dark area
of the star anise. The paper also enhanced the pale color of the
drink and brought out more depth in the image. I am so
impressed with the performance of Red River Papers– and even
more so considering that they cost close to twenty percent less
than other brands."
Contact
Lou Manna's website is at: www.loumanna.com. He can be
reached at: lou@loumanna.com.
Information about his new book, photography tips, and future
workshops can be found at: Digital Food Photography may be
found at www.digitalfoodphotography.ning.com.

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