I was hired recently to do a promotional shot for a new coffee house in Philadelphia that was gaining a lot of attention for their perfectly brewed coffee. They requested I come by and get a shot of a freshly minted rosetta (foam art) by the shop's favorite barista.

The shoot couldn't be done in my studio (with controlled lighting), so I had to think a bit on my feet. In addition to working with the available indoor lighting, I was also under a time pressure to get something recorded before the rosetta fell apart in the foam. By the third latte, I settled on using their gas fireplace (looks real doesn't it?) as a backdrop.

I shot a middle aperture (ƒ8) to get most of the cup and saucer in focus (while using a 100mm lens). A faux crocodile bench acted as a "table". After I got this shot, I realized how nicely the background flames paralleled the similar flame-like shapes in the rosetta itself. Other than ambient light, I did place one more lamp high up shooting down on the coffee cup.

This image later appeared in Philadelphia Style Magazine.