Creating The Philly Deli: A Global Food Photography Shoot for Philadelphia and New York Bakery Co.
The Philly Deli campaign, live on billboards across the UK and beyond…
I’m really excited to share one of my recent shoots: The Philly Deli, a global commercial food photography campaign for Philadelphia (the UK’s number one cream cheese) and New York Bakery Co. (the UK’s leading bagel brand).
As a London-based advertising food photographer, it was such a fun brief to work on. The project ran from billboards to social, with stills, animations and motion. The brief was simple: bring authentic New York deli energy to UK brunch tables.
Every Detail Matters
✨ From the cream cheese swirl to the perfect bagel hole
Every swirl, every fold, crafted with care for the perfect hero image.
In commercial food photography, every detail counts. Getting the exact balance of cream cheese, angling the lid to show just the right amount of bagel hole, and making sure the toppings caught the light was all about precision.
Some lids were shiny, others matte, and each needed its own lighting tweak. Even the different Philadelphia flavours, like Garlic & Herbs, needed careful attention to highlight their textures and tone on camera.
We had a two-day cook-up with the client to test, taste and play with the food, along with plenty of pre-production calls to make sure every detail was covered.I was lucky to be supported by experienced producers who made the whole process seamless.
I’ve been told the client was thrilled with the results, and honestly, I’ll never look at a bagel in quite the same way again.
Behind the Scenes
For the stop-frame animations, each bagel layer had to be carefully added one by one to bring it to life. A few unlikely heroes made it happen:
• Drawing pins kept the base completely still while we added all the extra components
• Tape measure made sure each stack sat just right
• Palette knives created perfect Philly swirls
• Paintbrushes added that final ooze and sparkle
Grey cards and acrylic blocks were the real on-set essentials, keeping everything perfectly aligned:
• Acrylic blocks propped up the bagel lids at just the right angle
• Grey cards taped in place for perfect exposure and colour balance
• Bagel lids lined up at identical angles for consistency across shots
• Salmon folds and cream cheese swirls tweaked again and again until just right
Behind the Scenes: Shooting for Two Iconic Brands
These videos show a glimpse of what it’s really like on set. Everyone gathered round, reviewing each shot in real time, discussing, feeding back and working together to get every detail just right.
On a shoot like this, there can be around twenty people from the agency and client side - producers, art directors, brand teams and food stylists - all focused on bringing the vision to life. Everyone has a very important role to play.
For Philadelphia, the focus was on that thick, creamy layer, beautifully spread and full of texture. For New York Bakery Co., it was all about the perfect bagel, the inclusions, the texture and that just-right angle on the lid to show the hole.
The creatives and clients saw every frame instantly, the retoucher made live adjustments, and the food stylist refined every detail on set.
Lighting played a huge part for both brands, but in completely different ways. The food stylist had the patience of a saint, tweezers in one hand and a palette knife in the other, perfecting every detail until it looked irresistible.
As the photographer, my job was to bring it all together - the light, the team, the timing and the mood - so every image felt powerful, authentic and true to both brands.
This kind of commercial food photography is a real team effort, where precision, creativity and collaboration all meet to create stand-out imagery for global advertising campaigns.
Final tweaks before capture. Adjusting lighting, focus and food placement frame by frame to get that perfect, fresh-off-the-table feel.
iPad view for the food stylist. Having a live feed on set meant we could see every adjustment as it happened – perfect for finessing cream cheese, folds and garnish.
Checking the hero shot. Each layer, swirl and fold reviewed in real time on set to make sure every detail hit the brief.
We used monitors and an iPad on set so the food stylist could see each adjustment in real time - every swirl of cream cheese and fold of salmon checked before the next frame. Everyone constantly feeding back their thoughts.
Checking the hero shot. Each layer, swirl and fold reviewed in real time on set to make sure every detail hit the brief.
End of shoot smiles, the perfect way to wrap a campaign.
This global campaign is now live across the world, from billboards to social.
If you’re planning a campaign and want to explore how I can help bring your food or drink brand to life, I’d love to hear from you.
This shoot was commissioned by Hogarth Studios for Mondelez, working alongside the brilliant team at Ogilvy on the Philadelphia Brunch campaign. We created a mix of stills and animations with creative direction from Ogilvy, production by Hogarth, and the Mondelez brand team leading the way. It was a great shoot - a real reminder of why I love what I do.
Get in touch: malouburger@gmail.com/ 07809 404998 Instagram: @malouburgerphoto LinkedIn: malouburger