Rangefinder Magazine
April 2005

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Audrey Dempsey by Harvey Goldstein
The Great Chefs (and Their Specialties) of Las Vegas

Audrey Dempsey has always documented every occasion of her life, starting with her acting days as a youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Her career as a photographer began in 1996 with the purchase of a Canon Rebel and the opportunity to assist a photographer on an assignment for Versace. Even without much knowledge of what she was doing, the experience was the hook for her to learn more about her new profession. With a lot of trial and error, studying on her own, classes and seminars with experienced instructors and great opportunities opening up for her, Audrey made a name for herself as a photographer in the Las Vegas area in a short period of time. She was already noted for producing consumer trade shows, which she did for nine years prior to picking up a camera.

Audrey’s years in business and sales helped to propel her photography career, along with the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time. She credits her practice of Buddhism and its law of cause and effect for her good fortune.

As a photographer with Las Vegas magazine, Audrey began photographing restaurants. Due to the magazine’s budget constraints, she learned to do everything herself. There were no stylists to work with and most of the time the chefs would not involve themselves in the photography session. Because of this experience, Audrey learned to be creative. As the photographer for the Las Vegas Odyssey, which offered a taste of Las Vegas’ restaurants, she had the opportunity to photograph all of the food with no studio lights, just with a flash and reflector.

In February 2004 Audrey was approached by Sarah Lee Marks to collaborate on a cookbook project on the great chefs and recipes of Las Vegas. The book, Reservations Required—Culinary Secrets of Las Vegas’ Celebrity Chefs (Huntington Press), was almost a year in the making with the book finally being published in December 2004.

Each restaurant was an adventure. With no advance information on what the recipes would be, Audrey would have less than three hours to photograph the restaurant, the chef and two recipes. Because there was no advance information, Audrey would have to take the time to ask questions about the item, the color arrangement of the food and the plate color while Sarah interviewed the chefs about the recipe.

While some chefs allowed Audrey to select the specialty, most did not. Trying to incorporate the surroundings with the chef’s creation, Audrey would select the proper location to photograph. She would also give the chefs the opportunity for their input, but again, most said she was the “expert” and allowed her to create the photograph without interference. She would heighten their excitement by having them look through the viewfinder so they could see how she creatively captured their culinary specialty.

After the photography was completed, the chef would invite Sarah, Audrey and her assistant, Joanna Amberger, to taste the recipe, and in some instances, have them enjoy an entire meal. In a project such as this, one must be careful not to gain 10 pounds (as Audrey says she did).

It is important to note that Audrey did not use any artificial enhancements while photographing the food. She would sometimes spray water or use a little oil on the food for glistening highlights, but nothing more. (Many photographers will doctor the food to the extent that once the “shoot” is over, the food must be discarded.) Upon arrival at the restaurant, Audrey would decide on the location where she would photograph. She would set up her equipment and meter the area, making all of her decisions before the food arrived, fresh and from the oven or stovetop. There were instances when what she thought would work did not work, and a last minute change was made once the food arrived.

This project was a team effort, not only with Sarah Marks, but also with Audrey’s husband, Bob Dempsey, who has been a graphic designer for 20 years. Bob’s computer expertise and his guidance have helped Audrey with her Photoshop education. Bob prepped the images for the book project, and his company designed the cover.

Muriel Stevens, the dining columnist for the Las Vegas Sun recently reviewed the book. “Reservations Required—Culinary Secrets of Las Vegas’ Celebrity Chefs is a knockout… Photography by award-winning Audrey Dempsey is smashing.” She went on to say, “The food shots are exquisite. Dempsey has captured the essence of each chef with penetrating photos that look beyond the kitchens the chefs command.”

Photographing in the most notable restaurants in Las Vegas does not go without glitches. While photographing in Valentino’s, Audrey wanted to use the mirror in the photograph. There was a spotlight in the surface, so Audrey had Sarah cover it with a napkin. As she photographed, they smelled something burning, but could not figure what it was until they realized it was the napkin about to catch on fire. This was an embarrassing and important lesson: Always pay attention to your surroundings.

In another instance, Audrey arrived at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at approximately 4:15 to photograph a soufflé by 5:00 p.m. (before they opened for the evening). While waiting for the soufflé, she selected a spot where the Paris balloon would be visible outside with a beautiful sunset light streaming through the window. Audrey was ready; however, the chef had not begun preparing the soufflé. She asked him to start right away before she lost the beautiful light, but the soufflé was going to take 20 minutes to prepare. With nothing else to do, Audrey began looking for another location to photograph. It was now past 5:00 p.m., and the waitstaff was preparing to open the restaurant and began to close the shades over the windows. Panicked, she cried out, “What are you doing?” Audrey convinced them to raise the shades long enough for her to photograph by what little remaining natural light she had. Fortunately, the chef prepared more than one soufflé, and she kept photographing until the light was gone altogether and the soufflés fell.

Audrey uses Canon digital cameras, a 10D and D60 along with Canon 28–135mm f/3.5–5.6 and Tamron 14mm f/2.8 lenses. She also uses a Sekonic 508 light meter with Photogenic lights, Westcott softboxes and a variety of reflectors. A PocketWizard helps sync her strobes for interiors, and all her images receive a special garnish in Photoshop CS.

To order a copy of Reservations Required—Culinary Secrets of Las Vegas’ Celebrity Chefs, visit Audrey’s web site: www.infinity-photo.com/. The price of the book is $24.95, plus tax and shipping.

Harvey Goldstein from Branford, Connecticut, has been in the photographic industry for more than 30 years. He is a former studio owner and presently edits numerous association newsletters and magazines in the New England area, as well as being a freelance writer.