PR photography for a McDonald’s restaurant opening in Rickmansworth

Photographing a restaurant that was still being finished

The biggest challenge was that the restaurant was not completely ready when I arrived.

Final preparations continued throughout much of the time available, and parts of the restaurant were only finished seconds before the doors opened. This made it difficult to capture clean photographs of the new space without unfinished areas, equipment or last-minute activity appearing in the frame.

I had to work flexibly, photographing each area as it became available and returning to locations once the final preparations were complete. Careful positioning and timing were particularly important when creating the clean interior, exterior and branding photographs required by the agency.

This is one reason an experienced photographer needs to treat a shot list as a set of priorities rather than a fixed shooting order. On a live opening, the sequence often has to change as the location, staff and stakeholders become ready.

Despite the tight timings, I was able to cover the restaurant, staff and official opening within the available two-to-three-hour window.

Capturing the restaurant before the public arrived

Wherever possible, I photographed the customer-facing areas before the restaurant opened to the public. This helped produce clear views of the entrance, seating, ordering points, counter and interior design.

These establishing images were an important part of the story. They showed what had opened and gave the PR team photographs that could be used independently of the ribbon-cutting coverage.

I created a mixture of:

• Wide photographs showing the overall restaurant
• Medium compositions featuring staff and stakeholders
• Tighter photographs of expressions and interactions
• Horizontal and vertical images
• Branded details and signage
• Natural photographs of employees at work

Different platforms require different compositions. A news website may need a horizontal group photograph, while LinkedIn and other social platforms may favour tighter or vertical images.

Providing this variety within the final set made the photographs easier for the agency and McDonald’s teams to reuse.

Photographing staff and stakeholders

The official ribbon cutting was one of the essential photographs, but it was only one part of the assignment.

I also photographed the franchisee and key stakeholders, staff groups, employees preparing food and natural interactions around the restaurant. These photographs gave the story a human element and showed the people responsible for bringing the new location to life.

Branding needed to remain clearly visible without making every photograph feel heavily staged. Uniforms, signage, ordering screens, restaurant colours and exterior details established the McDonald’s setting naturally.

This balance is important in professional PR photography. The brand needs to be recognisable, but the photographs must also feel credible, engaging and suitable for editorial use.

Working with available light

I photographed the assignment using two Canon EOS R5 camera bodies with Canon RF 24–105mm f/2.8 and 70–200mm f/2.8 lenses.

The 24–105mm allowed me to move quickly between wider restaurant views, groups and closer activity without repeatedly changing lenses. The 70–200mm provided tighter photographs of staff and interactions while allowing me to work without getting in the way.

The restaurant was bright enough for me to work entirely with the available light, so no flash was required. This helped preserve the natural appearance of the interior and allowed staff to continue working without repeated flashes becoming a distraction.

Using two camera bodies also provided immediate backup equipment during an assignment where the key moments could not be repeated.