—SULLA STRADA
I photograph culinary assignments with editorial precision—capturing location, labor, and culture with intent. Each frame is shaped by story, composed by light, and grounded in the visual language of food.
In the Field, With Intention
This page presents a curated window into my commissioned practice—documenting culinary culture across Europe with editorial precision. These assignments are shaped by location, story, and the demands of each brief. I work closely with chefs, institutions, and teams seeking work that’s composed, intentional, and visually exacting. The context changes—vineyards, kitchens, markets—but the clarity of purpose remains.
Each commission abroad begins with the same tools: film, light meters, linen shirts folded with care. I work with chefs, editors, and cultural producers who understand the value of documenting not just the final plate, but the process behind it. From rural kitchens to coastal markets, I’ve worked in environments where story is embedded in every surface. This isn’t travel photography, it’s embedded visual authorship. Every assignment is shaped by location, and every location adds weight to the work.
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Where I’ve Been, What I’ve Carried
My process isn’t adapted to trends or built for scale. It’s slow, intentional, and context-led. I work with clients who don’t just want images they want a body of work that reflects how they think, cook, and create. Assignments are crafted to hold narrative structure, not visual noise. Each one is calibrated to match the energy of the place and the precision of the story being told.
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Context Over Campaign
Every assignment is a deliberate response not a repetition. I never enter a space with templates or trend references. The structure, composition, and flow of each session is tailored from scratch. This is not about aesthetic mimicry. It’s about reading the subject, the room, the rhythm of the work itself. Timing is part of the process. So is restraint. So is letting one moment take priority over another.
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Precision, Not Pattern
Whether I’m documenting a bakery’s opening day or a chef’s quiet routine, the work is built from tiny, exacting decisions. Where the light falls. How many frames a hand deserves. What needs to be shown and what’s better left implied. My direction isn’t loud, but it’s deeply intentional. The results are felt in the final images structured, still, and rich in authorship.
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Directed by Detail
In an industry where pricing often hides behind vague estimates and fluctuating deliverables, I believe in full clarity. This ledger offers a window into several past assignments each outlined with specificity: the client, the purpose, the location, the scope of work, and the investment required. These aren’t case studies framed around metrics or marketing success they’re records of creative labor. By documenting the actual structure of commissioned work, I aim to demystify the process and invite transparency into the conversation. Every assignment is unique, but each example here offers a reference point for how thoughtful, editorial documentation is constructed, delivered, and valued.
This is not about selling deliverables it’s about articulating the value of editorial work shaped by context, rigor, and trust. I’ve chosen to disclose these projects because they reflect a spectrum of creative needs: some brief and highly specific, others expansive and built over time. You’ll find the framing used, the number of images delivered, the creative considerations behind each session, and how the pricing aligned with the depth and scale of the work. The goal is not to set a fixed expectation, but to offer clarity on what collaboration can look like what it requires, and what it returns. This page is a record of that: open, structured, and deeply rooted in respect for the process.
In the Field, With Intention
This session was commissioned by a local chef opening a seasonal tasting room in Trastevere. The focus was on capturing the identity of the summer menu through environmental portraits, kitchen process, and final plated dishes. We shot entirely on location over one day, using natural light, antique surfaces, and minimal staging to preserve the authenticity of the space.
The deliverables included:
• 42 high-resolution edited images
• 3 short motion loops for digital use
• One pre-session consultation to align on visual direction
• Styling direction provided on site, including framing, flatware, and light refraction for each dish
The result was a cohesive narrative ready for both digital release and future printed collateral. This assignment was built around nuance composition, tempo, and the chef’s personal story folded into each frame.
— Date: June 21, 2024
Location: Rome, Italy
Price: €3,200
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In the Field, With Intention
Commissioned by a culinary publisher preparing a launch for their annual editorial anthology, this assignment spanned two shooting days in a private studio in the 7th arrondissement. The focus was layered: documenting not just the food, but the hands that made it, the surrounding dialogue, and the editorial process as it unfolded.
The deliverables included:
• 55 edited images
• Editorial portraiture of all five featured chefs
• Flat lays of tools, sketches, and annotated manuscripts
• Full-day on-set art direction
• Two digital motion clips formatted for social media press
This body of work served both publication and campaign needs, bridging archival storytelling with contemporary clarity. Each frame was structured to align visually with the tone of the printed feature quiet, precise, and full of authorship.
— Date: September 14, 2023
Location: Paris, France
Price: €5,800
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In the Field, With Intention
For the launch of a chef’s signature pantry line, this session was tailored to feel intimate yet cinematic. We shot in the chef’s personal home studio using soft light and bold framing to articulate the link between memory, method, and the product.
The deliverables included:
• 38 final stills, ranging from textural close ups to wide, narrative compositions
• Product hero images for digital listings
• Editorial portraits for press and press kit
• Two 15 second silent loops designed for campaign use
Every visual was treated like a still from a larger film. The work was meant to feel lived in, grounded in culinary instinct rather than polished sales material.
— Date: February 8, 2024
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Price: €4,200
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In the Field, With Intention
Commissioned by a restaurant group launching their fifth location, this session was full scale. It included a walkthrough of the buildout, kitchen test shoots, and final documentation of opening day.
The deliverables included:
• 65 final images across six categories: team, process, interiors, food, interaction, and ambiance
• 3 video snippets for looped use in digital menus
• Creative direction and set planning for each scene
• Dedicated lighting assistant and two-day shoot window
• Full archival gallery delivery
This was a full bodied collaboration, balancing brand consistency with individuality. Every dish was framed not only by light, but by its connection to the chef’s evolving philosophy and the space’s architectural rhythm.
— Date: November 3, 2023
Location: New York City, USA
Price: €9,000
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ROME, ITALY—
41.9028° N, 12.4964° E
the RECORDED
— Alessio Rinaldi, Chef-Owner, Villa Senso
The session happened in the middle of prep no staged lighting, no second takes. And yet, the photos arrived with a level of clarity and authorship that mirrored our own craft. Renzo didn’t just document a kitchen; he mapped our rhythm, our restraint, our values. It felt like someone had written our biography using light instead of language.
“He didn’t ask us to perform—he observed. Captured. What he returned was a memory we didn’t know could exist in image form.”
Florence, Italy
The longer I work, the more I’ve learned to trust the quieter things slowness, precision, the way people carry their craft. Not everything is meant to be scaled. Not everything needs to be shared. Some things hold their value simply because they were done with care.
I don’t have answers for everyone. But I do know this: good work asks something of you. It sharpens your eye, shapes your discipline, and leaves something behind if you let it.
Ci si rivede. Sempre nei dettagli.
some THOUGHTS STAY WITH YOU
By Flavour
BY FLAVOUR
13.4932° E
“Ciao. I’m Renzo Leopoldo, photographer, traveler, and lifelong student off the plate. My work is dedicated to documenting cuisine not as trend, but as truth: a reflection of culture, memory, and the skill behind the scenes. I collaborate with chefs, artisans, and institutions across Europe to create images that preserve the story behind each dish.
When I’m not on the road, I’m home in Italy, testing light in the kitchen, refining recipes, or studying the way food moves from the hands to the lens. This archive is part work, part devotion. If you’ve made it here, benvenuto.”
