10 Cheeseburgers, 5 Large Fries, and 1 Photoshoot Please

Indulgence, they say, is best served with a side of irony. So, I embarked on a mission to turn a mountain of McDonald's cheeseburgers and fries into a high-concept portrait photoshoot.

Few things hit the spot quite like a cheeseburger and a big pile of warm, salty fries. That’s why I set out to capture the essence of one of my ultimate guilty pleasures, the classic combination of cheeseburgers and french fries, in a photoshoot.

But where do you draw the line between enjoying and overindulging? How much is too much? Pretty much everything is ok in moderation, but as soon as we let ourselves dive too deep into anything, problems arise. It's a balancing act that we all have to deal with. So, I set out to do a photoshoot that encapsulated the dark side of indulgence and unravel the deeper narrative of self-control amid temptation.

I always love to create a loose storyline for all of my photoshoots to help guide the poses and keep the shoot moving in the right direction. For this shoot, the storyline was simple yet resonant: a man given a free weekend due to his partner's absence decides to indulge in his favorite comfort food: cheeseburgers and french fries. What started as a celebration of freedom ended up being a cautionary tale of too much of a good thing.  

For this set, we opted for grunge and grease. To bring our concept to life, my creative partner and husband, David, designed a simple set resembling a living room, painted in a grungy shade of orange to evoke a disheveled ambiance. An old, worn-out chair and a weathered wooden crate substituted for conventional furniture, adding to the cluttered appearance. Intense lighting heightened the effect, casting shadows to recreate the atmosphere of a dingy, unkempt apartment.

Then we headed to McDonald's. We went through the drive-through and ordered 10 cheeseburgers and 5 large fries. Our trip to McDonald's wasn’t just about the food; it was about translating indulgence into art. We brought all of the greasy McDonald’s food back to the studio and strategically placed it all throughout the set to create a scene screamed indulgence and gluttony from every corner.
 

Our model, Bobby Gary, brought our envisioned character to life, wearing a denim jumpsuit and pairing it with socks and sandals. Bobby was amazing and enthusiastically indulged in cold, greasy McDonald’s cheeseburgers and fries throughout the shoot. We explored various situational emotions, amplifying the highs and lows of such excessive behavior. Subtle touches, like mustard dribbling down Bobby’s beard and stains on his jumpsuit, added authenticity to the scene.

This photoshoot, though seemingly absurd, mirrored a common human experience: the constant balance between enjoying life's pleasures and maintaining self-control.

For an in-depth look at the behind-the-scenes action, check out the video! And let us know your guilty pleasures in the comments! What other foods would make for excessive yet fun photoshoots? Share your thoughts!