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Top Tips From Drinks Photographer To Create Magazine Worthy Drinks Photography

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BrentHerrig
Top Tips From Drinks Photographer To Create Magazine Worthy Drinks Photography

Beverage photography is one of the most fun and rewarding types of food photography around. It's a chance to play with interesting props, have fun with colors, and explore composition techniques.

Shooting drinks comes with some challenges though, so our professional drinks photographer put together our top seven tips to make it a little easier and get you taking magazine-style drink photos in no time!


1.    Use Complementary Colors To Make Your Photos Stand Out

The drinks themselves can be quite one-dimensional creatures to photograph, so implementing a color theory can go a long way in helping beverage photography.

Using complementary colors is a great way to add interest and vibrancy to your photos. Whatever the main color of your drink, try to incorporate a complementary color into your garnishes and/or accessories.


2.    Use The Quota Rule To Compose Your Drink Photos

The rule of probability states that if you are including a group of subjects in your photo, an odd number rather than an even number will result in a more interesting and visually appealing composition.

If you have an odd number of subjects in your photo, you can make one stand out more easily as the main subject by placing it in a highlight of your composition and using a lower aperture to really make it stand out.


3.    Try To Backlight Your Subject

When shooting drinks, lighting is one of the most fun areas but also one of the hardest to perfect. We all want to avoid those dreaded flares and bright spots, where light bounces directly off the side of the glass into the lens.

A good way to counter this is to backlight your photos of drinks. Even if you're lighting drinks from the side, try to position your light slightly to the rear to avoid glare.


4.    Experiment With Bright Light

When it comes to food photography, we are usually bombarded with the message that "soft light is better"! We are told to create soft shadows, diffuse the light to create soft curves and beautifully lit scenes.

But photography is not the place for boundaries, rules and techniques that cannot be broken. And sometimes hard light can be WONDERFUL! Our whiskey bottle photography experts found beverage photography to be the perfect place to take some shots with pure diffused light, to capture the textures on the glasses, almost creating a prism effect.


5.    Use A Mixture Of Water And Glycerin To Create A Frosted Glass Effect

But let's face it, a food photography set isn't the ideal place to keep things cool and fresh, and keeping perfect condensation on the side of a glass is virtually impossible, especially if you have artificial light in the mix!

Well, there is a simple solution to this, and it comes in the form of a mixture of water and glycerin. Just fill a spray bottle with 50% water and 50% glycerin, mix well, then spray on the glass at room temperature - cheers! You are left with a perfect condensation effect that won't fade or drip off no matter how long your glass is out.


6.    Use Fake Ice Cubes

Ice is an essential element for many beverage photography, but a very perishable ingredient. In a hot styling room, you'll likely have a few minutes with an ice cube before it disappears before your eyes, denying you the chance to capture that perfect ice-filled shot.

A very useful prop is a bag of fake ice cubes. They look very realistic and will serve you well in your drink photography shoots! If you want to create the look of an ice cube on a melting tray, just place your faux ice cube where you want it and sprinkle it with a little water to make it look realistic.


7.    Get Creative With Your Toppings

Garnishes are a fun way to add life and color to your drink photography. As mentioned above, using complementary colors in your garnishes is a powerful way to add a splash of color and interest to your drinks.

But aside from color, things like adding a salt or sugar rim to your glasses add another layer of interest and detail to your composition, and interesting photos are born from thoughtful and interesting composition. Beverage photography itself is a skill that many food photographers specialize in, so don't be hard on yourself if it takes you time to find a style you like.

Want to learn more tips regarding drink pics from a reputable drinks photographer? Contact today at Brent Herrig!

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