How to photograph alcoholic drinks?

Photographing alcoholic drinks, or liquor, is very different from photographing food or other beverages. It comes under a very niche category called product photography, done mostly for advertising and marketing purpose.

The focus is not just on the liquor but also on the bottle, which is equally interesting and challenging to shoot. Many alcoholic drinks look same in colour, so the only way to differentiate between which is which and of what quality, is by including the bottle in the frame.

You need not include the entire bottle. In some cases shooting the entire bottle can lead to a lot of white or empty space in the frame. So you can zoom in a bit so that the glass is visible along with only the label on the bottle. The label is, after all, the only interesting piece in a bottle.

Emphasis can also be given to the kind of glass being used. Many drinks are served in glasses specifically meant for those drinks, like whiskey in a whisky glass, wine in a goblet and champagne in a flute glass. Zoom in to capture the design of these glasses along with the drink and special elements, if any.

Here are 3 bonus tips for you, which will help you get a great shot (not a tequila one).

1. Do some research and check out how drinks have been photographed by famous artists. You can search through Pinterest and can see how liquor glasses, bottles and the drink itself is photograph for maximum effect.

2. If you are shooting in a restaurant, a bar or a pub, then chances are that you will get very low light to shoot with. Make the most of it by changing the settings of your camera and choosing an angle that best uses the surrounding light.

3. If you are willing to set up a mini studio in the house to shoot the drink, then procure some external lights and flashes. Do not shoot with the camera’s built-in flash as it might reflect back from the surface of the glass and mess up the photo. Put the lights and external flashes at an angle that brings out a nice glint in the glass.

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