Nothing beats a cold drink on a hot summer day, no? And there’re these endless juice bars and coffee shops to allure us like crazy. Do you know why? Because they use drink photos that are sexy as hell. I mean sexy enough to make us want that drink. Moreover, a drink is a much-needed refreshment for any day. Because when you’re happy, you share a drink. When you’re having a rough day, you still need a drink. Therefore, good or bad, summer or winter, we always need a drink. So, in this blog, you’re going to learn drink photography in the most awesome way possible.
What Is Drink Photography?
Okay, just so you know, by drink photography I meant the soft drinks and the fruit cocktails. Mocktails too. However, If I’m being honest, photographing soft drinks wasn’t even a thing to consider two or three years ago. But now? Not only juice bars, but also famous companies like Coca-cola, and Pepsi is using commercial drink photography in their marketing strategies. No? If you just do a little research, you’ll see that. Because when it comes to marketing through the internet, I don’t think there’s any way except photography. Also, to decorate your bar and shop, you’ll need your product photos.
And you know what the fun point of photographing drinks is? You can go all the way to creative to present your drink. The more artistic you can be, the better. No matter what kind of drink your drink is, you can use imagination to take it to another level. I mean, I love fruit cocktails on summer days. But I love iced cappuccino or iced mocha even more. And you’ve heard of the king of the drink “chocolate overloaded”?
So, when you’re taking photos of soft drinks or cold drinks for a company or for your client, you’re doing drink photography. And trust me, drink photography is the most fun kind in the food photography world.
Tools You’ll Need:
As I’ve said before, you can go all the creative in drink photography. You’ll need some editorial kinds of stuff with cameras and tools. Let’s start with the basics! For commercial drink photography, any mirrorless DSLR will do just fine. Other than that? Just a bunch of lenses, a couple of artificial lights, and maybe a tripod? Oh, you’ll need a microfiber cloth too. Because the splashes of the drinks may ruin your camera lens. Surely, you don’t want that. Do you?
Apart from photography tools, you may also need some fake ice cubes, glycerin, and some other props. But if you can’t manage the fake ice cubes, don’t worry. Because there’s nothing wrong with the real ice cubes. Also, you may need a tweezer too. Because a tweezer will help you to pace the garnish or marshmallows over the drink. I mean, your client knows to present a drink, yes? But as a photographer, you should be ready too. If possible, tell your client to put on cotton gloves. Because fingerprints on the glasses are sometimes just impossible to remove. Even if you drop your photos to high-end post-production. Using gloves will save you from that problem.
Drink Photography Ideas & Tips:
I hope you’ve got all your equipment ready. Because now we’re going to dig into some craziest and most fun kinds of drink photography ideas.
The Light Plays The Host:
Okay, no matter what kind of drink you’re photographing, light is one thing you’ll need as the most important thing. Although the lighting system will depend mostly on the type of drinks. Because the color of the drink matters. How so? Let’s see!
If your drink is light-colored then placing the light in the back of the soft drink will give you some killer shots. Also, if you’re capturing layered drinks, then you better set your light at different angles. So the color of the drinks pops. Oh, and for hot soft drinks like a latte or hot chocolate, use natural light or a light from the right angle. Light placement is really important for commercial drink photography.
The Background:
If you’re doing drinks advertising photography, you better keep your background simple and plain. Because Pepsi/Coca-Cola/Fanta don’t need anything to improvise flavors. You can just use some real or fake cubes and glycerin for water droplets for a wet and alluring look. And of course, these props will stand out on a plain or single-colored background.
Also, a dark background works just beautifully for chocolate or coffee drink. Cold or hot, a dark background is suited for these kinds of drinks. Or if you’re capturing any soft drink that is red in color or any other dark color, you can use the same background too. But keep in mind that the light needs to come from the top and right angle.
And a white or any other color background goes with fruit cocktails/mocktails. Because here, you’ll need to focus on the color of the drink.
For Dewy & Misty Look:
What makes an incredible drink photo? A glass of drink where the glass looks wet because of cold dew. And where the droplets of water are coming down by the glass. Of course, the drinks have to be compelling enough too. But those dewy and misty looks are always complimentary. Without those, you wouldn’t bother to look at the photo twice.
Well, if you can’t get the des and mists as per your choice, there’re always some fake props. For the simplest solution, mix some glycerin with a little amount of water. Then put it in a sprayer and spray that outside of the glass before you shoot. Don’t worry, editorial drink photography is done this way.
Focus On Garnishes:
Soft drinks are always satisfying, yes? But when you capture them for a commercial reason call for some touch-ups. Meaning? This means you must use some garnishes to make the drinks look more appealing. A soft drink or a cocktail doesn’t look quite like it if it isn’t garnished. Cold or hot, garnishes give the last touch to any drink.
You can use any kind of garnish you want. But make sure that those are complimentary. Decorative umbrellas, designer pipes anything will do the job.
Have A Look At The Glasses Too:
After the taste and quality of the drinks, a well-decorated glass comes. Also, not just the glass decorations, the shape of the drink glasses matters too. If you have a look at some eye-soothing photos of drinks on the internet, you’ll see that the glasses are eye catchy too.
Although the types of glasses and cups or coffee mugs depend on the drink you’re going to capture. But you must keep an eye on the glassware. Even the spoons play a role in drink photography.
Look Out For The Unwanted Reflection:
When it comes to glasses and liquids, there will be reflections for sure. But reflections are not that bad, right? Still, some reflection can ruin your photos. Now, you must be wondering how reflection will ruin your photo. However, when you use real ice cubes to make a frosty and misty composition, they’ll melt. And as soon as the ice cubes start to melt, water will reflect the drinks.
I admit some melted ice is good for commercial drink photography. But not the reflections. So, keep an eye on it. Also, if this happens, it’s better to drop your photos for editing.
Some Lively Figures:
Food photography doesn’t feel appealing without some human figures. I bet everyone will look twice at a photo where a barista is making some drinks. Many restaurants became famous because of their barista and their unique way to present the food/drink. But if you don’t get any baristas, that’s totally fine. You can just tell your client to pour some drinks or to present the drink. And take the shot with the hands.
A Complimentary Side Dish:
What makes a cup of the hot chocolate whole? A bunch of churros? Or pretzels? And what about a fruity cocktail? A bowl of green olives or freshly cut fruit. Right? So, wouldn’t it be nice to add a complimentary side dish in the drink photos? It’s one of the most commonly used drink photography ideas.
Edit Your Photos:
Of course, you need to edit your drink photos. If you can’t manage the artificial things for drink photography, you need to edit your photos. Because professional photo editing help, you can add the desired garnish, the right about of water droplets in the glass, and a frosty look even.
Also, your photos will need color correction too. Because it’s very hard to capture food colors in a perfect way. So photo editing is a must for the drink photos. Although, for high-end editing, you can always drop your photos in Clipping Amazon.
Why Clipping Amazon?
Clipping Amazon is known for its professional photo editing tactics. This means it’s a photo editing service provider company. We provide 17 types of image editing services. Color correction, background removal, raster to vector, image masking, and clipping path are some of them. We value our clients the highest. We edit photos in several steps. I mean, we edit and send them to the clients. Until our clients say it’s perfect now. Maybe this is one reason behind our serving in 26 countries with 100% client satisfaction. Also, we have an amazing blog site. As you’re looking for a cloud restaurant or cloud bakery business, you can have a look at our Food photography blog. There’s also travel photography, raster to vector, and ice cream blog. You can have many ideas from there.
Therefore, I hope you found my blog useful. If you need a low-cost food photo editing service, feel free to tap on the button below.
