I have been making the most of the glorious sunny Sydney Autumn days (that’s a mouthful!) to practise my drink photography. 

It did it for about two or three weekends and I loved it. I learnt so much about drinks and styling and light. I got to play around with beautiful glassware and props, experiment with a variety of colours and composition techniques and explore the all important light. 

I think the most beautiful drink shots are light inspired. The pics I’m sharing with you were definitely inspired and directed by light. 

Here are my 5 top tips for capturing light inspired drinks.

1. Decide on a mood

Think about the story you want to tell. Do you want a scene that’s outdoorsy, bright and summery or something a bit more subdued and elegant? Are you going for a soft and dreamy mood with pastel colours or a dramatic shot with bold colours, deep shadows and deep hues - or something in between? Will you shoot in soft or hard light? 

Oftentimes, your drink will decide the mood for you. A glass of whiskey always looks good in a moody indoor setting with subdued lighting and sophisticated surrounds. Do you get the picture?

2. Choose beautiful glassware

Your glasses can be sleek and plain with a modern or sophisticated edge, clear or coloured, or patterned with beautiful cut details. 

For my shots I tended to reach for sets of gorgeous vintage glasses (recently found in my parents’ cabinet). Some were crystal with beautiful cut glass, which coincidentally, light loves. Others were more plain but still lovely.

3. Style your drink shots

Think about whether you want to highlight one drink or a few. Are you going for one standalone hero shot, or highlighting one of many? If you want to shoot a bunch of drinks, go for an odd number - three drinks are always a winner. An odd number of drinks will produce a more interesting, visually pleasing composition. You don’t need to see all the glasses in their entirety but you definitely could highlight one as the main subject, by placing it in a powerful place in your composition. Also, lower your aperture to really help it really stand out.

My preference is to shoot drinks at a 45-degree angle but a cocktail flatlay with hard light can be equally as pleasing.

4. Garnish your drinks

Garnishes are a fun way to add that special detail to your drink photography. They can add a pop of colour and interest to your drinks. Besides the usual garnishes of fruit, olives or sprigs of herb, think about the garnishes on the rims of your glasses. Adding salt or sugar to your glasses will add another layer of interest and detail to your composition.

Ice is also an obvious garnish and not only in your drink. Some scattered ice shards or cubes on the table and around your drink can add another element to portray a “I’m having a drink now” mood. Oh, and if you know how to freeze clear ice cubes, please tell me your method because I’m still trying to work this out.

5. Play with the light

I’ve kept the most important one till last. Light is everything in photography and in drink photography, it is it’s lifeline.

My go-to light for drinks these days is backlight. This is when the light source (the sun, in my case) is behind the drink. Illuminating your drink from the back adds a wow factor. For many of my shots the light source is directly behind and slightly above the drinks, and I’ve used a reflector to gently illuminate the front of the glasses.

Clear liquid and glassware is the perfect combo for backlight and coincidentally hardlight too. The light seems to shimmer through the liquid giving that luminous look and feel to the drink. 

Backlight is special in drink photography because it shows all the details - the condensation and the bubbles and the cut of the glass. As you shoot, look for the glow in your glass. You might have to angle down a bit, keep looking for that magic light glow on top of your drink. It’s a  stunning feature of the shot.