This is my first Behind the Scenes post and it’s on cocktails. I’ve set out to improve my skills photographing these popular libations. I’m not much of a drinker, but I do love the aesthetics associated with the cocktail.

Today, I did a deep dive into the research, using this shoot by Carolyn Fong for Punch Drink as inspiration. I read a few articles, looked at online magazines and consulted some videos on YouTube. I found this video by Khandie Photography a great starting off point. I liked that it was an on location shoot with minimal equipment. Then for a more professional lesson I consulted The Bite Shot. There were a few other videos watched in there, but these were the most helpful.

What started as a fun experiment ended in a head-scratching, technical conundrum. I was able to collect a fair amount of data which I will show below, but as experimentation often does, it left me with more questions than answers.

So, what DID I figure out? HIGHTLIGHTS! Hightlight placement is very important when it comes to cocktail photography. Check out the photos I took below and pay special attention to where the highlights fall.