Behind the Scenes: Capturing Motion
This week, I’m sharing another peek behind the scenes into my Chicago food and beverage photography studio. Make sure to read the first one here!
Photo Inspiration
I’ve been working with a client recently to develop a lot of fun cocktail recipes—specifically, variations on margarita recipes. Since I’m making the cocktails anyway to test the recipes, I figured I might as well use the drinks as a way to practice beverage styling and photography. It’s always great to be able to use food and drinks that I have around to practice honing lighting techniques. That way, I don’t waste any food!
The Props
I wanted to keep the focus on the cocktail for this shot, so I opted not to add too many props to the scene. All you really need to capture a great photo of a beverage is a fun glass and a beautiful drink. This drink, the pomegranate margarita, was such a beautiful color that it was perfect as-is! I used a lot of ice for this shot as well.
The Set-Up for Capturing Motion in Beverage Photography
I knew that I wanted to try to capture motion in this photo, so I wanted a backdrop that would first let the color of the cocktail shine and second highlight any splashes/motion that I was able to capture in frame. Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of monochromatic color schemes in food and beverage photography trends for 2024, so I wanted to lean into that. I didn’t have a backdrop that matched the color of the drink, but I did have a skirt. I taped it up and used my C-stand to create a backdrop, and voila!
I positioned the camera on a tripod below the table level. I wanted the shot to be angled from below to maximize the height of the cocktail glass and the splash. I put the light to the back right of the drink, hoping that the backlight would emphasize the liquid’s movement when I dropped the ice in. I used a black bounce on the right side of the subject to deepen the color and shadows of the drink itself and in the background. Take a look at my set-up below!
My behind-the-scenes set up for a beverage motion shot.
Equipment for Capturing Motion in Beverage Photography
My camera (Canon EOS 6D Mark II) and a tripod for the camera
My strobe light and trigger (Godox AD400 Pro) and a tripod for the light
Folding table
Backdrop (a skirt from my closet!)
Ice
The Post-Production
Capturing motion is all about creating the best possible set up, crossing your fingers, and going for it. If you’re attempting to capture a moment of motion, it’ll likely take a few tries to get it in frame. I dropped a lot of ice into this cocktail before I got the perfect splash, and then I actually composited together a few different frames to build up the perfect shape for the splash.
An outtake from the final splash shot.
The Final Shot
The final shot that I shared on Instagram was one that I composited from a few different shots. I wanted to get the biggest splash possible while also preserving the way that the water droplets looked in the light. I love the way the final shot turned out.
One of my favorite margarita splash shots!
Need help capturing motion for your food or beverage brand?