A taste of the shoot. More photos are in the full gallery further down the page. Click any photo to see it large.
The Wine Gallery is a start-up wine subscription business with no shopfront. Customers never see the bottles on a shelf, so the photos have to do the selling. They asked me for wine photography with a difference: lifestyle and in-situ shots of their wines out in the world, not plain bottles on a white background.
The brief: lifestyle product photography, not a bottle on white
The team didn't want a catalogue of bottles on a white background. They wanted something a bit different from a bottle on its own. The idea was to take the wines to places people relate to, like the beach or a picnic, and create some visual interest for the brand.
They also wanted a summer feel, a mix of close-ups and full-bottle shots, and photos of the wine being enjoyed. Those photos had a lot of work to do: the website, social media, advertising and promotional campaigns.
Two looks: a midday beach and a rock platform at dusk
The first set-up was bright and sunny. Towels on the sand, a straw hat, sunglasses and thongs, with the bottles lined up on a blue painted wall and a headland behind. The whites suited that light: crisp, clean and very summery.
The second set-up was on a sandstone rock platform by the sea as the light dropped. Dusk is softer and warmer, and it suited the rosés and a sparkling red. Rock pools, the sea and a pale evening sky gave the bottles a quieter, more relaxed backdrop.
What I photographed
- Whites, rosés and a sparkling red, in groups and on their own.
- Flat lays of a bottle on a hat and beach towel.
- Close-ups of labels with props around them.
- Hands holding bottles, raising glasses and pouring.
- A woman in a yellow floral dress, seen from behind with a glass in hand.
None of the photos show a face. A hand pouring a glass or a figure looking out to sea lets the viewer picture themselves there, and the wine stays the hero.
Beverage photography for social media and ads: a practical guide
If you run a wine, beer, spirits or soft drink brand, this is what I'd think about before a lifestyle shoot.
Pick places your customers know
Think about where people actually open your drink. The beach, a picnic rug in a park, a backyard table, a balcony, a boat. A familiar setting does more for a brand than a perfect studio shot, because people can see the moment they'd buy it for.
Match the light to the drink
Midday sun is bright and punchy. It suits crisp whites, beers and anything that says summer, and it reads well on a phone screen. Dusk light is soft and warm, and it flatters rosé, reds and sparkling. If you can, plan two set-ups in two kinds of light so you get two moods from one shoot.
Use hands and people, without faces
Hands pouring, a glass raised, someone from behind. It adds life and shows the drink being enjoyed, and with no recognisable faces the photos stay about the drink, and they date more slowly.
Keep props simple
A hat, sunglasses, a towel, a bowl of berries, a corkscrew. Props set the scene, but they should never compete with the label.
Mix close-ups with full-bottle shots
Full-bottle shots work for product pages and ads where the label must be read. Close-ups and details give you variety for social media, so your feed doesn't show the same bottle shot ten times.
Shoot portrait and landscape
Ads and social posts come in different shapes: wide banners, square posts and tall stories. Shoot every key set-up both ways, with room around the bottle for text, so your designer can crop for each placement.
Wine and drinks photography in Sydney
Business photography starts at $495 for up to an hour, with up to 10 edited photos and a commercial licence included, so you can use the photos on your website, social media and in paid ads. See business photography in Sydney for what's included.
Shoot details
Client
The Wine Gallery
Industry
Wine subscription start-up, no shopfront
Where
A beach at midday and a sandstone rock platform by the sea at dusk
Photographed
Whites, rosés and a sparkling red, with props, hands and a woman seen from behind
Used for
Website, social media, advertising and promotional campaigns
The full gallery
More photos from The Wine Gallery shoot. Click any photo to see it large.
Need lifestyle photos for your drinks brand?
I can take your bottles to the beach, a park or a backyard table and photograph them the way your customers enjoy them, for your website, social media and ads. Business shoots start at $495 with a commercial licence included.
