It’s no secret that one of my favorite things to shoot is the margarita (the most popular cocktail in the US according a Dallas News article.) I usually order frozen with salt and it often comes with a lime (wheel or wedge). Sometimes, I get a flavored one or a swirl. All of these things can dress up a plain old cocktail and make it photo-worthy. My goal is to make a predictable cocktail photo into a piece of art. I’ve been doing this for about 8ish years and I’ve learned a lot. If you want to follow my adventures in margarita shooting, find me on Instagram @sherihall. https://www.instagram.com/sherihall/

Here are my best tips for shooting captivating cocktail photos:

1. Go toward the light

When you enter the restaurant, look for tables near a window. If the hostess lets you pick a table, pick one by a window, or at least one that has some natural light. If you’re sitting at the bar, pick the seat closest to natural light (a window). Clearly, you’ll be shooting before sunset. Sometimes you can get away with shooting at a well-lit bar if your phone is good in low light, but why not make things easy on yourself and choose to shoot while the sun is out?

Sitting on a patio while the sun is out is also a good idea. Try not to sit in direct sunlight or the shadows will be harsh. And your drink will melt quickly 🙁 .

The cocktails in the following illustration are from Mi Cocina and Lark on the Park.

2. Go toward the light, plan B

If you are not actually sitting close enough to a window, move the drink to another empty table near a window. It may feel a little weird the first time you do it, but you want to get the best shot, right? No one is paying attention and no one cares because they’re checking Facebook on their phones anyway. Just do it.

3. Shoot soon

This may sound silly, but shoot your drink as soon as it arrives. Drinks don’t get better-looking over time; they run and wilt like flowers, especially swirl drinks. Plus, you want to drink it, right?

After it sits there a while, as you’re shooting, it might develop some interesting condensation for a close-up. Take advantage of that.

If you’re shooting other people’s drinks, do that first because they are probably anxious to start sipping and you don’t want to hold them up.

The cocktails in the following illustration are from Blue Mesa, T. Blanco’s Mexican Cantina, Blue Goose Cantina and Hook Line & Sinker.

4. Be still

Make sure the table is still. This one is really frustrating and takes some tact. It’s hard to shoot a drink if it’s moving. If your table is wobbly and your dining partner has a habit of putting his or her elbows on the table, the table will not stay still and neither will the drink.

A shaky drink is a blurry drink. -Politely ask your dining partner(s) to take their elbows off the table for a couple minutes while you get some awesome shots, then reassure them, they can go back to whatever they were doing when the shoot is over. Or see tip #2.

5. Choose an interesting cocktail

Choose an interesting-looking drink, rather than just a plain color liquid with ice in a glass. Swirl drinks can be cool. A lime on the rim can spice up an otherwise plain drink. Salt or sugar on a rim will make a more interesting photo. A cherry, an orange peel, mint leaves — there are lots of cool drink garnishes out there. Pick a cocktail that is more than liquid.

Check the lime or garnish to make sure it’s in good shape. If it’s not, can you flip the garnish or turn the drink around and get a different angle? Is there more salt on one side than the other? Try rotating the glass so the salt is toward the window, and put the lime on the rim behind a good stretch of salt so you can get all of it in your shot.

In the photos below, you’ll notice the background is fuzzy which helps set off the detail of the margarita. This is accomplished with a shallow depth of field. If you want to learn more about shallow depth of field and the mysteries of aperture, check out my blog post covering what aperture is and how it can improve your photography.

The cocktails in the following illustration are from Mattito’s, Jeng Chi, Torchy’s Tacos and Hook Line & Sinker.

In the next part of my 2-part series I’ll cover the specific shots to take, what angles to try, how to deal with backgrounds and how you can take the humble cocktail photo to the next level. Go on to part 2…

Do you like to shoot cocktails? What is your favorite cocktail to shoot? Do you have any tips and tricks to share?

What is your favorite margarita recipe? Please comment below!