5 Composition Tips For Better Drink Photography

Discover 5 unexpected methods to create better drink photography. From adding movement to embracing messiness, these tips will revolutionize your photography game. Ready for your photos to capture the eye? Dive in now!

Have you ever taken a photo of a beverage and felt like something was missing? Often, I see the students I work with struggle with creating a composition in their drink photos that would make their drink shine.

I am here to show 5 ways you can improve your drink photography today.

Composition Secrets For Better Drink Photography Overview

Tip #1: Add some movement

Adding some movement to your drink photos will inhale life into an otherwise static photo. Consider adding a pour, a stir, or a splash to create a dynamic and engaging composition.

And you don’t need to stop with the ‘real’ action. If it makes sense for the drink you are photographing, you can make sure it has bubbles, giving it that lived-in, action feeling.

Tip #2: Use variety in garnish

In drink photos, we often have not just one subject but multiple subjects. It is easy to get caught in styling them all the same way.

Garnishing them slightly differently will give more interest to your drink photography. Maybe you add something extra to the drink that’s in focus, or you turn the garnishes in different ways. Always keep variety at the back of your mind.

Tip #3: Use different glassware

Similarly to the previous tip, you can consider using different glasses for the same drink inside your frame.

Not only can you add interest this way, but you can also add variety in heights, textures, sizes, and colors.

Tip #4: Don’t be afraid of being messy

Being messy is often that step at the end of your composition-building process that makes the photo look natural and simply more interesting to look at. And at the end of the day, it makes the photo more drool-worthy.

So, don’t be afraid to add some of the garnishes or ingredients of the drink around the frame.

Tip #5: Let things overlap

This is one of my favorite composition techniques that adds dimension and a sense of space to any photo.

Positioning the elements inside the frame in a way where some of the elements visually overlap, crates connection withing the frame and makes it look more natural (less staged).