Will it cool and refresh? Hit the right balance of sweet and tart? Make you feel just a bit more sophisticated while sipping it at the bar? A food and drink stylist can elevate your beverage product into an experience that evokes a feeling and a taste simply through visuals.
Food stylists start by understanding the essence of a beverage. Is it a sophisticated new gin, a revitalizing health drink, or an exotic tea? They work their magic by bringing the character of the beverage to life while evoking the experience of actually drinking it. They help us imagine that full experience even while we watch the video on our phone.
Here is a simple guide to styling drinks to wet your whistle!
Playing with light and shadow creates a mood or atmosphere that’s right for your product. A morning juice begs for directional sunlight streaming through the kitchen window. A smoky whiskey belongs in the warm glow of a small table lamp tucked in the corner of the club. Use lighting to place your beverage in the right scene, one that makes sense to your consumer.
In drinks, the right garnish might be an olive, a twist of lemon, a wedge of lime, or even a cinnamon stick. In drinks photography, it can be all these things and more. If you want to highlight a flavor, you might create a bed of whole coffee beans or place your product next to a pineapple. Cocktails go with mixed nuts, fine cigars and flickering candles. Healthy drinks need refreshing companions like clean ice, sprigs of mint or juicy fruit. Use the right props and relevant complementary additions!
We drink rich cocktails in bars, guzzle sports drinks outside after the run, and wake up in the morning sun with our juice. Food stylists are experts at creating the right setting that helps us instantly know more about a beverage while helping us imagine fitting it into our lives.
The sight of a refreshing splash or the sound of a can opening delights the senses and signals a thirst-quenching experience. Video will grab people’s attention more strongly than still images. And nothing beats a great pour!
Stop motion animation is a quirky way to add motion. It is an animated filmmaking technique in which a product is moved in minor adjustments and photographed in stages. Nothing grabs attention quicker than the eye-catching, quirky movements of a stop motion visual.
Videos can deliver an emotional tug with the refreshed smile or friendly toast, while creating a story we can all relate to.
User-generated content (UGC) helps brands promote and sell products by conveying authenticity, demonstrating how a drink product fits into our lives, and by connecting via the personality of the content creator.
UGC creators can share their own story, their take, their enjoyment of a beverage. Great creators also think about their audience and find ways to make the video instantly relatable. A good creator can get your taste buds tingling as they sip a new drink or demonstrate how to prepare it over ice.
In the following video, creator Priscilla Penelope takes us on a journey to show how a drink may be enjoyed.
