Cocktail Photo Shoot: How a Bar Should Prepare

For a cocktail shoot, prepare a short list of drinks, the garnish and glassware for each, and a quiet window when the bar team can make drinks for the camera instead of serving. A clear list and spotless glass matter more than a long menu. This guide walks through the rest from the bar's side of the counter, the way we'd talk you through it in person.

It is written for bar owners, bar managers and head bartenders in Toronto, and for restaurant owners adding drinks to their content. If you want to see how we work, take a look at our page on bar and cocktail photography.

How is a cocktail shoot different from a food shoot?

A dish holds still for a while. A cocktail does not. These differences are general practice, and worth planning for:

• Drinks change quickly. Ice melts, foam settles and garnish wilts, so each drink is made fresh for the camera.
• Glass shows everything. Fingerprints, water spots and dust show up in a way a plate rarely does.
• The bartender is the key person. They know how the drink should look, how it is built and when it looks right.
• A drink is a small set. The glass, the garnish, the colour and the mood together tell the story, not only the liquid.

If you have shot dishes before, our menu photography guide shows the food side. The bar needs its own planning on top of it.

What should a bar prepare before the shoot?

Start with the final drink list, then work backwards. For each drink, we suggest having ready:

1. The recipe, made the same way every time. The drink should look the same on the third try as on the first.
2. Garnish, prepped. Fresh, cut ahead and in spare. Plan for extra.
3. The right glass. Clean, polished and matching the menu.
4. Ice. Clear ice looks clean in the glass, and the shape should suit the drink: for example, a large cube in a short glass or crushed ice for a long one. Have plenty of it.
5. Spare ingredients. Enough to remake a drink if it does not look right.
6. A clean, tidy bar surface. What is in frame is part of the picture.
7. A bartender who is available. Not covering a rush at the same time.

Which drinks and moments should be on the list?

Choose the drinks that define your bar: signature cocktails and the current menu, including the seasonal one. When we analyse a business before a shoot, the seasonal menu and cocktails are among the things we look at. <!-- F048 -->

Then think about moments, not only finished glasses:

• The pour.
• The shake or stir.
• The garnish going on.
• The serve across the bar.
• The bartender, with the tools of the trade.
• The bar itself as it looks in the evening. Our guide to photographing the atmosphere covers the room frames.

"Show the atmosphere". <!-- F064 --> A drink in a real bar says more than the same drink on a blank table.

Do mocktails and zero-proof drinks belong on the list?

If they are on your menu, we suggest yes. Some guests will want a drink without alcohol, whether they are driving, avoiding alcohol or simply curious. Give those drinks the same glass, garnish and care as the rest, so they do not look like an afterthought.

Photograph them in the same session, using the same drink card (see the checklist).

How do you shoot a bar without stopping service?

You have two honest options: pick a quieter window or shoot in a separate session, so the bar is not trying to serve and pose at the same time. Both work. What does not work is trying to do both in a busy hour.

We suggest agreeing a few things beforehand:

• When the bar is quiet, and who covers the floor.
• What the room should look like: lights, music, candles, tidy shelves.
• Which drinks come first, and when ice and garnish need to be refreshed.
• Who may appear, and who prefers not to.
• Any flame or smoke effect. Check it against your venue rules before the day, and tell the photographer. Keep a safe distance from guests and decor.

Alcohol marketing has rules that depend on your licence and where you publish. We suggest checking what applies to you before posting. This is advice, not legal guidance.

If the shoot is tied to a launch night, read how to plan event content for restaurants.

Where do the drink photos get used?

Decide this before the session, because it changes the frames. Typical places are your menu, Instagram, your website, a delivery or booking listing and a poster for a new seasonal drink. A square or vertical crop for social media and a horizontal crop for a website need different framing, so tell the photographer which comes first.

How do we start a bar shoot?

In our work we create content for bars as well as for restaurants and cafés. <!-- F037 --> A content day can include cocktails and drinks next to the menu, interior and team. <!-- F046 --> Before a shoot there is a brief, and the work starts with understanding the business, including topics like the seasonal menu and cocktails. <!-- F045 F048 -->

A drinks shoot can be part of a wider plan, and you can read how that works in one content day, a month of content. Our overview of content for restaurants, cafés and bars shows where bars fit.

Not sure which drinks to put forward? Ask on the contact page or message @be_an.art on Instagram.

Checklist: bar shoot prep

For each cocktail, fill in a drink card. Here is one made-up example, so you can see how detailed it can be:

• Name of the drink: for example, "Garden Spritz" (an invented drink).
• Glass: stemmed wine glass, polished.
• Garnish: a cucumber ribbon and a sprig of mint, cut fresh.
• Colour: pale green.
• Story: light and herbal, built for warm evenings.
• Order of preparation: glass and ice first, drink built, garnish last.
• On the current menu: yes.

Now the same for your own drinks, and for the bar:

• [ ] A drink card for every drink on the list, mocktails included.
• [ ] Final drink list agreed.
• [ ] Glassware spotless and polished.
• [ ] Fresh garnish, prepped, with spare.
• [ ] Ice ready, with extra.
• [ ] Spare ingredients for remakes.
• [ ] Bar surface clean and tidy.
• [ ] Bartender available for the session.
• [ ] A quiet window agreed, or a separate session.
• [ ] Flame or smoke effects checked against venue rules.
• [ ] Alcohol marketing rules checked for your licence.

Ready to plan your bar shoot? We'd genuinely love to see your drink list. Pricing is shared on request. For a bar it usually depends on how many drinks are shot, how many finished images you need, the length of the session, whether bartenders appear, the level of editing and where the images will be used. <!-- F081 --> Message us on Instagram @be_an.art and tell us about your bar and your goal. <!-- F004 --> You can also use the contact page, or request a content plan. More practical guides are in the restaurants section.

By Anna, Be an Art, a content agency in Toronto. <!-- F001 F005 -->

Frequently asked questions