Behind the Shot - Espresso Martini for L’Ostrica
Let’s get right to it. Here’s a lovely espresso martini rendition captured for our friends over at L’Ostrica, easily one of Charlotte’s finest restaurants.
Equipment used for this shot:
Sony A1
Sony 50/1.2 GM
Flashpoint Xplor 400 Pro (2)
Glow EZ Lock Umbrellas 41” & 65” (deep white)
C-stands (2)
Tabletop V-Flat (white)
Sony A1 + Sony 50/1.2 GM
F/4, 1/400s, ISO 160
On-Location
Our key flash was about 120º to camera left, probably six to eight feet from camera, and outfitted with the 41” umbrella w/ diffusion. The fill light was roughly 20º to camera left - and almost directly beside camera here - and used the 65” umbrella with no diffusion. The key was powered 2-3 stops brighter than the fill.
The table top v-flat was positioned just to camera right to bring a touch of light back to the shadow-side of the drink & to mixologist Adam’s hand.
1/400s shutter allowed us to capture some of the lovely garnish-action, and the Flashpoints’ HSS capabilities work quite well here. F/4 brings a flattering amount of bokeh to the frame, particularly emphasizing the scene’s depth via the hands. But at F/4 we’re still able to preserve solid detail in the drink itself.
Post-Processing
Midtones are lifted, the blacks slightly clipped, the highlights clipped, the overall image exposure brightened, and shadows & black dropped to maintain an intimate feel. The coconut whip of the cocktail gets a radial mask to give its highlights a pop. We add a slight vignette to the image as well.
There’s not a ton of work to be done in the coloring; we’re primarily nixing the tones we don’t want to play - the cyans and blues. Yellows are shifted slightly toward orange, and we infuse the shadows with a bit more orange. The coloring is finished by bumping the saturation to taste.
Approach
In all of our photography, we aim to match our approach to the concept for which we’re shooting. For our restaurant photography for L’Ostrica, the lighting is intimate, the scenes are typically minimalistic, the editing is refined. We want the ingredients, the carefully tuned plating, and the exquisite cocktails to remain the focal point.
For another restaurant concept - whether fine dining or more casual - our approach would vary. Not all restaurants should be photographed the same way.
You can find more of our photography work for L’Ostrica here