By Aaron Burden Food Photography Ideas – Unit 23 Cocktails and Drinks I would like to base my food photography around drinks as the majority of the class are using sold food items so I wanted to be a bit different. Another reason why I wanted to do something with liquids is the fact you don’t have to do use the exact ingredients. For example if you want to do a shoot with alcoholic drinks such as Blue Curacao, you could instead use water and blue food colouring, which would be much cheaper and allowed in college. For realistic looking drinks I will also be using acrylic ice cubes and shards for the drinks. The reason why I am not using real ice is the simple fact they would melt especially under studio lights. From looking at different set ups for drinks and food, I have decided I would like to try and incorporate a reflective surface into the shot. Whether the glass surface is a plate or a glass table. I believe I we will be using a different lighting set ups including highkey and lowkey backdrops. Below is a list of the drinks we would like to achieve along with an image and how I would go about creating it without alcohol. Cuba Libre – Coke and white or gold rum with ice and lime wedges. I have chosen the ‘Cuba Libre’ as one of the cocktails we will attempt because it can be made without the alcohol and still look exactly the same. This will be made with only coke, acrylic ice cubes and Lime wedges. This cocktail is one that I have already practiced and believe I can make it quickly while also paying attention to detail. With the extra time gained we can focus more on how we want the lighting to interact with the drink. Curacao on the Rocks – Blue Curacao and ice. Curacao on the Rocks is a simple drink only consisting of blue curacao and ice cubes served in either a tumbler glass or a martini glass. We will be making this drink using blue food dye and acrylic ice cubes. The difficult will be getting the concentration of food dye to water correct otherwise the drink might be too light or dark in colour.