Photographing the Soul of Craft Beer

Mouth-watering photos of craft beer.

I like to take intimate portraits, the ones that capture the inner feelings, aspirations, hopes, and longings of the subject. I take the same approach to subjects that are not people. I am searching for the “soul” of my subject as I peer through the lens.

When shooting, I work to search for the magnificent in the mundane, or what at first glance appears to be less than inspiring. For me, it starts before I even commence shooting. It begins with learning about my subject. Who brewed this beer? What is their story? How is it made? I visit a brewery and talk to the folks there and, of course, sample the beers.

I learn about the industry itself. How is the craft beer business different from the large corporate industrial beer business? Who are the legends in the industry? What is unique about the people in this industry. I watch documentaries about craft beer. I listen to podcasts and read articles targeted to people in the industry. Once I understand my subject’s story, I can now use my artistic skill and tools to capture its soul. Now, I am ready to start shooting.

Move in Close

Intimate portraits require me to move in close, often focusing on only part of my subject. This is no different than portraits taken of people; crop off the top of the head and move it close. I prepare the subject with “makeup” to enhance it best features and remove shine from the skin, oops, I mean glare from the bottle, can or glassware.

Wow, multiple personalities spring forward!

Craft beer flavors are complex and have multiple dimensions. How do I capture this in an image? A craft beer does not have eyes that one can peer into to look into its soul. This must be captured in other ways. Water drops with catch lights are like a multitude of eyes. However, they are even better. Light plays off of each of these “eyes” in different ways as light wraps around the beer container. Wow, multiple personalities spring forward!