Wine, spirits and beverage photography
A bottle is one of the hardest subjects to photograph: the glass reflects everything around it, the liquid changes colour with the light, and the label has to stay legible and true. The studio creates packshots and advertising images for wineries, distilleries, liqueur makers and ready-to-drink cocktail brands, from Rome to the whole of Italy and Europe.
Glass: controlling reflections, not putting up with them
Photographing a bottle starts with deciding what the glass reflects. That is why every set begins with the support: the bottle stands on a small disc, white or black depending on the glass, mounted on a stand about a metre off the floor. Even a slightly larger surface would show up in the glass and spoil the edges of the bottle.
The lighting depends on the glass. A clear bottle is backlit, or lit by a reflective cut-out placed exactly behind it, white or close to the colour of the contents: this is what gives the wine or spirit its colour and depth. A dark or opaque bottle, on the other hand, is drawn with side or front light, building the highlights that describe its shape.
The method, from the support to the final file
The workflow for photographing a bottle is always the same, and that consistency is what keeps every product in a range visually coherent.
The support
A disc kept to the bare minimum, white or black, to remove reflections from below.
Light on the glass
Backlight or a reflective cut-out for clear glass, side or front light for dark glass.
Labels and capsule
Dedicated lighting to render paper, foils, embossing and brand colours faithfully.
Compositing
When needed, one shot for the bottle, one for the closure and one for the labels, blended in post-production.
Sometimes everything works in a single frame; at other times each element needs its own light, and the final image is built from several exposures. It is the way to get clean glass, luminous liquid and a legible label in the same picture.
Splashes and high-speed photography
A convincing splash has to be completely frozen, sharp and lit in every drop: it takes high-speed flash, precise sync timing and dozens of attempts to get the right shape.
That is why the studio also keeps an archive of splashes photographed in-house: when the project allows, the image can be built from there, saving time and cost. Either way, they are always real photographs, never 3D or generated elements.
There is also something that rarely shows in the pictures: safety on set. Working with free-flowing water in a space full of flash heads, computers and power units means containing the liquid, raising the cables and keeping every connection and piece of equipment away from the spray. Only then can creativity be pushed without risk to people or gear.
With this technique, one of the studio's images, Fresh Sambuca, was a finalist in the World's Top 10 Still Life Photo Contest 2023 by One Eyeland, in the Beverages category.
Who it's for, and what for
Images are designed around how the brand will use them: from a product page to a billboard, each format has its own needs in terms of light, background and framing.
- Wineries and wine estates
- Packshots for e-commerce and catalogues
- Distilleries, gin brands and craft liqueur makers
- Advertising campaigns and billboards
- Ready-to-drink cocktails and beverages
- Content for social media and advertising
- Importers, distributors and export teams
- Communication agencies and design studios
- Product launches and label redesigns
- Trade fair and sales materials
A concrete example is the work for La Corte dei Greci: the new range of bottles, in dark and clear glass, photographed with visual consistency and geometric rigour after the label redesign. And when a project calls for a setting that can't be built in the studio, the hybrid photography and AI workflow comes into play, always with the real product at its centre.
Selected work
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with clients outside Italy?
Yes. The studio is based in Rome and works with wineries, distilleries, importers and agencies across Italy and Europe. Products are sent to the studio and the final files are delivered online.
Do you shoot both white-background packshots and advertising images?
Yes. From clean images for e-commerce and catalogues to compositions with splashes, pours and sets for advertising campaigns and social media.
Do you use artificial intelligence?
Only where it helps, and never on the product: the bottle is always photographed for real in the studio, while AI can be used to build settings that would be difficult or too expensive to create physically.
A new label or launch on the way?
Tell us about the product and how you'll use the images: we'll build the right shot together.
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