Wine Photography 101
We love working with professional photographers!
However, unless you’re an A-list celeb, you most likely don’t have a professional on hand everywhere you go. So here’s FirstPour’s quick guide to taking great wine photos from your smart phone when you’re on the move.
1. Clean your lens
Simple, we know. But a smudge over the lens can easily ruin any photo. Don’t worry about using a special cloth, a (clean) sleeve will work fine for your phone.
2. Check the lighting
Ensure the object you want to focus on can be seen clearly in a good light. The best light for photos is daylight, and early mornings or late afternoons make for those deliciously golden, warmer images.
Hint: try playing with shadows when you can, a silhouette adds texture to an image.
3. Position your bottle
Use grid lines to help you shoot a balanced photo. Using the "rule of thirds", place points of interest (e.g. bottle, food, or people) on these intersections or along the lines. Your photo will be more balanced, level, and allow viewers to take it in more naturally.
To set up grid lines on an iPhone: Go to "Settings," choose "Photos & Camera," and switch "Grid" on.
4. Be focused
Make sure that your object is in focus. Tap and hold the object you want to focus on on your phone screen – a yellow square or circle will appear showing what the camera is focused on. Next to the focus area you will see a yellow sun. You can control the light exposure by dragging this up or down. Unless there is low lighting, we recommend making the exposure darker as it will make it easier to edit.
Top tip: try using Portrait mode to creating a depth-of-field effect. This lets you capture photos with a sharp focus on the subject and a blurred background (see the Protos example below right).
5. Set the scene
The best photos create a sense of place, transporting the viewer to where you are. Use your surroundings to create a backdrop, or use textures around you to bring the image and scene to life.
6. Shoot the right size
Be conscious of how you want the image or video to be used and shoot with this in mind. Most feed posts are ideally 4:5, while Stories or Reels should be 9:16.
7. Try different angles
Angles can dictate the overall feel of the photo. Take multiple pictures of your object from different angels (looking up from below, down from above, left to right etc.). Sometimes the easiest shots are the best; bottle shots and wine lineups look great when taken straight on, especially with a cool backdrop.
8. Be inspired
See what other photographers are doing and get inspiration for your own work. Below you’ll find some examples of awesome wine content from campaigns we’ve worked on to get your creative juices flowing.
Get in Touch
Want to know more about engaging content that resonates with wine audiences via social media? Drop us an email at: team@firstpour.co.uk .
