I've been trolling Pinterest looking for images of beautiful cocktails for years. I love the variety of colors, the special details, the many moods. I finally took the time to stage a photoshoot of my own featuring this simple vodka cocktail with rosemary + rhubard simple syrup made from scratch, a fresh rosemary sprig picked from our yard, and a wedge of grapefruit for garnish. I didn't give it a name, but it just screams spring! The purpose of making this cocktail was of course to create mouth-watering cocktail images, but it didn't hurt that when the shoot was over, a tasty cocktail was just sitting there waiting for me.
One of my favorite things to source is photo props. Thrift stores have long been my weakness and I can’t resist digging through every department — even when I don’t have something specific in mind. I found this pink tinted cocktail glass at Goodwill for a dollar and it inspired the whole shoot! The cocktail selection, the color palette, the floral napkin (made from scrap fabric in my sewing stash), and the selection of garnishes. The day I staged the shoot, I just happened to have a pink bouquet from the market to add a bit of color to the background.
The retro inspired syrup decanter I bought online to give the set some personality, and I used an old mason jar as a cocktail shaker. I love the glint of gold on the spout and the shape is really elegant. I bought the decanters as a set of two, and the other one sits by my ironing board holding water to refill when the steam gets low. The fanciest iron-filler you’ll ever see.
I like to take photos at every stage of the set decorating process to give me options and tell the story. But when you finally get that image that was forming in your imagination to spring from the camera you know it. I'm a big fan of natural side light paired with dark backgrounds and this moody cocktail scene came together really nicely. Time to gather more props and schedule round 2.