Photograph coffee mugs

Start by looking at the details

Notice how the coffee and milk swirls and swirls merge together in the cup, and the pinch of cinnamon on the weightless cappuccino foam excites the cappuccino. Or the way strong coffee absorbs light while remaining almost completely opaque. Take a series of close-ups with a macro lens. In this case, there is not much room for a complex narrative, but you can catch the beauty of the details.

Show Ingredients

You can also focus on making differences between, say, a flat white and a cappuccino. Compare two ways of drinking coffee: with or without milk, hot or iced, with or without milk foam. Keep the scene as minimalistic as possible by only adding objects that clearly tell your coffee story.

Another way is to photograph the recipes of some rare coffees. If it is not possible to film the preparation process, then at least take the final shot with the drink and ingredients. The same goes for lesser exotics. Remove the coffee mug with cardamom, anise, or cinnamon around.

Stock up on props

Antique coffee grinders, china cups, glass coffee pots, a wide jar spoon and a tiny cezve can also be a source of inspiration. These things are so beautiful that their photographs will be a great addition to the interior of almost any coffee shop or cafe.

Plain cups

First of all, don't ignore plain porcelain coffee cups. They may seem boring, but they will fit into any story. It is difficult to compare with saucers, spoons, napkins or other additional details of cups with intricate patterns. But not plain white porcelain.

Vibrant colors

The color itself can be the protagonist of your image. If you have brightly colored dishes, why not play painter and photograph them against bright plain backgrounds? Add a couple of contrasting details to make your shots pop, but keep it simple. Geometric shapes and color blocking work great together.

The brewing process

Portafilter might not look interesting, but add some ground coffee and Arabica leaves and it will shine! And yes, not everyone has access to Arabica leaves. But you can buy a small coffee plant from your local flower shop and grow it on your windowsill. The French press looks amazing with lights, and the old coffee grinder in the dark.

Choose your palette

Black and brown color palette, highlights, impressive shadows. Pay attention to how the coffee splashes look on the dark background, they are so shiny! Coffee grinders, wooden spoons, coasters and boxes will come in handy. Their brown color matches the color of coffee, but looks darker.

If the cup is made of glass, its texture is easy to match with almost everything. Or you can use a ceramic cup if you want to add a touch of something magical and vintage. After that, it's good to add splashes of contrasting colors: bright cinnamon, blue placemats or coasters, and maybe green leaves. Cooler colors will add contrasting hues to a warm palette and make it more balanced. Coffee, as versatile as it is, also looks good in a high key. Especially if you want to add not only cups and drinks, but also a few roasted beans.

You can try backgrounds in various vibrant colors. It is important to decide what palette you are going to use before composing or collecting props.

Painting with Coffee Beans

Start with simple decorative twists and swirls around the flat lay cups and move on to more complex designs. Draw a maze or treasure map. Or maybe just wish someone good morning. Coffee beans are a great food typography tool. You can use them alone or combine them with words made from cinnamon, cardamom, sugar cubes, or cookies.

Tell a simple story

A coffee photograph is not about a drink. It is about your favorite books and films, about your dreams, about you. Take it to the next level and tell your own stories. A good way to start your story is to think about what you are trying to recreate. Describe the atmosphere you want your viewer to feel and make that your starting point.

Add action

Dynamic images are always exciting, so why not try bringing your coffee images to life?

• Steam

The first and easiest way is to shoot the coffee while it is hot and capture the beautiful swirls of steam. Use highlights to make the vapor not only stand out, but also radiant. Set the camera to continuous shooting mode. Pour some hot water into a cup and take some shots with rising clouds of steam. Of course, hold the teapot a little higher than usual so that it doesn't get into the frame. Be careful with hot water and keep any electronic equipment safe.

• Splashes

For the first attempt, it is recommended to shoot from the side, using a smooth background and throwing a sugar cube into the cup. Shooting from above is a bit tricky because if you need another iteration, you can't just merge the "clean" shot and the splash shot. You will need to clear the background first.

Conclusion

A cup of coffee is such a simple and mundane object that can take you anywhere. Scientist's laboratory. Or a wizard's office. Follow her, coffee history can be exciting!

7 secrets of the perfect coffee photo for Instagram

Forced self-isolation has turned our lives upside down. But it also has advantages: for example, now we are learning to find joy again in familiar things - whether it is a cup of aromatic coffee with cardamom, the magical smell of freshly printed book pages, immersing us in childhood memories, the hugs of a loved one, or the delicate taste of morning pancakes with honey, which we can enjoy longer than usual without fear of being late for work. Instagram content (an extremist organization banned in Russia) is also changing: instead of photos from travels and wild parties, cozy “home” shots appear in the feed, which have become a reflection of the new reality.

Still, one of the most popular Insta-formats are photos with coffee. Carefully crafted "coffee" shots, created with fantasy, have an almost magical effect on viewers. Our taste buds are activated, and the indescribable aroma of freshly brewed coffee appears in our memory. By the way, this is how you can determine how good your photo turned out: if looking at it you want to make yourself a cup of coffee, then this is an unconditional sign that you have achieved mastery in “coffee photography”.

And to make your coffee perfect not only in the Instagram feed (an extremist organization banned in Russia), but also in reality (after all, you should not deceive your subscribers), we advise you to pay attention to the line of the famous Starbucks brand, which you can buy in any store or order online, and enjoy your favorite Starbucks variations at home. Choose any format - from coffee beans to capsules for Nespresso coffee machines or Nescafe Dolce Gusto - and experiment with flavors. High-quality and aromatic coffee not only invigorates, but also makes your imagination work at full capacity, which, of course, helps to generate new unusual ideas for Insta content.

What other life hacks will help you create the perfect “coffee” photo for social networks? We share all the secrets.

#1 Geometry of space

If we are not professional artists, then we do not tend to thoroughly study photographs for the harmony of the geometry of space. But our subconscious is “smarter” - at the level of visual perception, we like photos with an unusual geometric pattern. A rectangular coffee table, a neatly folded napkin, a figured plate, a round rim of a coffee bowl - with the right combination, all these elements create a picture that is pleasing to the eye, which your subscribers will appreciate.

#2 Stock up on props

A coffee cezve, an antique service, an open book, beautifully framed glasses, a pile of newspapers, fresh flowers - all these items can become your source of inspiration and make a photo come alive. They will add not only aesthetics, but also semantic meaning to your Insta-frame: for example, if a working laptop, a glossy magazine and colorful sketches of fashion images are located next to a cup of coffee, then it will not be difficult for subscribers to understand what area your interests or professional are connected with. activity. Even a "coffee" frame can be "talking".

#3 Natural perspective

What is natural perspective? This is the angle from which we usually look at objects in real life - for example, we look at a cup of coffee either from above or from a slight angle. Keep this in mind when taking your photo. Of course, if you want to take a chance and experiment, then you can ignore the rule of natural perspective, but we advise beginner "coffee" photographers to adhere to it. This is a win-win.

#4 The right light

All popular food bloggers know that one of the basic rules of good photography is a lot of soft light. Some of them use natural daylight from a window, which is associated with the morning light in your favorite cafe or kitchen at home. Such lighting appeals to the viewer's senses, evoking in him memories of a cozy and familiar environment. Also, some use a flash (directing it towards the window) or Led-lighting, which allows you to adjust the color saturation and brightness of the frame. And finally, you can correct the light in applications such as Afterlight and VSCO.

#5 Add some dynamics

This tip is useful for those who have already mastered the basics of "coffee" photography and are ready to go even further. Dynamic photos are more appealing than static ones, so try adding "life" to your shot with the beautiful swirls of steam that rise from a cup, or the splashes that you can achieve by dropping a sugar cube into your coffee. Such images will require a fair amount of skill from you, but the result can be really impressive.

#6 Curb your appetite

With all the natural trends in food photography, don't frame a half-bitten sandwich or half-eaten pancakes. Achieving the perfect photo in this case will be very difficult.

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