Nick Rees photographs ice cold drinks for big brands, using no CGI

Ever see those massive billboards of ice-cold beverages and think “who actually photographs those?” Well now we know, it’s Nick Rees, a still-life photographer who specialises in drinks. From pints of Guinness as black as night, to a mouthwatering, fizzing glass of ice cold Coca-Cola, Nick manages to fill your mouth up with saliva with every image he takes. Want to know the best bit? He doesn’t even use CGI – he states that each of his images is “100% a photograph.” We caught up with Nick to find out the ins-and-outs of this niche branch of photography…

What did you first start shooting, and how did that lead to drink photography?

I started shooting people originally, but I found them incapable of sitting still, so I moved on. This must have been more my fault then theirs, but portraiture never clicked with me. I shot landscapes for a while, but when I went to art school I found I really enjoyed still-life. They had a great studio which I spent as much time in as possible, just playing with lights and cameras. After a good amount of trial and error in the studio I found that the wetter and shinier the object the more interesting it was to me.

Is the food and drink photography industry competitive?

Everything to do with photography is competitive. I suppose this makes it all the more rewarding.

Tell us about the kinds of briefs you get before photographing drinks, what do clients ask for?

Clients want their product to look good, really good. Everything else varies.

Tell us about a general drinks shoot, and what it entails? 

It depends whether part of the shot will be moving or not, but they all start the same way: with a coffee or two. If the whole shot is stationary then the day begins with a good amount of turning lights on and moving them around, a process I find immensely enjoyable. I build up the set one light or one shiny bit of card at a time, working towards the final image I have in my head. If all goes to plan a picture appears on the screen which I like, and it’s a win for the day. If something in the shot is going to move, like a pour or a fizz then I get to this point and then, repeat the movement what feels like a million times to get a shot which hopefully looks effortless.

Are there any tricks of the trade?

There are lots of tricks and things to remember, most importantly take the lens cap off the camera. Good coffee is a close second.

How much editing is there afterwards? 

Both less and more than you would think. I don’t use CGI, that is to say that everything in my pictures has been photographed. It might contain elements from a number of different pictures but it’s 100% photographic. The kind of reality people imagine in a shot of a product is kind of its only unreality - you need to fake some things to make it look like the thing you think it is.

Have you any tips for any budding food/drink photographers? 

Check your focus, check your backup.