
The Client and Their Brief
Nicholson are a premium London Gin brand, the oldest one in the country no less!
After the success of our pre-mixed Negroni photo shoot together in 2023, Nicholson Gin returned with another fun new brief, cocktail drinks photography.
Cocktails have become an important focus for the brand, and the concept for this shoot was ‘Beautiful drinks in beautiful places’. We had 4 shoot days to complete the work. Pre-production was key to get the logistics right, but chiefly the time was used to ensure we could create those beautiful places in the studio. The drinks needed to be the heroes, emphatically complimented by backgrounds and props that were simple, but effective at setting the scene.
What We Did
First things first, we needed to get some stylists on board!
We put forward Vicky Lees, a superb prop stylist and art director who we had worked with many times before. This role is important because the clients brief needs to be gone though carefully, and turned into a list of props, backgrounds and sets to bring the visuals to life. Having great prop hire connections in London (and in the model making industry) placed Vicky in a perfect position to help.
To style the cocktails, we asked Loic Parisot to jump on board. Loïc is a distinguished drinks stylist with a great eye for detail. We had received an excellent early brief from head of marketing Natalie and their mixologist Ben Reed. It was Loïc’s job to not only understand the recipe, but also to ensure we had all the ingredients needed to mix up during the shoot!
Shoot Time
On the shoot our main focus was keeping the drinks front and centre, as well as adding some atmosphere and warmth. Vicky put some stunning furniture in place so that we could work with the lines and tones to complement the drinks. Some of which were newly dreamt up, others were traditional staples of cocktail bars as a nod to Nicholson’s heritage.
We utilised a narrow depth of field and crafted shadows, as a result these little sets feel immersive and familiar.
Once we were framed up on a shot (and happy with our lighting) Loïc came on the set with the components for the finished drink. He would slowly and methodically add them to a clean version of the right glass for that cocktail, in order to capture the best possible version of each image, and to save us unnecessary retouching. He added the different garnishes, or ‘fizz’, once the colour and fill level were signed off at the screen, to produce a ‘just poured’ look to the drinks!
We paid close attention to condensation on the glass, foam on the top of espresso martinis and the refracted light from behind. The drinks needed to be the focal point of the image, and had to be unquestionably perfect!

How It Looks
The Results
Keeping the sets premium, yet simple, created a sophisticated vibe that didn’t take away from the drinks, and that’s why this cocktail drinks photography project was a joy. The underpinning ‘less is more’ styling and art direction allowed us as image makers to put all our efforts into the graphic compositions and subtle lighting techniques.
The preparation from all sides (a good brief and lovely concept) meant the components that both stylists sourced were spot on, generating a successful shoot that really allowed us to focus on optics and lighting!
We’re very proud of this series of images and you can see more in our food and drink portfolio, and on their website here!
What The Client Said
“Thanks so much, they look beautiful! Can’t wait to start using them!”