Bulleit ‘87: When “Just Five Photos” means a Lot More

Commercial PhotographyDrinks PhotographyBeverage Photography

Sep 11

I have a funny career. One week I'm working closely with a startup client, developing art direction and wearing ten other hats. The next, I'm in the middle of an agency-led shoot with a full crew, where my role is limited to photographer.

But "limited" is doing a lot of work there. When a producer with Unreasonable Studios reached out about this shoot, the ask seemed simple on the surface: a full buyout of five photos to announce the launch of Bulleit '87. The bottles would be photographed in a few configurations designed to slot into Bulleit's existing campaign. The catch was very little prep time and a quick turnaround so the retoucher could hand off assets fast.

With no product in hand and no time built in for testing, I took it upon myself to buy a bottle of Bulleit rye and some orange seamless. After studying the existing campaign images, I ran my own tests in my small home studio, and Anomaly, the agency on the Bulleit account, signed off on the approach.

Working with a production house was a great experience. All they really needed from me was an equipment rental list and a choice between two studios in Manhattan. I brought my own cameras and lenses anyway, since I don't love surprises on shoot day, though I have no doubt our digitech Timor Raz and photo assistant Alexis Kleshik could have handled anything that came up.

The studio was a lot bigger than my cramped home setup, so we adjusted the lighting plan on the fly. Even so, we worked efficiently enough to wrap nearly three hours ahead of my conservative estimate.

One pleasant surprise: real ice! I usually shoot with acrylic cubes, but the client felt they weren't reading right on set, so we brought in crystal-clear blocks from an ice supplier instead. That meant a lot of experimentation with liquid levels and working fast, especially on a warm, muggy day that no amount of air conditioning could fully beat. A few extra takes were involved, but the results were worth it.

At wrap, we toasted with Bulleit '87, a blend of Kentucky bourbon and Indiana rye, then made sure our selects were labeled for the retoucher at DCOY STUDIOS, who brought the images to life. Packed up, we made our way out into the thick late summer afternoon in the city, and I was able to relax and look forward to the image (and product) release.