Behind the Scenes: Photographing Green Geek Cold Pressed Juices
I recently had the chance to photograph a lineup of vibrant cold-pressed juices for Green Geek. While the final images reflect freshness and color, the process to get there came with its fair share of behind-the-scenes challenges—and plenty of learning moments.
Pre-Shoot Planning: What Worked and What Didn't
With fresh produce involved, we had to be strategic about prep. While I typically like to plan and test everything the day before, prepping fruits and vegetables in advance wasn’t an option—they would’ve dried out or oxidized. That meant slicing, cleaning, and styling everything the morning of the shoot, which was definitely time-consuming but necessary to keep the ingredients looking fresh.
In hindsight, a pre-shoot test day would’ve helped—especially to troubleshoot lighting and finalize the best compositions. A quick dry run the day before would have saved time and stress on shoot day.
The Setup Challenge: Keeping It Precise
The client had a clear vision: all the bottles aligned at the bottom of the frame, with each bottle's ingredients styled above it in an aesthetically pleasing way. It sounds simple—until bottles start rolling.
Getting the bottles to stay in place on a flat surface took patience and problem-solving. I ended up using small, invisible props to stabilize them. Then came the styling: arranging fruits and veggies so they felt organic, yet consistent from one shot to the next. It's a delicate balance between control and creativity.
Lighting & Color Correction: When You Forget the Grey Card…
Accurate color is crucial in food and product photography. Unfortunately, I forgot my grey card on this shoot—which made post-production more difficult than it needed to be. I had to spend extra time color correcting to make sure the juices looked true to tone.
Lesson learned: never underestimate how important it is to start with a neutral white balance in-camera. That little grey card saves hours in post!
Post-Production: Where the Magic Happens
Even with good lighting and styling, post-production plays a huge role in creating polished product images. For this shoot, that included:
Cleaning up the paper background (dust, fruit smudges, shadows)
Removing imperfections from the bottles or produce
Enhancing the colors to make the juices pop while keeping them true to life
Tightening the crop to match the client’s layout specs and align everything perfectly