Whiskey & Food Pairing Photography for Westward Whiskey

This was a challenging studio project that involved photographing various expressions of Westward Whiskey with specific food pairings. The suggested food pairings were provided by the brand, but the overall visual direction and execution they left up to me.

I prefer to work with a designated food stylist when photographing food, but due to budget and time constraints, I had to do this one on my own. Capturing the liquid (from bottle images, to the various pour imagery) was fairly straightforward as this is very much in my line of expertise, but adding in the food pairings was a bit more difficult. Food can be tricky– especially if it's something that can melt, or age quickly, so you have to move quickly to make sure everything looks its best.

One of the whiskies was finished in Stout casks (a type of dark beer), so the client wanted the whiskey to be photographed alongside a full glass of Stout. However, the foam on the top of a Stout does not stay forever and will eventually settle and not look as nice. I had to keep a small wooden stir stick on hand and stir the beer on occasion in order to get the foam head to resurface. Thankfully, the client was really happy about the final results: the moody lighting, rich wood tones and the way the bottle labels and liquid stood out from the rest of the compositions.

Photography & Styling: Jordan Hughes
Client: Westward Whiskey