The delight of the Japanese Slipper!
Cocktail competitions make great photography!
Photographing competitions is exciting for both the photographer and the viewer!
The Japanese Slipper is traditionally made from Midori, Cointreau, and lemon juice! But rules were made to be broken and, when you gather together a group of professional bar staff and hold a competition that involves making a traditional Slipper and one with their own twist, you can be sure the results will open your mind to the variations possible!
My job as a professional photographer is to 
photograph the action as the bar tenders set about impressing the judges with their own flare and style in cocktail making. They measure, they slice, they shake and then pour before garnishing the finished drink with a traditional cherry or their own twist of fruit or flower. The judges sample the finished aperitif before marking down the scores. The drinks are then past around among the competition attendees while I capture the candid moments of taste testing and verbal thoughts on the Slipper-with-a-twist cocktail.
The challenge with these competitions for the photographer is to be in the right place at the right time but to also capture the action from various angles, in other words, be in two places at once! The real skill is to make it look easy and I’ve had no complaints yet! The photographer needs to know their equipment well, think quick on their feet, move surreptitiously around the bar so as not to distract the competitors while being creative with their images. It takes experience and skill!
So, next time you’re at a bar, ask the bartender for their twist on the Japanese Slipper and see what they come up with. You may be pleasantly surprised!
If you have a competition coming up and require a professional photographer, give me a call for a friendly chat!
