it keeps me from getting too frazzled. It nor-
malizes everything. It keeps me calm.”
“Calm is a great word to describe Martin,”
says former Coca-Cola Creative Director Lisa
Motto, who has known and worked with Won-
nacott for decades. “Martin has photograph-
ed long, complicated campaigns for us around
the world and in many stressful situations,
but I’ve never seen him lose his cool. Does
the tea help? Definitely. But it also helps that
he’s so skilled and creative. He’s easily the
best beverage photographer in the world.”
Others agree. He’s won a slew of awards,
not to mention scores of world-class clients:
Guinness, Coca-Cola, Bacardi, Budweiser,
Jack Daniel’s, Heineken, Coors, Jameson,
Pepsi, Stoli, Absolut, and many others. As he
notes on his website (which itself has earned
a Webby Award), he has “shot virtually every
sort of liquid form of refreshment for sale in
the world.”
Why liquids? “That’s a good question,” says
Wonnacott. “I guess I’ve always been attract-
ed to liquids—the way they look and move—
and intrigued by the challenge of photo-
graphing them. I know it sounds a bit nerdy,
but the technicality of that fascinated me as
far back as when I was in high school. I still
have some weird pics of bottles I took in my
teens. Also, the first photography studio I
worked in had a nearby distillery, Gordon’s
gin, as a client. Guess I got hooked.”
Wonnacott opened his own commercial
photography studio in London at 23, but it
wasn’t until he landed an assignment for
Absolut Vodka some years later that he
considered specializing in beverage pho-
tography. “I was taken with the challenge of
making a mundane object, say a can of beer,
look amazing. Shooting a gorgeous model in
a beautiful dress in a perfect setting is one
thing, but making a drink or a can or a bottle
look glamorous is hard work.”
He ticks off the problems of drinks photog-
raphy: Bottles are shiny, as are labels and
foils, and can be hard to light. “It’s not enough
to put a nice reflection on them. They need
to ‘say’ something.” Ice is tricky; it melts,
changes shape, and moves. Real ice is trans-
lucent; the camera can see right though it.
It can look foggy. Artificial ice, if it’s skillfully
made, is better but can be complex to light.
He’s come to believe that while lighting is
everything, it’s important to keep it simple:
“With drinks photography you need to find48