Capturing Halloween:

This year, we captured Halloween across three very different spaces. From moody, blood-red cocktails to a showstopping spider crab under smoke, each shoot explored the season through light, colour and atmosphere.

We began with two cocktail shoots - at ŌMÍ Lounge and Pérola Bar - each showing Halloween’s darker side, then wrapped at JOIA Battersea with a black-backdrop food campaign showcasing their Halloween Hollywood Horror menu in cinematic style

Three unique Halloween shoots across London

Working across different clients is always a creative adventure. While all three shoots focused on Halloween offerings, each brief brings its own personality and challenges. Whether it’s moody cocktails in Soho, playful drinks in Battersea, or seasonal dishes at a fine dining spot, it’s fun to adapt, experiment, and bring a client's vision to life. 

Social first cocktail photography at ŌMÍ Lounge

At ŌMÍ Lounge, the focus was on mood and texture. The set featured deep shadows, soft warm lighting and rich autumnal tones, with pumpkin props adding subtle seasonal cues. To bring a sense of drama, we introduced blood-red syrup detailing that dripped naturally down the glass; a small touch that carried the story through every frame.

Each composition played with balance between light and darkness. Close-ups emphasised texture and liquid detail. The final collection felt cinematic and refined, with enough edge to feel unmistakably Halloween.

Halloween menu photography for JOIA Battersea

For JOIA Battersea’s Halloween Hollywood Horror event, we shifted from the bar to the kitchen. Henrique Sá Pessoa and his team have prepared a menu designed for impact, featuring the Txangurro Spider Crab as its centrepiece. We shot it against a black backdrop, using focused lighting to highlight texture and movement.

Some frames introduced subtle dry ice to echo the theatrical tone of the cocktails, while others kept to clean, minimal compositions to showcase the food’s structure. The black background and sharp side lighting brought depth and precision, transforming the dish into a hero image for the campaign.

Cocktail photography for social channels and PR at Pérola Bar

At Pérola, the creative direction leaned more theatrical. Dry ice and mist rolled across the bar, wrapping each cocktail in smoke. Pumpkins, spider and skeleton details set the tone, while backlighting caught the movement of the vapour and glass reflections.

This setup created a sense of suspense: dramatic without being over-styled. Each shot balanced chaos and control, with mist drifting naturally around the frame. The result was a set of images that felt atmospheric and immersive, perfect for a bar that embraces the spectacle of Halloween.

The nitty-gritty

The three shoots took place between August and October 2025. 

We used a Sony a7R V camera, with a 24-70mm and a 90mm lens, with a Godox softbox strobe light.

Want to see more?

You can follow me on Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok to see more of my work.

You can check our last year's Halloween cocktail shoot for Bōkan Bar.

For more food photography, you can check out my Christmas 2023 photoshoots, as well as previous shoots at TOKii, Trejo's Tacos, Taste of London, Benares Mayfair, Bonfire, Sabine Rooftop Bar, SlowBurn, Chuku's, The Haberdashery, and Pastore - or get tips on how to pick the right restaurant photographer for your business.

Into cocktails? You can look at my previous work for Lanique Spirit of Rose, Bōkan Bar and Sabine Rooftop Bar.

Or get in touch - I'd love to hear from you!