Beer Cat Consulting

Let’s talk light painting 💡

We’ve been on a kick recently messing with the myriad of effects we can achieve with light painting. Basically, setting a dramatically long exposure, shooting in preferably dark to pitch-black areas, and getting creative with the source of light and how we’re framing the subject. Check out two recent examples for our clients @radiantbeerco and @trademarkbrewing . One was shot in a pitch-black cold box atop a pile of kegs utilizing a small LED hand light that can cycle through colors quickly. The other was shot in similar conditions but in a shoe-closet with ample hand lighting. The effect, while simple, can achieve a really unique look that projects a much higher production quality than it is in reality. You also tend to get some additional ambient light on your subject depending how close you get. Our next challenge? Trying to be more purposeful with the shapes we’re painting. Who knows, maybe we’ll even start with a light bulb 💡

Wait a second. This reel’s over 10 seconds? We won’t lie. Every time we do an extensive, thoughtful, narrative-based video in a longer format (you know, by 2023 standards) we do wonder what the engagement will be. It’s no secret that audience attention spans are shorter than ever. But who are we all making videos for - the masses, or your smaller core base that actually appreciates thought and intention? When we do video coverage as @hoppedla , and as is becoming more common, with @firestonewalker_propagator , how can we not give the attention a craft beer institution requires? 

We’ve been fortunate enough to shoot somewhat regularly with Propagator’s Brewery Manager Sam Tierney (@intothebrew ), and aside from being a consummate professional with a deep wealth of brewing knowledge, Sam’s passion shines through any and every beer he speaks about. Could we dilute a beer release into a flashy 10 second advertisement? Sure. But it wouldn’t do justice to covering the ins and outs of the process and the product; in this case, the evolution of the Anniversary beer series released yearly at the Propagator. This particular video was shot ahead of their 7th anniversary and the beer was aptly named Gen 7. Just as unique as the style itself (A Double Cold IPA) is the journey of this annual series, largely reflecting the journey of craft beer and consumer palates themselves. Part of the fun and challenge with videos like this is deciding what portions to part with and how to craft the most interesting, encompassing story (since we still aim for 90 seconds or less!). The tough decision was whether to focus on the more technical aspects of a very unique beer, or tell the aformentioned history of the Gen line. And while we chose the latter, and may regret not getting to show more information about the brewing process, we definitely don’t regret fitting in as much of Sam’s captivating storytelling as possible. Even if it’s longer than 10 seconds 😜

Let’s talk food photography. We don’t do it often and on the occasion we do, it’s easy to realize it’s a completely different beast than beer. Venturing out of the realm of liquids it always seems like there’s even more variables to consider. The level of light you want could be completely different depending on the item. A pizza may look greasy with too much light but a burger may look unappetizing with too little! Decisions, decisions. We’re taking more opportunities to photograph food and working on our plating as well. These are some various food items from multiple shoots at @lwbc_theden and each has a slightly different setup. Does one look more natural, or appetizing, or more professional than another? We still have no idea, and that’s the never ending journey. Either way though, you get to eat it when you’re done 😋

When given the option, when do you shoot on a phone versus a traditional DSLR? It’s a good question, especially when you consider the fact that iPhone cameras are more powerful than ever and highly polished traditional photography achieves less engagement than ever. At this point, we try to weigh the pros and cons of both the shooting situation and the final product preference. Ultimately, quality will always look better on a DSLR, but these days, not by much! Then when it comes to mobility, there’s no arguing you can be a little more agile with a phone. There’s also the consideration of replicating UGC (User Generated Content) which has more of a place than ever in a brand’s feed. For this product shot, we wanted to emulate a more natural lifestyle look. Given some phenomenal lighting that day, we opted to shoot on an iPhone 14 Pro in Portrait Mode with some slight touchups in Lightroom Mobile. We thought this “active user” shot fit well for this @farfieldbeer Water Thermos that would look like something a potential patron could find relatable. We try to prep as much as we can before taking photos but sometimes, those in the moment decisions just get the job done!

Let’s talk newsletter development… Newsletters may be a tough sell for smaller companies but they can be vital to engaging with your most core audience. It’s an opportunity to speak more directly, and sometimes exclusively, to folks who want to know about every piece of news you have to offer. Updates happening internally and externally, special deals, and insights about events that you may not usually divulge on other platforms. Developing newsletters and choosing your audience is a job within itself. From selecting the platform (we use @MailChimp ), to segmenting different subscribers, to deciding how to build your subscriber base, whether from your Point of Sale or organically onsite at your business. At @radiantbeerco , we send a weekly newsletter that highlights everything from beer releases and special events, to a truncated monthly look at our taproom happenings. It’s a way to let our core audience know what beers are coming out before we even mention it on our social platforms. We hyperlink to our online store and even embed EventBrite links to every event so folks can RSVP if they’re interested in attending. All that being said, newsletters can end up reaching only a tiny segment of the followership you have on other platforms, and they still take time and energy to create. At the end of the day, it’s up to each business to decide whether they want to pursue a more detailed blast of information or just restrict that to social.

A classic West Coast IPA calls for a classic product shot. Pacific Vision, this @trademarkbrewing IPA, has been around for as long as the brewery itself. No real frills to this photoshoot - just looking for as glorious a beer shot as possible. We took this in the early morning out on the expansive, sunny Trademark patio on a beautiful SoCal day. To combat the moderate backlighting, we used a gold reflector to not only even out the appearance of the front of the can, but also shine a definitive glow that complemented the beer. A simple spray water bottle was used to achieve a fresh-out-the-cooler condensation beads as well. 

Shot on a Nikon D7200 and edited in Adobe Lightroom.

We’re big believers that art inspires art. But sometimes, art also inspires digital marketing - at least that’s the case we made! High concept ideas don’t always fit. Depending on the brand, you may want to use them sparingly, or at least appropriately. Luckily our client @radiantbeerco is one of the more artistic-driven breweries around, and a heady idea can fit right in with the more standard product shots we’ve taken for their feed. One of their newest beers, Evolving Universe is a West Coast Pilsner, a malleable style that has experienced more micro-adjustments over the past few years than most. Given the almost self-referential influences hoppy lagers have had within the brewing universe, we couldn’t help but think of the recent meta, multiverse-hopping, oscar-winning film, Everything Everywhere All At Once. One one of the early scenes in the film, Michelle Yeoh’s character Evelyn has an internal awakening as her different selves are realized and shatter the idea that she exists as a singular existence. We took that thought and similarly created a visual shattering that saw the product mesh and meld within different visual worlds. A more heavy edit in Adobe Photoshop that we tried to still ground by leaving the bottom half of the beer, along with the name, mainly unaltered.

We couldn’t help but include more of @lukebalbirnie ’s design work on here as he was so instrumental in helping us launch this brand. When we began conceptualizing the imagery for Beer Cat Consulting, it was difficult to exclude the page that started it all, @labeercats . Luke knew that aside from any preference regarding color, or style, or font, two things were above all else - there needed to be beer, and there needed to be cats. And thus, the Tipsy Cat was born. We ultimately decided not to use this particular logo for our BCC page, but we immediately utilized it for our @labeercats page, and will get to integrate it as we develop our website!

We hope you dig the Tipsy Cat as much as we do.

Made With Cherries is probably one of @farfieldbeer ’s most popular entries in their kettle sour program. They frequently switch out the fruits they use as adjuncts, but cherries are always requested so it returns every few months. As this particular drop was around mid-February, we wanted something that would function as an evergreen shot and still work for Valentine’s Day. Nice soft lighting with a tiny bit of help pushing it into a warm, red-hued direction seemed to do the trick - along with ample cherry props of course! Shot on a Nikon D7200 and lightly touched in Adobe Lightroom.

Welcome to Beer Cat Consulting, a digital marketing agency based in Santa Monica, CA. With an emphasis on original photography, videography, and content creation and editing, BCC also specializes in website and newsletter development, digital analytics, and ad engineering. We focus on clients in the beer and beverage industry but take on digital marketing needs of any kind (some current other fields include Real Estate and Political Bridging.) Expect to see our work on this page which will serve as a digital portfolio of our recent or favorite work! For our more personal pages, follow @labeercats (the inspiration for BCC!) as well as our actual cats, @birmytheham and @karatheexplara .