Behind the Scenes: My Dalmore Whiskey Shoot

The Dalmore whiskey shoot was one of those projects that started as a spark of inspiration and turned into something far more challenging than I expected. Dalmore often uses fire in their marketing, and I wanted to build a series of images around that theme, three photographs that connected to one another. The centrepiece was a flaming glass, which I submitted for my university assignment, and I developed it into a series with a volcano scene and a lava shot. Together, they created a fiery narrative that felt dramatic and true to the brand.

The flaming glass was by far the most difficult. Whiskey does not actually burn very well, at least not on its own, so I had to replace it with meths to get a proper flame. Even then, getting the flame to look balanced inside the glass without overwhelming everything else took endless trial and error. I would get a beautiful flame one moment and then lose it the next, so I shot multiple variations knowing I would need to bring the best elements together later.

The studio was constantly changing during this shoot. I kept adjusting the lighting to find the right balance between making the glass look elegant and highlighting the fire without flattening it. Fire behaves unpredictably on camera sometimes too bright, sometimes too faint. It was a process of careful experimentation. Each part of the final image was photographed separately and then combined in post production to create the finished composition.

It was slow, meticulous work, and at times frustrating. But when I finally saw the three images side by side the flaming glass, the volcano, and the lava, it all clicked into place. On their own, they were interesting, but as a series they carried real impact. That was when I realised how much more powerful the story became when the images were connected rather than standing alone.

Looking back, this shoot tested my patience and technical skills more than most, but it is also one of the projects I am proudest of. It taught me that some ideas only reveal their full strength when you push past the complications, keep experimenting, and find a way to bring them together in the end.