A Guide to Capturing the Perfect Champagne Spray Photograph

Weddings, engagements, or graduations are occasions where your Champagne photography skills are important. How do you set up the perfect Champagne pop for a celebratory wedding or Champagne grad photo? There is so much that can go wrong when you try to capture Champagne images. It is easy for your photo to fail unless you have some good tips on how to make it happen. Here are some ways to achieve the perfect Champagne spray moment.

Your camera settings

For Champagne pictures fast shutter speed is a must. It should be set to about 1/1000th of a second or faster. This allows you to capture fine details and take many photos so you can select the best one. With fast shutter speed, you need to adjust ISO and aperture settings to let in enough light.

When you make image size smaller you shouldn’t reduce image quality. You can reduce the dimensions of images or compress them to reduce the file size. When doing a Champagne photoshoot, you may need to reduce image size if you take hundreds of photos. If you want to print or enlarge your photo later compression is a good option as the image keeps its original resolution. To compress an image on Mac without losing quality, you can use Preview. You can also use various third-party apps or online tools to reduce image size or compress images in seconds. 

Busting a myth – you don’t need to shake the bottle before you open it

Shaking the Champagne bottle vigorously before you open it is not always the best idea. This can result in a lack of control and a big mess. It can even be a safety hazard as the cork may shoot off in an unexpected direction. The release of bubbles may not offer the spectacular spray effect that you want.

Carefully removing the foil and cage instead of shaking the bottle first offers you far more control and this gives you time to set up your shot. The sound of Champagne popping is exciting but you aren’t looking for pops for Champagne photos. It’s the visual effects of the spray you’re after rather than the popping Champagne sound.

Choose the right location

Whether you use real Champagne or a substitute like sparkling wine, it is sticky and makes a mess so taking your photos outdoors is usually best. Just make sure you retrieve the corks, foil, etc. and leave nothing behind.

You don’t want your backdrop to feature too much shadow or pattern as this can distract from the main focus on the fizz of the Champagne. The golden hour just after sunrise or before sunset offers the best natural lighting for these shots. At sunset, the light will illuminate the spray and you can take some spectacular shots.

Decide on who will spray the Champagne

You can spray the Champagne yourself by shaking the bottle with your thumb and covering the opening. Shaking it up and down means the spray will spread far and wide and last for a while. You will have the time to get a series of shots that capture the excitement of the moment.

As you have to be behind the camera, you may prefer to get someone else to spray the Champagne. They may know how to pop Champagne but as the bottle is already open, you may need to show them what to do to make sure the spray creates the maximum impact.

It’s important to direct the angle of the spray correctly so the Champagne doesn’t drench the subjects. You can even tell the Champagne sprayer to direct the spray over your shoulder. You aren’t likely to mind getting wet if you can get an amazing shot.

How to spray the Champagne

Spraying the Champagne in the right way is more of a challenge than you may think.

• You need to place a thumb over the open end of the bottle before you shake it.
• The action of shaking it up and down causes the Champagne to fizz and create pressure which makes a good spray.
• You can’t shake the Champagne too much. The more vigorously you shake it, the more impressive the spray will be.  

Arranging the poses

The most traditional pose is a line formation where the champagne spray comes from the middle of the line or from bottles on either side of the line. If you are taking shots of a couple, you can let them have some fun with the shots and capture their laughing faces. You can even have a wedding couple kissing while the groom sprays the bottle.

Conclusion

Hopefully, the above tips provide some valuable insights into how to take some great Champagne photos. It is an art form to tell a story like this through the lens. Capturing the exhilarating moment will give the subjects a memory they can treasure forever.