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Writer's pictureJengo

Spicy Virgin Grapefruit Drink — and BTS Shoot Details

Updated: May 15, 2020


Ok, if you're like me and you're on an alcohol fast, or if you just don't drink, but still want to enjoy a fruity , pretty ,and girly drink then this suuuper quick and simple throw together recipe might be for you. It's perfect when you want something innocent but fun, slightly more grown up, and a little less basic than just fruit juice.


I was inspired to create this drink because of all the grapefruit drink pictures I've been seeing on the internet. It's sort of like a margarita-ish and bloody mary-ish, cousin-ish type drink but using grapefruit juice.


Scroll down for how I made this. Shoot details and BTS also down below.





Shot on my brand new EOS R mirrorless . Shot a few hours after the ice melted. In different changing lighting conditions and a slight variation to shooting angles the drink looks completely different. Look at those shiny highlights.





Fill with plate with a mix of sugar and salt, wet the rim and turn upside down

Rosemary for garnish


Wet the rim of the cup with a lemon wedge, turn upside and twist until salt / sugar sticks



100mm 5d Mark 4

Shot on 50mm 1.2 with EOS R mirrorless and a darker edit but I kind of liked it



 

Total Time 5-10 mins


INGREDIENTS:

  • Grapefruit juice

  • 1 small lemon

  • Grapefruit for garnish or fresh squeeze

  • 2-3 drops of hot sauce - Tabasco or Tapatio is fine

  • Salt

  • Sugar (I used turbinado for coarse texture and added color)

  • Rosemary for garnish

  • Ice (crushed or cubed if wonderful)

  • Optional: a small slice of ginger for extra spice and zing


INSTRUCTIONS:


  1. On a plate mix some sugar and salt. Then wet the rim of your glass with a lemon wedge or using a wet napkin. Turn the glass upside down onto the plate and rotate / turn the glass it a few times until the seasonings stick.

  2. Put a slice of lemon into your glass, placing it at the bottom or against the side edge of the glass. If you do add ginger, now is time to add a small piece for extra spice. A little goes a long way so make sure it's small. A few drops of ginger juice would work also.

  3. Fill a glass with ice about 1/3 or 1/2 way

  4. Pour in the grapefruit juice

  5. Squeeze in a little bit of lemon and a few drops of hot sauce

  6. Give it a stir and taste it. See if it needs more sugar or lemon or hot sauce. Season to taste

  7. Add another slice of lemon or grapefruit on the top surface of you drink. Additionally you can add a wedge on the rim of the glass for garnish.

  8. Add rosemary for extra decorative and aromatic effect

  9. Sprinkle again with some coarse sugar on top for added color and texture

  10. Snap a pic for the gram


 

SHOOT DETAILS


So I love capturing details as you've probably noticed from my images. I figure if I'm going to go through and do an elaborate set up (yes, this is about as elaborate as I get) I might as well take shots of all the details. After all, it is about the hero dish, but the details help bring everything together and complete the story. I personally love details.


All images were taken on 5d Mark 4 with 100mm lens except the ones that say EOS R mirrorless. Which, btw is my new camera body and it arrived today during this shoot. So, I took it out to experiment and took a few shots using the 50mm and 100mm to test it's functionality. Hence the shots that were darker and lighting looked different. Those images were actually shot a few hours after the initial images using EOS R. You see most of the sugar and salt had disintegrated and the glass was no longer frosty.


There are so many things I love already about the EOS R such as it's color personality and it's smaller lightweight. However, there are a few glitchy things which I haven't decided if I can totally live with like slower writing and playback speed, blurrier images, focusing mechanism not always responsive and camera and a few times my images didn't write. I want to love and keep this camera but I'm going to spend more time with it before I make a final judgement. Makes me wonder if the lens adapter is causing these glitches of if these are problems typical of the EOS R. I digress. Getting back to the shoot.


See below for BTS set up.


CAMERA SETTINGS:

5d mark 4 and EOS R

100 mm and 50mm

Aperture: 4.5

Shutter: 60-80

ISO: 400-500-600 approx

White Balance: shade

Diagonal back light

Reflector used for most images

Natural light, north facing window, early afternoon time and late after noon for the final shots

No diffusion

Handheld

Camera angles: straight on, overhead, 45 degrees



BEHIND THE SCENES:


In camera images -- 5d Mark 4



The set up. I used diagonal back light for a lot of the shots



 

Come say hi, check out more photos and recipes and follow me on Instagram, where I frequently hang out:


Food &  Blog account: @jengo.daily https://www.instagram.com/jengo.daily/

Portrait account: @ jengo_photo https://www.instagram.com/jengo_photo/

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