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The Photo Argus

Fresh photography ideas, useful tips and creative inspiration.

40 Lovely Pictures of Tea

November 6, 2022 · Steph Nelson

Tea is currently the most popular beverage in the world after plain water. According to research by geographer David Grigg, “three cups of tea are drunk for every one of coffee” worldwide.

Though coffee is popular in western countries like the US, tea has a much broader cultural base; it’s common in Asia, the former Soviet Union, and many nations in the British Commonwealth. This diversity can make tea an interesting photography subject, as you’re not only capturing the tea itself, but also the culture behind the tea.

A few months ago, we published a post with inspiring images of coffee, but since tea is actually more popular, it seemed fair to publish a post celebrating tea, too.

Of course, you can often use the same photography techniques for both coffee and tea, since they have a similar cozy atmosphere and are both served in cups. However, tea does have a different appearance and cultural background than coffee, allowing for different creative possibilities. Here are some great ideas to consider when photographing your next cup of tea.

Inspiring Ideas for Tea Photos

Many of the following photos were selected from our amazing community of photographers, who submitted their images either on Flickr or by email. We announced a Photography Challenge via our newsletter, calling for pictures of tea, and we had a great response! We selected images from both professionals and amateurs to show how you can use these ideas regardless of your gear or level of experience.

Experiment with bokeh.

The softness of bokeh matches the coziness of tea, giving your image a cohesive look. But besides this, bokeh can be a practical solution when your background is crowded and distracting – a common problem when you’re taking a spontaneous shot. Bokeh can help minimize this distraction while also making the background more peaceful.

For more inspiring bokeh photos, check out these 40 beautiful examples of bokeh photography.

Jette Baltzer – Afternoon tea
Jette Baltzer - Afternoon tea

Ilina Bareja – Interesting flavours at the Sydney Tea Festival
Ilina Bareja - Tea

freestocks.org – Tea on the countertop
freestocks.org - Tea on the countertop

Thadd Grant – Christmas Tea and Cookies
Thadd Grant - Christmas Tea and Cookies

Laura D’Alessandro – Tea Time with Mooncake Pt. II
Laura D'Alessandro - Tea Time with Mooncake

Use a white background.

Many teas have a nice orange-red hue, though it’s not vibrant enough to compete with other bright colors. The best way to show off this color is to place it against a white background. This strategy can work well for the drink, as well as for elegant teacups and dry, loose-leaf tea. As long as the lighting is bright and even, you can get fantastic photos this way.

Gregory Pruden
Gregory Pruden -tea in clear glass

Marco Verch – White Cup of tea and dried rose buds in saucer
Marco Verch - White Cup of tea and dried rose buds in saucer

Megan Young – tea
Megan Young - tea

Marco Verch – Eine Tasse Tee
Marco Verch - Eine Tasse Tee

Marco Verch – Nahaufnahme von getrockneter Kamille im Glas
Marco Verch - Nahaufnahme von getrockneter Kamille im Glas

Shoot from above.

This birds-eye perspective is a good composition for many photos of drinks. Otherwise, when you’re shooting from the side, the drink will be hidden by the cup. Also, when you’re shooting several subjects at once, like a book and tea together, you can compose the photo more easily when you’re shooting from above. The subjects won’t block each other, and you can position everything so the photo looks balanced.

Karen White – elevenses
Karen White - elevenses

chumsdock cheng – Tea
chumsdock cheng - Tea

Franck Michel – Tea time
Franck Michel - Tea time

Ton Tip – Tea and macarons
Ton Tip - Tea and macarons

Dmitry Fablov – Cold weather, warming tase
Dmitry Fablov - Chinese tea

Focus on the people.

As mentioned in the introduction, tea is a popular drink in many countries and cultures. This cultural diversity isn’t always clear in a still life photo of tea, though. It’s more obvious when you take portraits or street shots of people drinking tea. These people-oriented photos provide more cultural context and show more of the story behind the tea.

Manish (Valmie) Joshi
Manish (Valmie) Joshi - man drinking tea

Jeff Biggin – A cup of tea by the beach
Jeffrey Biggin - woman drinking tea

Sebnem Gulfidan – tea time
Sebnem Gulfidan - tea time

benoit alluin – Un thé très léger
benoit alluin - tea at window

Amlan Sanyal – Tea maker
Amlan Sanyal - Tea maker

Choose a beautiful teapot or tea set.

Although tea is common among all classes of people, it still has a somewhat sophisticated reputation in the West, perhaps because it was originally a luxury good in Europe. When tea was first introduced to Europe in the 17th century, it was expensive and fashionable among the upper classes alone, who believed it had strong health benefits.

When the price of tea dropped a couple centuries later, it stopped being a luxury and instead became an everyday drink in all levels of society. Nevertheless, it kept its refined reputation and is still often served in classy teapots and teacups. Even if you don’t like tea, a unique tea set can be lovely enough to photograph on its own.

Linus Wärn – Tea for Two
Linus Wärn - Tea for Two

Markus Kniebes – Pai Mu Tan
Markus Kniebes - Pai Mu Tan

Suzy Hazelwood
Suzy Hazelwood - vintage tea set

Susanne Nilsson – Black Tea
Susanne Nilsson - Black Tea

Debra Hall
Debra Hall - tea time

Create symmetry.

Tea sets are not only pretty; they’re also well-suited for symmetrical photos. By composing your image with symmetry, you’ll make it more eye-catching and more peaceful. That’s because symmetry helps to create balance and harmony in a photo. This symmetry doesn’t have to be a perfect, mirrored image. It can be as easy as placing two cups next to each other instead of just one.

Merijn Supply
Merijn Supply - tea for two

Matthew Johnson – Where there’s tea, there’s hope…
Matthew Johnson - black and white cups

R Brown – Still Life
R Brown - Still Life teacup

David Savige
David Savige - tea

Shamini – It’s Tea Time
Shamini - Tea Time

Take a close-up photo.

Macro or close-up shots can bring attention to small details that otherwise go unnoticed. These beautiful details are everywhere, even in a common cup of tea. By looking carefully at the tea you’re photographing, you can probably find at least one detail that’s worth shooting up close.

Jeff Montgomery
Jeff Montgomery

Dave Govier – Storm in a teacup
Dave Govier - teacup splash

Karen White – best brews
Karen White - camomile flowers

Carol VanHook – Gardenia Tea
Carol VanHook - Gardenia Tea

Karen White – rooibos chai tea with star anise
Karen White - rooibos chai tea with star anise

Try something new.

Commonplace subjects like tea are ideal for experimentation. You don’t need to travel far or wait for the right circumstances to get unique photos of them. You can use them to try new ideas whenever, wherever. Though simple, a cup of tea can be a springboard for learning and practicing all kinds of photography techniques, from photo manipulation to long exposures.

Joanna Kovalcsik – Amber Serenity
Joanna Kovalcsik - Amber Serenity

ubuntugraphy – Tea: My addiction
ubuntugraphy - Tea quote

khaled eyes – tea and flowers
khaled eyes - tea and flowers

Zeynep Ugurdag
Zeynep Ugurdag

きうこ – maple tea
きうこ - maple tea

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