Advertising agencies, magazines and cook book publishers alike turn to Adrian Mueller for the beauty and precision in his images. This craftsmanship is reflected in his ability to create visuals that are both relatable and aesthetically pleasing.

Recent clients include Kellogg’s, Conagra, Unilever, Snickers, Gourmet Magazine Germany, Wine Enthusiast, Maison Food, Cîroc, Modelo, Capri Sun and Corona.

His latest work can be found in Archive’s '200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide 2020/21', for which he has been selected for the 12th year in a row.

Adrian lives in New York with his wife and son. When not on assignment, he is most likely to be found in a soccer stadium, restaurant or hot spring somewhere on this planet.

Great chefs and mixologists know that less is always more and complex tastes can be derived from a limited selection of ingredients. Adrian Mueller captures this adage of the culinary world exquisitely with his minimalist approach to food and drink photography, accentuating only the essentials and in turn elevating the image from mere food to art.

Adrian’s hypnotic shots unite light and shadow with captivating ease, giving these still life images an alluring depth. The following visuals demonstrate both Adrian’s observant eye for compelling juxtaposition and impressive mastery over the art form of liquid and food photography.

His passion for meticulous detail is reflected in his ability to produce imagery that is both aesthetically appealing and relatable.

Adrian’s latest cookbook ‘PLANTLAB’ won Best Photography (United States) and Best Vegan Cookbook (United States) at this year’s Gourmand Cookbook Awards in Paris.

Adrian Mueller is a still life, food and liquids photographer based in New York.

In 2018, Adidas hired Adrian and his team to execute nine different high profile campaigns throughout the year, including Adidas Parley. Parley, an organisation that addresses environmental threats towards the oceans, joined forces with Adidas for their latest shoe which is produced with plastic ocean debris. Stylist Megan Caponetto produced several stunning set designs around this concept with recycled plastic string materials. Those movable sets with built-in rigging for the shoes were skillfully framed, lit and captured by Adrian, all in camera, and resulted in beautiful print and motion assets for this worldwide campaign.

Clients such as Unilever, Kraft and Adidas are regularly looking to Adrian for his lighting skills, artistic visual sensibilities, clean and precise aesthetics, his craftsmanship and collaborative spirit to produce exquisite and arresting campaigns.

Capri Sun teamed up with Adrian Mueller to execute their global 2018 brand campaign and new packaging initiative. Each variety of drink required its own image series, which necessitated dedicated water explosion, tornado, wave and splash rigs.

Makoto Aoki and his expert team at SWELL Inc. collaborated with Adrian on the design and production of all water rigs for the Organic Juice, 100% Juice, Fruit & Veggie Blends, Fruit Refreshers and Roarin’ Waters brand varieties.

Expertly lit with high-speed strobes and laser triggering systems, Adrian and his team of food stylists, riggers, on-set retouchers and techs delivered 45 creative and visually stunning images. 16 days of shooting at Noho Productions left the tarps drenched and the client happy.

Known for his precise still life and liquids work, as well as his evocative food photography, Adrian has been working with ad agencies worldwide for the last 18 years. 

Together with world-renowned chefs Matthew Kenney and Scott Winegard, New York-based still life, food and liquids photographer Adrian Mueller created PLANTLAB, a 300-page cookbook published by Regan Arts / Phaidon. A total of 29 days of shooting in LA, Miami and New York over a period of five months resulted in capturing a total of 222 images.

An inspiring, labour intensive and time-consuming project, PLANTLAB celebrates innovative plant-based cuisine. The 90-plus recipes employ a modern, creative approach organised in four sections that build on progressing skills: Fundamentals, Advanced, Professional, and Future of Food.

Since its release in November of 2017, the book has been called 'the new Bible of plant-based cooking', one that will further transform how society views plant-based cuisine.

Anybody who knows Adrian Mueller is well aware that beer is one of his absolute favorite beverages and Stella Artois was always on top of his preferred list. Luckily, Stella Artois is now also on his client list.

Adrian collaborated with Mother NY on Stella’s 'Global Holiday' ad campaign, to produce images of dancing chalices and bottles.

He also worked with Florida’s rising star chef, Diego Oka, on an image series of high-end ceviche dishes for ad agency Campbell Ewald. Diego, who is the executive chef at La Mar by Gaston Acurio in Miami, presented his innovative and sumptuous ceviche dishes for the readers of Cadillac Magazine, produced by C-E in Detroit.

Other recent work for Purity Vodka, Bodum, LandOLakes and Japan Magazine can be viewed in his updated gallery.

During a recent shoot with Pepsi-Lipton for their new premium Pure Leaf Ice Tea, still life photographer Adrian Mueller’s meticulous attention to detail and his expert lighting skills were on full display. He was tasked to create a still life narrative of a Tea Master’s workbench, where handcrafted teas were made.

Adrian faced several challenges, besides keeping up with an ambitious schedule and complex lighting for each element. He had been given the old style bottle - which was a different shape - and a correctly shaped stand-in, which was a piece of acrylic. He also had to contend with the fact that the labels had to be added in post production, beneath the layer of condensation.

Having worked in such high pressure environments many times before, assembling all pieces of this 3D puzzle turned into a master class of still life lighting, to create natural and premium looking images without giving away the complexities of such a classic layout.

In contrast to his precise still life and liquids work, Adrian Mueller's aim with his food photography is to create images that connect with a viewer's personal memories. He hopes that someone looking at his photographs will be moved to pause and remember a certain smell, taste or experience.

"My books are forever lifted by Adrian's incredible photography. He has taken this gift to the next level, with his extraordinary attention to detail, unshakeable professionalism, and ability to capture food and light like no one I've ever worked with." Matthew Kenney, chef and cookbook author, Los Angeles.

"Adrian knows how to blend the artistic and technical aspects of photography. He is extremely collaborative and always brings new, inventive ideas to our assignments. It's a joy to shoot with a creative person in an environment that makes you forget it's work." Joy Kilpatrick, Creative Director, mcgarrybowen, New York.

Adrian lives in New York with his wife and son.

"Adrian is a meticulous technical wizard, consistently producing painfully beautiful images. He also happens to be one of the nicest people I have ever worked with, which only adds to the pleasure of shooting with him," Brad Dixon, Creative Director, Code & Theory, New York.

"Adrian is not only a pleasure to work with but he also knows how to blend the artistic and technical aspects of photography. He is extremely collaborative and always brings new, inventive ideas to our assignments. It is a joy to shoot with a creative person in an environment that makes you forget it's work. He is a rare talent," Joy Kilpatrick & Margaret Elman, Creative Directors, mcgarrybowen, New York.

"His sharp problem solving skills, precise technical abilities and most importantly, his easy-going attitude and willingness to give 110% on every project, keep him at the top of my list of still life photographers," Alexia Politis, Art Producer, Wieden+Kennedy, New York.

"Adrian is a great photographer and without ego. Our campaign for milk came out exactly as we had discussed. It looks stunningly simple, but was complex to plan and execute," Melissa Thuy Lin, Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, Hong Kong.

Shooting liquids requires imaginative concepts, careful planning and exact lighting. All of which is replaced by serendipitous circumstances and happy accidents during a shoot. The necessity of having an analytical left-brain to plan and an intuitive right-brain to shoot is what makes capturing liquids one of Adrian Mueller’s most favourite still life assignments.

No matter how often he shoots liquids, Adrian never tires of how exciting it is to photograph something so beautiful and unpredictable. Together with his clients, he always leaves the studio fascinated and exhilarated by the wonderful final results.

"Adrian is a master of detail. Not only is he fun to shoot with, but he also works the camera like a mad scientist. His work is gorgeous - and he elevates images beyond that of a mere still life... transforming them into visual experiences." Derek Montgomery, Creative Director, Digitas, New York.