Meet Adrian Mueller

I’m a photographer and tabletop director based in New York. I grew up in Switzerland, surrounded by beautiful landscapes, delicious food, and a culture of simplicity in design – elements that are reflected in my visual sensibilities. Spending time in Japan has further influenced my creative approach and aesthetics. Developing true craftsmanship and reducing everything to its essence have become a guiding theme in my career, resulting in my motto of ‘Beauty in Simplicity.’ Most of all though, I enjoy collaborating with excellent creatives, team-members as well as connecting with everyone through my work. I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with many amazing agencies and brands over the years, shooting not only in New York but also in Chicago, Boston, Detroit, LA, Miami, Seattle as well as in Europe and Japan. It always fills me with joy to reconnect with those whom I’ve worked with before and if we haven’t done so yet, I’m looking forward to producing memorable work together!

Case Study Breakdown

Client :: BBDO New York | Bacardi – Rum, Born under the Caribbean Sun

Creatives :: Dina Zolan, ACD & Senior Designer
Alex Booker, Executive Creative Director
Lizzy Lehn, Art Producer
Melissa Lucier, Art Producer

Concept :: The following series is from our OOH campaign with BBDO for Bacardi Rum. “When the sun comes out, the rum comes out – Rum, Born under the Caribbean Sun”. The objective was to create work highlighting their product portfolio with and without talent, in a Caribbean setting with light and hues reflecting the brand’s heritage. It was important that the Latin Caribbean vibe never felt manufactured, forced or borrowed. It had to feel genuine, woven through all of our imagery. As the original white rum, we wanted to show that Bacardi’s roots run deep.

Behind the Scenes

Challenges :: Shooting this project in the middle of winter in New York, we had to find a location and create a set design paired with talent and wardrobe that matched the brands objective: “When the sun comes out, the rum comes out – Rum, Born under the Caribbean Sun.” Lighting this in a small restaurant location to create the visual equivalent of their laid-back motto and make it look expansive, authentic and real was the challenge we had to overcome, especially since we were required to build and capture many different sets and setups during our two day shoot. The light I’ve created is a beautiful nod to that late afternoon light you would experience in the Caribbean, with warm golden-hour tones and hues, the long and distinct shadows and the glow of beautiful liquids in our glasses. Our images had to permeat a sense of warmth, coupled with that feeling of pure elation at the end of a summer day.

Solution :: Location scouting, casting the right mix of talent and collaborating with the best stylists for props, beverage and wardrobe was crucial. We worked together with Jean Jarvis and Natasha Holly at Area1202 Productions to make it all happen. We opted to go with a place called Ipanema, where certain appropriate architectural elements were already in place, which to some degree helped ease our prop and set-build requirements. We had fantastic collaborators for set design/props with Heather Greene, for beverage styling with Jamie Kim and for wardrobe with Courtney Raniszewski. Our hair stylist was Andrita Renee and our make-up artist Kayla Jo. To accomplish our shot list and stay on schedule, we had to layer our production, capturing a set while the next one was built.

With a fully functioning restaurant that had to open to the public at 4pm each day, our call times were as early as 3:30am. We put a purposeful emphasis on a professional but laid-back atmosphere where talent can thrive, clients are happy and creatives are fully engaged. No drama, no rushing and no compromises that would affect the quality of the work.