How to light a bottle

Bottle Pohotgraphy can be very challenging due to the fact the glass refracts light. Any shoot can be split up into three distint parts, lighting, product and post. These three parts will be used as a basic outline when shooting a bottle in order to get the desired outcome.

Step One: Lighting

In order to light a bottle properly you need to research the brand you are shooting and understand the differences between any given liquid. For example a whiskey shot will require extra steps compared to a vodka shot. For the purposes of this blog the bottles which require no extra steps will be used as an example and then the extra steps will be outlined at the end. Most bottles will require backlighting. Backlighting is shooting a light source through the back of a product. This will help to bring life to the product and give a more true to life representation of the product. Depending on the colour of the glass two strip boxes can be used to outline the bottle. Placing these strip boxes at the back along side the bakclight facing towards the front of the studio will give a crisp outline to the bottle. These light sources can be moved in order to suit a specific shoot.

Step Two: Product

The product for this scenario is a bottle. Whether the bottle contains liquid or not the principles will still remain the same for this section of the blog. Make sure the bottle is not defective or damaged, check the label, the cork or lid and make sure the glass as no chips, scratches or markings on it. While minimal damage can be rectified in post production, making sure the product is in good condition will cut down post production time and if the product is excessively damaged post production may not be able to salvage it. Once you have checked the product and set up the lighting you can impliment things such as dulling spray and or a water and gylcerin mix to make the product appear to be cold and help manage glare on the bottle.

Step Three: Post Production

For the post production you will need to clean up any imperfections on a bottle. This could be a rip in the label or dust, finger prints or any deris on the glass. Once you have done this you may want to make a composite image. You may need to do this if you were unable to get all highlights intended in one shot or if you need to focus stack during post. Focus stacking is very important as the entireity of the product needs to be in focus. You can do this in camera when using high end cameras such as the phase one.

Extras:

For bottles containing whiskey, beer or anything with a darker colour you may wish to use a gold reflector placed behind the bottle with a ligth source shooting light at the reflector. This will bring a warm colour to the bottle.