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Transparent and reflective glass objects, like this champagne bottle, can prove to be challenging when it comes to lighting them.
This lesson will show some tricks for shooting a glass bottle with great result.
(Click on any image below for an enlarged view.) |
Topics Covered:
- Setting the main light
- Setting a backgorund light
- Setting a bounce fill
- Using the "cardboard trick"
Equipment Used:
 Figure 1 |
This shot was lit only with the camera's built-in flash. |
 Figure 2 |
A Medium Starlite Kit was positioned on the left of the set about 8 inches from the bottle. The bottle is near the front of the shooting table so that the full length of the bottle will reflect the main light. |
 Figure 3 |
The result shot shows a tremendous improvement. There is a long, even reflection running along the side of the bottle, and the shadow cast from the bottle is soft and falls naturally off to the side. |
 Figure 4 |
We set up a Dedolight focusing light with barn doors attached so that we could throw light specifically on the background without affecting the lighting of the bottle. The light on the background would then reflect through the glass, causing it to become somewhat more transparent. |
 Figure 5 |
The background is brighter and there is some light bouncing back through the bottle. |
 Figure 6 |
We set up a 22" white/silver LiteDisc with the white side showing, attached it to a LiteDisc Holder and LiteStand, and positioned it on the other side of the bottle. |
 Figure 7 |
Since the LiteDisc is perfectly flat and reflects the light of the Starlite Kit evenly, there is a smooth, continuous reflection on the right side of the bottle similar to the one on the right. Also notice how the LiteDisc has lightened the shadows in the folds of the muslin cloth. |
 Figure 8 |
We decided to employ an old photographer's trick using an overhead focusing light and a piece of white cardboard. |
 Figure 9 |
We attached another Dedolight head to a Photoflex Boom and Boom Stand and positioned it directly over the cardboard.
We focused the light so that it fell just on the cardboard. |
 Figure 10 |
We looked through the camera to make sure the cardboard wasn't showing along the edges of the bottle and took another shot. |
 Figure 11 |
The overhead light bounces off the cardboard and through the glass to create a beautiful light green, as though the inside of the bottle is emanating light itself. And yet, the reflections on the surface of the glass caused by the Starlite Kit and LiteDisc are still apparent. |
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Click here to view a more detailed version of this lesson, complete with camera set-up information, on Web Photo School. |
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Related Lessons
Following are Web Photo School lessons related to this topic.
Equipment Used:
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