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When I began photographing wine bottles over 3 years ago it was nearly impossible to find any advice on the subject, or information on any glass photography for that matter. The problems I faced included: reflections caused by the surrounding environment, segregating the lighting of the glass and the label, capturing color from within the bottle, and finding a simple, aesthetic line of light to accent each bottle’s shape. This led into months of an educated guess and check process which eventually brought me to my current practices. This article is focused on giving you a jump start on producing professional quality bottle images with limited money, equipment and photographic experience.

Lighting
First rule. I hope it goes without saying, but there is no place for your on board flash in this process. Turn it off. For a simple line of light that is both clean and complementary to the shape of the bottle, it is best to have your light sources anywhere between completely perpendicular to about a 45 degree angle from center; depending on where you want the line to rest (fig. 1). Of course these angles simply aren’t available using your on board flash. I find it nice to have my lights just forward enough to leave a sliver of the bottles own color just on the edge of the lit side. This way whether the final composition resides on a black or white background the bottle’s shape is never compromised.

Be sure that your bottle is elevated. This allows the line of light to complete it’s path and wrap just under the bottle’s base. I have found tucking a piece of round tupperware or roll of tape, just less than the diameter of the bottle itself, under a black backdrop works sufficiently to achieve the approximate 2 inches of elevation needed.

Light diffusion is the process of maintaining much of your source’s luminance while making that source itself featureless. Nobody wants to see an individual bulb burning on the side of a wine bottle. Therefore we use various methods of diffusion between the light and the bottle. This may be achieved with nothing more than a thin, white bed sheet, or you can ask for this cloth specifically at a local fabric store. Another diffusion option I have found useful are the plastic diffusers used for overhead fluorescent lights. However, these have proven to require at least two layers with a few inches between each to really force your light sources into obscurity.

Reducing Reflections

Once your bottle is well lit, we need to worry about everything else you illuminated in the process. When first photographing bottles I found that any object in the room will ultimately find it’s way onto the bottle’s image. Reducing these reflections in the environment is probably the single most important component to producing a clean, rich image.

Keep in mind that distance is your friend. The further away an object is, the less light is likely to be reflected on your bottle. If it’s a dark room and you have 50 feet between your lights and the nearest object, read no more, you’re good to go.

Realizing first that I, the photographer, would end up front and center of the glass if not careful, I began wearing all black to each shoot hoping to reduce my own presence in the bottle. The result however was far from satisfactory. Although I had nearly eliminated the most distracting of reflections (myself), I soon noticed that this was only a fraction of those all too obvious once the photos were in the computer.

All of these other minute reflections generated by everything catching the light you are using can best be reduced using any of the following variations of a shroud. These shrouds may include dividers such as a dark wall or a hung cloth, or a more aggressive approach constructing a self contained environment.

This tactic creates an area where only the bottle, a light source, and the end of your camera’s lens are present. The rest of the known world is kept at bay with a layer of black velvet, my backdrop of choice. I sewed four pieces of the velvet, making a funnel shape beginning at the bottle’s side, (about three feet in diameter) narrowing throughout the five feet of length to about four inches which is rubber-banded to the end of my lens. A second piece of velvet is suspended around the bottle. Just be creative in suspending each element. I suggest using two chairs clasping the four high points of the cloth (fig. 2).

Capturing Color Within the Bottle
Each bottle and the wine it contains come together to create a unique, often two tone spectrum of color which is surely an attribute not to be ignored (fig. 3). Using an all black background will absorb much of the light, leaving little to showcase the bottle’s inner beauty. Adding a strip of white paper directly behind the bottle will create a spring board for the light to propel back to your lens. Take care however that the paper does not exceed much past the width of your bottle, as you will find yourself with more reflections to deal with post production.

Glass Lighting vs Label Lighting

Ever notice that many of the most elegant bottle photos simply have a single sliver or band of light running down one side of the bottle, yet the label seems to hold a perfect balance of illumination? This final challenge was conquered using a second photo lit specifically to capture the beauty of each label while trying to maintain one highlight consistent with the bottle’s (fig. 4). It is crucial to maintain the same focal length and vertical positioning between photos otherwise causing more intensive labor within Photoshop as well as perspective inconsistencies and text distortions. Once each photo is taken, a mask is placed over the label and is positioned on the bottle. It is also a nice touch to use this photo to light any features on the capsule such as foil or an embossed logo.

Many of the ideas above can be captured even with a point-and-shoot camera while options such as manual exposure settings can greatly increase the consistency over multiple bottles and photo ops. Also the use of a circular polarized filter can increase depth and allow you to intricately shape the lines of light on the bottle. This article is by far only an introduction to the techniques and styles possible. Think of these ideas only as a starting point. Experiment. Explore. Have fun.

Find more work by Cody at www.codyonthank.com

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Written on September 4th, 2008 by Cody Onthank and American Winery Team . Filed under Communication, Design, Photography, Technology
Tags: bottle, Budget, Camera, Cheap, Image, Lighting, photo, Photography, Technique