photography theory
The question may not be the most popular question among photographers, but I have come across this one as well. What to do when you want to beautifully shoot a bottle of your favorite alcohol? I have one answer - take it and take it off.
First of all, we need to decide what we are doing the frame for? If just to remember the name of the drink, then the question is filmed using a camera in a cell phone - the result will not disappoint. Another thing is if you want to make an artistic or commercial shot, and not just capture a pet, but also try to convey the character of the drink. There are not many difficulties here - you just need to listen to your imagination and take into account a couple of nuances.
Angle
When shooting a bottle, like when shooting any other object, all the classic rules of composition apply. If you are taking an artistic shot, forget about shooting at a right angle, the result of which is only suitable for use on the pages of an online store. Do not be afraid to experiment and look for an angle that will make the frame more interesting. Do not worry too much if the whole bottle does not get into the frame - the main thing is to convey the essence. The choice of aperture values and focal length also remains solely at your discretion. Experiment.
Background when shooting alcohol
Another nuance that often spoils the perception of the frame is the presence of a part of the shooter in the frame. The Internet is full of photos of bottles of fine alcohol on an outstretched hand that catches the eye. Try to save the viewer from looking at your shirt. Shooting a bottle against the background of a kitchen table with plates and crumbs is also not the best solution. The background must fulfill its main task- to be invisible. In some cases, it is better to abandon the "back" altogether and use the technique close-up. But the presence of "relevant" accessories in the frame can add points to your picture.
Light when shooting alcohol
First of all, you need to understand that the more light sources, the more interesting the frame will be. Imagination will help you choose the color and layout of the sources. Don't be afraid to shoot in backlight and don't worry about glare in the frame, which can make your shot even more interesting.
Color when shooting alcohol
I would say that there are no clear recommendations. Only the idea will help determine the level of color saturation or the absence of color in the frame. The key to the color question may be the bottle label. Whiskey distillery Laphroaig, for example, are marked with a monochrome label. In this case, the presence of color in the frame would only interfere with perception, especially for connoisseurs of this whiskey.
Do not treat this text as a math textbook. Try to perceive it as a subjective view of the subject. Each of us is an artist. Experiment.
Photo and text © Evgeny Skurikhin
Whiskey provided by the project islay.ru
We make splashes and splashes around the bottle, the first lesson will describe the process of creating an image of the bottle itself.
To begin with, we take a picture of the bottle, as a sample I took a bottle of Talka vodka, with an opaque label.
If we take a photo of a bottle on a black background, then we need to solve 3 tasks:
In a transparent object, the final background should always be visible, i.e. We photograph the bottle on a black background, otherwise it will not look transparent.
The bottle should not mix with the black background, we beat off the contour with light, the light schemes will be indicated below.
If the label is not transparent, it must be illuminated from the front, but without touching the glass, otherwise the bottle will not look spectacular, this also applies to the cork.
Now let's try to solve these three problems.
We need a black background, the size of which overlaps the dimensions of the bottle, the background should not be glossy, otherwise we will get extra reflections. In order to “beat off” the bottle from the background, we need 2 softboxes no less than 20x50cm in size, or one large one, overlapping the black background behind the bottle, no less than three times in size.
So we shoot, there are three schemes for shooting a bottle.
Scheme one. The purpose of the two schemes below is to get a thin white outline on the glass.
Scheme two, with one softbox.
Scheme three, remove the label and cork.
I went with a simpler way to shoot, but more difficult to process. I put the camera on a tripod, removed the glass first, then rearranged the light, and removed the label with the cork separately. Later I glued everything in Photoshop, got the finished image of the bottle. There are many ways to remove the label and cork at once, but this will require skills, a lot of space, equipment, and finally skill and tricks that everyone has their own (at least most people think so) and usually do not share them)), and considers this their professional secret. But the process is not so important for us now, as the result, at the initial stage we need to get the image of the bottle, and we get it using two frames and Photoshop. For those who cannot remove the bottle, there will be ready-made samples at the end of the article.
Photographing water.
For photographing water against a black background, the same light scheme is used, and pulsed light sources (flashes) with a pulse length of at least 1/2000 second, i.e. 0.0005 seconds, some Elinchrom RX300, RX600 models at minimum power have such parameters with interference, or as a rule, professionals use Broncolor Grafit, Scoro series generator systems, which allow freezing water with an impulse speed of up to 1/10000 second. With inexpensive flash lights, you will unfortunately end up with blurry shots. In order not to take pictures, you can dial in the service google images request splash water, and download the splashes you like, but remember, each picture has its own author, and commercial use of images without the permission of the author is prohibited.
The first, most important and only rule: take pictures of any alcohol, no matter cognac in a bottle or a cocktail in a glass, as a person - trying to show his character as you see him. Everything else is already nuances, but we will definitely tell you about them. So…
Four bottle photography hacks
Atmospheric shots of alcohol in bottles are much easier to make than it might seem at first glance:
- Angle. Try looking at your subject with a fresh eye: from above, below, or from the side. Do not be afraid to experiment: fill up the horizon or the fact that not the whole bottle will be in the frame. And do not neglect the simplest rules of composition, which you were told about at school in art lessons. The only thing to avoid is head-on shooting at a right angle: such photos, even very high-quality ones, are boring and are only suitable for placement in the catalog of an online store.
- Background. Do you know what is the best backdrop for shooting? Inconspicuous! If you not professional photographer(and if you are reading this article, then most likely you are), then simply remove all unnecessary objects from the frame, even if they are just crumbs on the dinner table. But this does not mean that only one bottle should be in the frame: if you want to add something else to the photo, for example, glasses, ice cubes, wine accessories, just think about how to place all the objects in the frame beautifully.
- Light. Photography in translation from ancient Greek means “light painting”. In this case, sometimes beautiful light decides even more than an interesting angle. Experiment, try to make it fall from the side, from below, backlit, or use and combine several sources (windows, fluorescent and table lamps, furniture lamps, flash, etc.) - all this will add volume and atmosphere to your photo .
- Color. Play with color saturation and filters: sometimes bright colors can look good, and at other times they can't. The same can be said about converting an image to black and white, which can add charm to one frame and completely ruin another.
Actually, the same rules apply when photographing cocktails and other alcoholic beverages in glasses. But such shooting has more nuances.
Cheers, or How to shoot drinks in glasses "delicious"
Shooting alcohol in glasses is complicated by the fact that it needs to be done quickly, otherwise everything that makes the drink “alive” will disappear: air bubbles in a glass of wine, gas in champagne, a play of color in a cocktail glass, perfect layering, a head of foam on beer , droplets of perspiration on the glass, the beautiful shape of ice cubes and other details that cause a burning desire to drink this drink.
But there are a couple more things:
- Two light sources or more. If a bottle of alcohol can be shot beautifully and with one light source (side from a window or backlight, for example), then such a trick will not work with a drink in a glass - the frame will turn out to be flat and boring. Therefore, there must be at least two of them. You can also use reflectors to beautifully highlight the shadows or just add volume to the picture. By the way, many improvised objects can act as them - mirror surfaces, sheets of white paper or something else.
- Two kinds of background. Relatively speaking, it is black and white: on the first, opaque drinks and a fancy shape of glasses look good, and on the second, transparent ones turn out favorably.
That's all the secrets. Although the art of photography is, first of all, practice, not theory. Don't be afraid to experiment. If you have your own hacks for shooting alcoholic drinks, then share them with us and our readers.
I take pictures of food almost every day, but today I will tell you about the shooting, which was a discovery for me. It turned out that such a simple object as a transparent white bottle with a transparent liquid and a label is very difficult to photograph.
We need to remove the bottle of Siberian vodka.
A sample was attached to the bottle, how it should look in the final photo.
A bottle of vodka and a sample of how it should turn out
The peculiarity is that if it were just a bottle without a label or a bottle surrounded by dishes, then its photograph would not cause difficulties. But it was necessary to remove only the bottle on a white background, so that the volume was transmitted.
An example of what the customer wantsThere is a bottle of "Siberian" and a few more pitfalls:
- Shiny metallic label, and it was necessary to convey the shine of the metal.
- embossing on reverse side, it had to be made visible. In this photo, the inscription “Sibirskaya” is not particularly visible, although I tried to catch the rays of light.
First day of shooting a bottle of vodka on a white background
The first option that comes to the mind of a person for whom photographing bottles of alcohol is not the main occupation is to apply a standard scheme. About just taking a picture of a bottle natural light I do not speak.
Used for shooting pulsed light. If you have a constant light, then you can use it, but I don’t like it when you need to remove the glass.
Scheme of shooting a bottle on a white background with one source
- Softbox on the right
- White background at the back
- For reflection from below - a white glossy plate.
It is very convenient to use white glossy tiles for this. It can be washed. She, unlike acrylic, is not afraid of scratches.
Here's what I got. I immediately post the final photo, diagram and how it was live.
The first pancake is almost lumpy.
What immediately catches your eye is that the label is unevenly lit, on the right it goes into a deep shadow. The rest of the shortcomings will be described later. We do everything gradually.
Task 1. Highlight the right side of the vodka bottle
Scheme of shooting a bottle on a white background with one source and a reflector
Any photographer knows how to solve the problem of the shaded side - we install a white reflector on the right.
On the left is a white reflector.On the right is a shiny reflector.
I tried two options: a white sheet of foam board (left) and a silver light disk of the same size (right).
In my opinion, it is possible that you have a different opinion, the left option is better.
Since you saw the photo, I give only a diagram.
The final photo of a bottle of vodka, the first option
Working scheme if you need to shoot 100 bottles. And after working a little Photoshop, you can bring the photo to mind.
Since this version of the "Siberian" would not suit the customer, I will not lick it in Photoshop. Just cut out the bottle and placed it on White background.
We do not pay attention to the yellow highlight in the center, this is the backlight for shooting the process.
The first version of the final photoSecond shot of a bottle of vodka on a white background with a reflector
There is no softbox glare in the sample photo, but I have them.
There are no glare on the sample Task 2. Remove the reflection of the softbox from the glass
I start moving the light source. The first option is to lift the softbox up on the tripod.
Softbox at table level and raised upIf we had a cylindrical object, then we could find the position when the bottle is lit, and the glare from lighting device no, but "Sibirskaya" has spherical shoulders (I think that's what they call it) and the flare still remains. He just went up.
We do not pay attention to the glare in the center of the bottle, this is a constant light device with which I illuminated the desktop for filming the entourage.
The glare has moved upNothing gives and the transfer of the device to the right and left. In the photo, the softbox is located directly above the camera.
The highlight moved to the center of the bottle and did not disappear. In addition, the left and right sides were in shadow. There is nothing good in this. I put two white reflectors in to soften the shadows a little.
The label has become more fun, in Photoshop you can make a round highlight instead of a softbox square.
It became better than in the previous photo, but suddenly one more trouble - the dark outline of the bottle disappeared.
Missing bottle outlineThe fact is that white reflectors adjoined background, and the place where the backgrounds adjoin began to be reflected in the bottle. About the contour a little later.
Conclusion
Moving the softbox does nothing, because the top is round, the highlights still remain on the vodka bottle.
If you are ready to work in Photoshop, then you can use the scheme: “The softbox is located above the camera, a white background on the back and two reflectors on the sides.
Task 3. If we cannot completely remove the glare from the softbox, then we try to soften it.
The third scheme of shooting a bottle on a white background with one source and a reflector
Pay attention to the glare.
Glare with a bright crossSince a translucent fabric is stretched on the softbox, the highlight in the middle has a bright stripe. Depending on the weaving of the fabric, it can be vertical, horizontal or a cross.
To remove the strip, hang a sheet of tracing paper between the softbox and the bottle. It should soften the light and remove the glare.
As expected, the left highlight is much softer.
And here, pay attention to us on the right, the black outline on the bottle reappeared. We had this contour before I started moving the softbox and putting reflectors on both sides.
The fact is that for the background I used white foam board 80 cm wide, and the kitchen that peeks out from behind it is dark. This dark kitchen gave a dark edging.
I align the sheet in the center of the bottle and move the right reflector slightly towards me.
It turned out to be a completely acceptable option for mass photography in the catalog of a store or an online store.
It remains only to cut the bottle and place it on a white background.
Summary of the first day
It turned out to be an acceptable photo of a bottle of vodka. Thanks to the glare, volume is transmitted. A narrow sheet of white foam board allowed for elegant dark edges of the bottle. You can put the next bottle in this place and engage in burst shooting.
Photoshop processing is minimal.
With one light source (softbox) on the left, two white foam board reflectors and a sheet of tracing paper, it is possible to photograph a white glass bottle.
The photo can be used to illustrate the catalog of the store or online store, if we can sell alcoholic drinks through the Internet.
But my task is not completed, I did not get a smooth gradient on the glass with a wide highlight in the center.
Epilogue
It took me a whole day to get this photo. Obviously, more than a hundred pictures were taken, until something that can be shown turned out. Sometimes it was necessary to move the device and reflectors by a few millimeters or rotate by a few degrees.
And naturally, after shooting a bottle of vodka all day, I really wanted to try what I was photographing.
Why two glasses?
And one has water. Many try to cheat and instead of an expensive drink, pour just water. And water looks completely different than vodka or gin - bubbles, you can’t get away from them.
The vodka turned out to be good, but the photograph does not at all look like the one that should be taken.
Tomorrow I will continue, fortunately, in the evening I watched several videos on how to shoot a bottle in the light.
When shooting subjects, one of the most difficult tasks for a photographer is working with glass or metal surfaces. That is, with any shiny objects, the surface of which creates glare and reflections of light. It can be elegant wine glasses, watches, perfume bottles and much more. Here the photographer has to solve a whole range of issues: it is necessary to convey the volume and transparency of the object, to distinguish it from the environment, to correctly build the lighting, to avoid the presence of unpleasant glare in the photo image.
While shooting glass is tricky, it's also very attractive, as objects made of glass or chromed metal can look very interesting in the frame. You can experiment with them and be creative in the shooting process itself. What is the first thing to pay attention to when shooting glass objects in order to get high-quality results? Let's dwell on this in more detail.
The main difficulty in shooting objects made of glass or polished wood is that glare from light sources appears on their smooth surface. In addition, any surrounding objects, including the camera lens, are often reflected on such a shiny surface. Of course, all this negatively affects the quality of the images. In addition to the presence of halos and just flare, the images come out not the most attractive in terms of conveying the texture and type of material from which the subject is made.
However, in some cases, distortions or reflections in a glass object can be beneficial to the image, allowing for interesting artistic effects. For example, to convey the transparency of glass, you can reflect something on its surface, some surrounding objects. But still, in most cases, the photographer is forced to deal with unpleasant glare and reflections that spoil the image. For this, in particular, you have to refuse to use the flash, because it gives an excessively bright and harsh light that contributes to the occurrence of these undesirable effects.
In general, shooting subjects with smooth, shiny surfaces requires the use of uniform lighting. This is the best way to emphasize the shape of the object, to reveal its volume. In the case of photographing a glass object, proper, even lighting also helps to show the haze or texture of the glass. Considering that the same glass can be with bends, edges or engravings, then a photography lover is faced with quite a challenge. simple task. So, when photographing objects with glassy or glare surfaces, you need to pay attention to a few points.
Preparing glass items for photography
When preparing, be sure to inspect the glass surfaces for small cracks and scratches, and also pay attention to their cleanliness. There should be no scratches or fingerprints on the glass, otherwise you will have to process the received images in a graphic editor for a long time in order to bring the photographed surface into the proper form. Items made of cheap glass, as a rule, differ in that they do not have the most even surface and different thicknesses of glass around the entire perimeter. The same beer glass bottles have a well-marked seam. It is better to choose good glass for shooting, which does not have such shortcomings. For example, expensive glass wine glasses. Before shooting, of course, our "models" must be thoroughly washed and wiped with a dry cloth. It is best not to wash glass items in the dishwasher, as small scratches may appear on the glass. Subsequently, they will be clearly visible in the pictures.
Background selection
When shooting objects made of glass, quite often photographic images are faded and of little interest. This may be due to the wrong choice of background. Indeed, the background plays a significant role when shooting glass and things with smooth, glare surfaces. It is best to use a solid background to accurately convey the shape of the object and small details. A classic is a white or black background. Sometimes interesting effects can be obtained if you photograph glass against a background of fabric with numerous folds or an object that has some kind of complex structure. True, here you need to ensure that the shape of the glass object is not lost against such a complex background.
Light preparation
Objects made of glass or chrome-plated metal have some properties of reflecting light. This is important to consider when building lighting correctly. When photographing a glass object against a black background, light sources are usually placed on the sides. The main thing is that the light does not fall on the photographer himself, otherwise you will probably see your reflection on the glass surface.
In order to convey not only the shape of an object, but also its texture and features of the material, it is necessary to correctly use light sources. Here the rule applies: texture detection improves with increasing illumination and decreasing the angle of incidence of light rays on the surface of the object itself. It is clear that the illumination can be adjusted simply by moving the light source further or closer. But the angle of incidence of light rays can be changed by lowering or raising the light source. In order to convey the individual details of the subject in the picture as sharply and clearly as possible, it is necessary to use the smallest possible aperture apertures.
Lighting and background play a key role in creating the illusion of glass transparency. When shooting, it is recommended to use weak light sources so as not to create unpleasant glare. Direct moderate light is used only to highlight the contour of the glass or metal object, while side diffused lighting should help reveal the transparency and volume of the product. Instead of a side light or in combination with it, you can use an overhead light, especially if you plan to shoot an object from an upper point. By illuminating a glass object from below, you can literally fill it with light from the inside and create an interesting, artistic effect. In this case, it is necessary to shoot from above, but not directly, but at a certain angle to the object. It is desirable to shine one light source and the background.
When working with glass subject photography The most widely used are two methods of photography. In the first case, the glass object turns out to be dark in the image, but its outlines are drawn in white. To do this, use a simple cardboard box, a sheet of drawing paper or another white background, plus a flash. Three walls are removed from the cardboard box in order to form a kind of “arch”. It allows you to protect the subject from the reflection of surrounding objects. Just the far side of this arch is covered with a white background.
The item is placed in a box. The flash is aimed at the background outside. The flash requires a special attachment with shutters so that the light from a bright light source does not glare on the surface of the photographed object. That is, in this situation, backlight is activated when the light source is placed behind the object being filmed. This allows you to "draw" the contours of the glass product with light. The second method allows you to get a well-distinguishable, light glass object with darkened contours. Here you also need to use backlight, but a dark sheet of cardboard is used as a background.
Dealing with glare
There are several ways to combat glare and unwanted reflections on shiny surfaces. For example, you can try to bring a glass product from the cold into a warm room, or fill it with ice water. You need to take pictures immediately, when the glass surface fogs up a little, and large water droplets have not yet had time to form on it. The surface will turn into a matte for a while and ugly highlights will disappear. You can put a piece of ice in a glass wine glass or vase just before shooting - the effect will be the same. This method can also be used to shoot metal utensils.
However, for some things with a shiny surface, such cooling methods cannot be applied. For example, to products made of lacquered wood. In these cases, you can experiment with lighting. Try to position the light sources, the subject, and the camera in relation to each other so that glare is minimized or completely eliminated. To eliminate reflections when shooting objects with a large glass surface area, such as a shop window, place a black cloth behind the camera. Or place such a fabric in front of the camera, but leave a hole for the lens in it.
A polarizing filter can be indispensable when shooting glass objects. With it, you can remove a significant part of the light glare. Polarizing filter good to use when photographing through glass surfaces. Such a filter to eliminate glare can be successfully used when shooting glass, porcelain, polished or varnished wood, and plastic.
Using soft boxes
However, all the above methods are not always effective. The most effective way to eliminate glare and reflections on the surface of objects is to limit access to the photographed object of rays from light sources and the environment. To do this, the subject is placed in cardboard box according to the principle described above, or they are surrounded by special shields capable of reflecting light. The best option here is the use of a soft box - a special light-protective box that serves to protect the subject from light rays. A soft box can be made on the basis of a wooden or wire frame, which is covered on all sides, except for the bottom wall, with a thin light fabric. The front wall of the soft box has a hole for the camera lens.
You can make such a simple design yourself at home or buy ready-made solutions, including convenient folding soft boxes. After an object with shiny surfaces is placed in a soft box, it is illuminated from the sides and from above. The light passing through the fabric becomes diffuse and uniform. Ready-made soft boxes usually offer the photographer a set of interchangeable backgrounds of various colors. If you set out to professionally photograph objects made of glass or metal, you simply need such a soft box. The best fit are the so-called softbox strips, which have a length significantly greater than their width.
Many photography enthusiasts avoid photographing objects or compositions with glass because they are afraid of unpleasant glare and distortion. However, as soon as you start to practice shooting such objects more, you will acquire the appropriate experience, and photographing shiny things will no longer be such a difficult, insoluble task for you. In addition, this will open up a wide field for creative experiments for you, because it is really very interesting to shoot objects made of glass.
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