How should I photograph a bottle of wine?

[TonyW]

I have been doing some more practice with a wine bottle. This is a full bottle, chosen not for its label, which is rather drab, but because it is a very good wine which I bought when visiting the vineyard.

I went to a lot of trouble to avoid specular reflection on the front of the bottle but I am not sure now that I like the result. With any convex shape like this, any specular reflection like this tends to be exaggerated and to look too much. What should I be aiming for?

[Dave Humphries]

One for Mike B, I think

Just a few of his threads:
Wine's version of liquid gold
Wine -- my friend's house red wine
Wine fit for St. Patrick's Day
Green Bottle
Horseshoe in a Blue Bottle


.

[TonyW]

Thanks, Dave. I was hoping that Mike would respond.

There are really two interdependent questions. What is the best aesthetic and what lighting techniques should be used?

[Rob Ekins]

Some great info in Mikes posts, they are definitely worth studying. Make some time to read his set up notes and try to break down the lighting elements in the images, things will come together for you pretty quickly.

and what lighting techniques should be used?

Tony what lighting equipment do you have?

[TonyW]

Rob, this is a combination of three shots. The wineglass was one shot, backlit through an old frosted-glass door with natural light coming in from a long window. The light was blanked off except for a rectangle a little larger that the glass to control the dark rim around the glass. The outline of the bottle was similar. A simple small light above and to the right of the camera was used for a third shot to show the label and the bit of rim of the cap. It was this light that produced the reflection that I removed later. The question is really how to light the front of the bottle to show the label without producing an unpleasant reflection. Even a very diffuse light gets amplified by the convex shiny surface of the bottle.

I had looked at Mike Buckley's and others' pictures (including yours), which are very nice but I was trying to get a slightly different result, which perhaps is not possible without a lot of editing.

I am reasonably with the results from backlighting only. In my previous thread with an empty bottle I eventually got something I was fairly happy with.

[IzzieK]

This last one is nice, Tony...have you tried moving your lights around to see how you like it presented, add some more, remove some more, move some more? I think every situation is different but doable...

[TonyW]

Thanks, Izzie. I have tried various arrangements and also tried to apply some physics/geometry principles without success.

[IzzieK]

'Wish Mike can shed some light (pun intended) into this shot and give his opinion but it seems he is MIA at the moment...

[Donald]

'Wish Mike can shed some light (pun intended) into this shot and give his opinion but it seems he is MIA at the moment...

Send him a PM and tell him to get his .... over here!

[Rob Ekins]

The question is really how to light the front of the bottle to show the label without producing an unpleasant reflection. Even a very diffuse light gets amplified by the convex shiny surface of the bottle.

Tony,
If I am reading this right you should be able to avoid reflections by moving your light source so that it does not produce a reflection at the camera. Have a read of this article that explains "The family of angles". Better still download a copy of Light Science and Magic

You can also isolate the label by making a home made snoot out of rolled up black card.

If I am not making sense or missed the point shoot me a PM and we can talk on the phone

[IzzieK]

Send him a PM and tell him to get his .... over here!

He'll come out of his cave soon enough...

[Mike Buckley]

Sorry, Tony and everyone. I was away from my computer for several days. Thankfully, Donald brought my attention to the thread very soon after getting back to normality.

I very much enjoy photographing a bottle of wine that is special to me for whatever reason, so I can appreciate that you wanted to photograph this one purely because the wine is so good.

What should I be aiming for?

What is the best aesthetic and what lighting techniques should be used?

There are so many styles that are widely recognized as being enjoyable. Some you may like a lot. Perhaps not so for others. What you should aim for is really a matter of personal taste.

Some considerations about aesthetics include:

• Showing the shape of the glass. (You did this by using a perspective that showed the front and rear of the top surface of wine in the glass. If you had chosen a perspective that also showed the front and rear of the rim of the glass, doing so would have made the shape more evident or at least more interesting to some.)
• Showing the shape of the bottle. (A reflection of a white card is one way that will create a defined edge on the left and right sides of the reflection. Another way is to use a strip soft box and a piece of diffusion material positioned just so to create a hard edge on the outside side and a gradient on the other side. If you have a strip soft box, let me know.)
• Lighting the edge(s) of the bottle by intentionally creating a direct reflection along it (them).
• Lighting the background to create a vignette. (Position your light source very close to the background material so it strongly lights only part of it, perhaps only the center or the part of the background that draws the viewer's eye to the most important parts of the subject.)
• Lighting the background to create a gradient. (Position your light source above, below or to one side of your background material.)
• Any effect you like, whether it has to do with the bottle, wine glass, background or tabletop. It might be helpful to review lots of photos to develop a taste for what you like and don't like.

The question is really how to light the front of the bottle to show the label without producing an unpleasant reflection. Even a very diffuse light gets amplified by the convex shiny surface of the bottle.

Rob made some good suggestions. To add to his comments about employing an understanding of the family of angles, even if you are like me and cannot intuitively determine the family of angles, do as I do and move your light source around until no unwanted direct reflection is created or at least until whatever unwanted direct reflection that is created can be easily removed during post-processing.

One method of lighting the label is to use only reflected light. This requires making one or more small reflectors just the right size and shape to accomplish your goals and then casting light on the reflector from the ideal direction. This method is especially helpful if parts of the label produce desirable, partially direct reflections, which is often the case. You may need to use a flag to prevent that light from spilling into unwanted areas of the scene or to prevent it from creating flare.

Regardless of how you light the label, one method is to capture an image that lights the label as you like it and merge it with another image that lights the rest of the scene as you like it. I have even made multiple captures of the label and merged them for the best effect. I almost always decide upon whether or not to use multiple captures by determining whether doing so will save overall time.

Hope this helps. Get back to us with any other questions.

[Mike Buckley]

Tony,

I just now realized that I was so consumed with answering your questions that I forgot to mention that this image is already a really great start. Once you get it refined to your liking, be sure to attend to the little thingy at the top left edge of the frame.