Wine: Bottle lit only on one side

[Mike Buckley]

This photo is only the second one I've made that lights just one side of a wine bottle. Immediately upon taking the bottle out of the box it was shipped in, I was drawn to make the photo in that style because it fits so well at least in my mind with the simplistic, elegant, small label on the bottle.

After doing everything in my makeshift studio but before doing the post-processing, I drank the wine for the first time. I'm pleased that the wine is as elegant as its bottle. That's true so much that I plan to buy more of it.

Setup
The background is black foam core and the tabletop is glossy black acrylic, which creates the reflection of the subject in the bottom of the scene. A medium continuous-light lamp behind the background and facing away from it lights a white wall behind the scene. The white wall acts as a large light source that redirects the light toward the scene and outlines the right side of the bottle in bright tones. There are no tones outlining the left side of the bottle because the lamp and the bottle are positioned close to the right side of the background.

To provide the gradient reflection on the bottle, a strip soft box on the right side of the scene fitted with a flash unit is at an angle to a diffusion panel with one edge of the soft box touching the panel. That joint where the two devices touch creates the well defined edge on the right side of the gradient. A second capture was made with a small continuous-light lamp above the label to brighten it and its reflection. The label and its reflection from that capture were merged with everything else in the first capture.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Rob Ekins]

That joint where the two devices touch creates the well defined edge on the right side of the gradient.

Very clever Mike,
Well done!

[Rainforest]

A very elegant image as well. I really like the way the label floats.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to everyone!

Very clever Mike

Not at all clever of me, Robbie. I initially learned that technique from a video tutorial produced by Alex Koloskov. Since then I've also seen the technique explained on a few other tutorials.

[Wavelength]

Excellent lighting

[bnnrcn]

I must have skipped this thread of yours Very creative lighting Mike. It is 'knowlegde and experience' which makes the image . When I look at your images I just realise what a long way I have to go in photography

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Nandakumar and Binnur!

When I look at your images I just realise what a long way I have to go in photography

The only reason one could reasonably think you have a long way to go is because the location of the landscape image you have in mind is a long way away from you.

[Dave A]

Beautifully done Mike.

Dave