Armani Diamonds

[creechjs]

Stole my moms perfume. I had tried shooting it once before and it was easily the most difficult thing Ive ever tried lighting. Decided to have another go at it.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9049/perfume3web.jpg (http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=perfume3web.jpg)

Here are the two originals used to make this shot.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7383/originals.jpg (http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=originals.jpg)

I started shooting right after 24, at 9pm, and I didnt stop shooting until 3:30. There were a couple hours of getting the light right and then a few more in trying to get an acceptable bubble arrangement. Even after all of that time, it just sometimes isnt possible to get that ONE shot when there is so much going on. Product photography is in the details, so you have to accept that shooting in strips may be your best bet.

Here is the setup. 4 lights were used. One was snooted on the background for the nice soft background. One was shot from underneath the table. One was camera right of the aquarium and the last was behind the subject camera left. There pieces of black foamcore all over the place to prevent light from bouncing off the white walls and white ceiling. When I get a place of my own, I am definitely going to paint it either a 50/50 gray or black.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/1874/setup1.jpg (http://img406.imageshack.us/my.php?image=setup1.jpg)


For the actual product shot, I was puring with both hands.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7403/setup2.jpg (http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=setup2.jpg)

Picture of the homemade snoot made from a reflector turned upside down and a strip of black seamless rolled into a funnel.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7391/setup3.jpg (http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=setup3.jpg)

The perfume was suspended with fishing line from two poles. That is one of the reasons the bottle is slightly at an angle. I didnt want to angle it any more than it is, because the bottle is used and is not full. So if I had angled it any more, the meniscus of the liquid would have been off kilter and you would have been able to tell it was at an angle.

You'll also notice a weight in the aquarium. haha I experimented with blowing bubbles from below the bottle as well, but couldnt get anything I liked. The weight was anchoring the hose to the bottom.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/6185/setup4.jpg (http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=setup4.jpg)

O and the reason the cap looks so good is because I painted it. I tried for so long, using pieces of black and white foam core to get something similar, but I couldnt do it in an all white room.

[Pete]

All I can say is "Wow". Excellent work on that shot - easily of marketable standard.

And great work on describing the setup as well.

[snowshark13]

Thank you for the details! It's great when people describe the setup, it gives us amateurs new techniques to try!

Great Shot!

[Muuraija]

The work you put into this beyond me. I think that this is a phenominal shot with that alone!

Thank you for the details! It's great when people describe the setup, it gives us amateurs new techniques to try!

We'll get there one day!

[RyanL]

That is amazing! Both the amount of effort and the final shot, I could easily see that in a magazine print :D If i were you id be on the phone to armarni ;)

[TekHouse]

Thanks for taking the time to explain your setup..Nice work as a result too..good job!

[u4s2m1c]

awesome shot, and really love the whole behind the scenes! i wish more ppl here documented the journey as much as the destination! cheers!

[GDane123]

haha I'm so ignorant to photography, I can't help but laugh. Just looking at the first shot, I assumed you dropped it in the water and took the shot at the perfect millisecond. ha I said to myself, "What a cool idea! I should try that!" and then I see the 2 photos and the behind the scenes and quickly became discouraged. ha Nice work.

[kosin]

Nice outcome.

And thanks for sharing the studio shots :)

[emomophantom]

Very good result. Like you said, it's in the details.. The bubbles look good, mind sharing some of your PP?

[creechjs]

Very good result. Like you said, it's in the details.. The bubbles look good, mind sharing some of your PP?

What would you like to know?

[emomophantom]

You said you pulled the bubbles out of one (or several) images and the bottle out of another. What did you do to either extract the bubbles from one image or mask them or whatever. It looks seamless, so I'm interested in how you made the selections.

[Jeff]

That's cool! Thanks for all the details.

[creechjs]

You said you pulled the bubbles out of one (or several) images and the bottle out of another. What did you do to either extract the bubbles from one image or mask them or whatever. It looks seamless, so I'm interested in how you made the selections.

The two pictures I posted were the only two pictures used to make the final image. Since the camera was on a tripod, the bottle is in same relative position in the picture. Merging the two simply involved me using the pen tool on the image of the bottle without bubbles, selecting it, and then pasting it into the image with bubbles.

The hardest part of post was the cap, which involved me again using the pen tool to select the different sides of the cap, and then I used a paintbrush to paint them in.

[Damian75]

Great stuff and thanks for the setup shots.

[muse amorte]

is your snoot just a piece of poster board and tape?

[muse amorte]

fantastic image, it turned out very nicely!

(forgot to add that part)

[monty28428]

Very nice shot - Great job!

[creechjs]

is your snoot just a piece of poster board and tape?

Just a strip of black seamless rolled in to a funnel, an alien bee reflector, a garage hot lamp reflector, and tape. haha

[masterwillems]

Stunning photo, its was worth the effort. bw!

[FlyingPhotog]

Extremely well designed shoot and executed image...