Is it impossible to shoot this kind of bottle 100% in camera?

Backstory:

I shoot a regular client - a specialty bottle shop, where a lot of the product is literally the bottle in the image on the website is the bottle you buy, then that image comes off the site, Recently the owner came to me two bottles I struggled with.

The video explains it a lot better, but my question is: can both of these be shot 100% in camera with minimal post?

I'm not paid for hours and hours of photoshopping...

https://youtu.be/xCjVo​R8n0X4

Cheers for your tips/advice!

G'day , Benon!

I've only shot bottles for fun (and it was fun to empty them later!).

https://www.flickr.com …/albums/7215767​6424791071

That said, here are a couple thoughts for you. It's what I'd do with what I've got. (I don't have much.)

On those two bottles, I'd use a black background and light them from both sides.

For the 1792 Single Barrel Bourbon, I'd use anything I could to block light to the back. Barn doors to block, snoots to direct light, or even pieces of black foam core to keep the light to the front. Make it mysterious. You'll have to play with it, but if you get it right, you'll be able to repeat it again on bottles like that.

For the Moonshine, I'd do something similar, but would have the lights on the side and angle them just a bit forward, toward the camera. You want to light the text on the front of the bottles, not on the back. The black background should eliminate the text in the back. The angled side lighting should illuminate the text on the front. Geez, you could even do it crosswise. Light from above and left, and from below and right. And in all cases, keep the light from hitting the back of the bottle. If you can do that, the text in the back hopefully goes away. You don't even need to perfectly light all of the text on the front of the bottle, just enough to show what it is.

Plain vanilla shots won't work for this. Good! Make it interesting, make it - dare I say it? - sexy. Make it provocative. Take it a step further.

Good luck, Mate! Let me know if this helps.

Hey Graham, thanks for detailed response, it's really nice of someone to put in that much thought ad effort, so thanks!

The one vital piece of info I neglected to include is that these have to be shot on a white background...

It's easy, you take the sticker or print off the back.

I know that is not easy, but that is how it would have been done for the original product shot.

Here's a very good behind the scenes and interviews with one the world's best

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=w3y6ZVN3IQ4

Can't remove the label Moppie

Not in this case, but you can if it's a stunt bottle from the manufacturer

As I said that doesn't help, but it is more than likely how it was done in the stock image shown in the video (and/or a lot of retouching).

When I first saw the bottle I thought the back label was designed to frame the letters on the front. If you can treat it like it's mean to be there, and get some nice light on it, it could become an interesting part of the photo.

Sadly none of this helps me and that video Maverick linked to doesn't show a white background shot.

My boss wants a shot of the bottle achieved in camera without the back label showing.

I'm starting to believe my title - theres no way to actually do this in camera.

BJWOK wrote in post #18297060
My boss wants a shot of the bottle achieved in camera without the back label showing.

It sounds like time to have a talk with your boss about reality.

I shoot wine bottles for work. The ones that are transparent have to have the label on the back removed to avoid unwanted shadows/reflections. I've shot bottles with screen printed back labels like your second bottle and I have to do quite a bit of post work to remove it.

Short answer to your question... Yes, I believe it's impossible with what you've got and what you want to achieve. But I'd love to be proved wrong because it would be useful in my profession.

My best shot:

1. empty contents into another container, keeping it safe and clean.

2. rinse out bottle and allow to dry completely.

3. carefully pour a durable white (matching background) paint or epoxy into the interior back of bottle, masking the back label.

4. return the contents back into the bottle and shoot.

I suspect this isn't a viable solution for you. If you can't remove the back label, you probably can't uncork it either.

Thanks Kevan, Yeah I definitely cannot uncork it.

The more I'm looking at it the more I'm seeing it is impossible to do in camera.

Hi Benon!

Thank you! Sorry my response wasn't usable.

In camera with a white background? I don't think it is possible. Still, here are three other options that might be worth trying, and one suggestion.

OPTIONS

1. Fast lens, wide open, ND/VND filter. Get everything on the front of the bottle in focus, and you'll make the back side of the bottle - the label on the bourbon and the text on the moonshine - go out of focus. They'll still be there, but maybe not as prominent.

2. Angle the bottle 45° and shoot that way. While you'll get some of the back things in focus, you'll be able to see the things properly on the front. If you have a tilt-shift/perspective correction lens, all the better! You can "tilt" and keep the front in focus and the back out of focus, at least a little.

3. Shoot with a white background, and do what the client wants, to the best of what is possible. Then, do a shot with the black background on your time. Make it as good as you can. If it looks great, show your client what is possible. If he likes it, great. If not, then he's lost nothing. If it would really be a Bad Thing to do, don't bother. An unhappy client with a photo he wanted is far better than an angry client with a photo he didn't want.

SUGGESTION

Your client isn't a photographer. That's not his job. Part of our job as photographers however is to educate. With a white background, anything on the back of bottles such as those is going to be visible if you're working 100% in camera. There's no way around it. Take the moonshine. It's a clear liquid in a clear bottle with black printing on both sides. With the lighting you need and the white background he requires, all of that printing is going to be visible. There is no way around that. You will see the printing on the backside of the bottle. Your client needs to understand that. I get that he sells bottles that are rare in Australia, and wants to show exactly what is for sale. There's actually a bit of extra credibility in having the label on the back of the bourbon and the text on the back of the moonshine.

"Look at this, Mate! This is the same bottle from the website. It's got that label on the backside."

"Probably fake, Mate."

"No, no. I saved the picture. Look!"

"Crikey!"

Your client is going for authenticity. There it is. It's the bottles with the label, the printing on the back, the imperfections that could be corrected in Photoshop if only we had the time.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Mesmer wrote in post #18297240
I shoot wine bottles for work. The ones that are transparent have to have the label on the back removed to avoid unwanted shadows/reflections. I've shot bottles with screen printed back labels like your second bottle and I have to do quite a bit of post work to remove it.

Short answer to your question... Yes, I believe it's impossible with what you've got and what you want to achieve. But I'd love to be proved wrong because it would be useful in my profession.

This ^^^

Maybe the problem here is to remove the label and put it back on without any trace.