How can I best replicate the lighting on this wine bottle?

Hey fellow lightwalkers,

I've got a massive photo project coming up that entails taking pictures of ~11,000 wine, spirits and beer bottles. Yikes, I know.

In the attached picture, on the left is the current look of our bottles, and on the right is the look I'd like to try and accomplish.

Current Setup/Execution:

1. 3'x3' softbox at camera left right up against the bottle
2. Sheet of white paper at camera right also right up against the bottle. acting as a reflector
3. 3'x3' softbox overhead on boom pointing onto white background to throw light back through the bottle (creates a glow)
4. Super-ghetto "wine house" I made out of black foam core that darkens the edges of the bottle to give it edge definition.

How would you guys approach getting a softer look to the light reflections on the bottle? Is it as easy as getting a larger light source and reflector?

Am I right in assuming the light sources in the picture on the right are absolutely huge?

Also, random idea: What if I took a giant sheet of paper (diffuser) and curved it to match the shape of the bottle and then strobe the paper? This would create a seemingly huge light source, would it not?

I'm sorry, I know this is all a jumble. Thanks for any suggestions.

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It appears that it is lit with 2 relatively large light sources from either side.

Keyword: RELATIVELY. The light sources only have to look huge!
Just place the softboxes on either side of the bottle.

(Don't worry if it is harder than it sounds. I am sort of over-simplifying it.)

1000arms wrote in post #9957226
Read http://www.amazon.com …oks&qid=1270747​836&sr=8-1

You may not have time to get the book, but it does go into good detail.

Ha ha! I was going make the SAME suggestion!

OP: This book will answer that question in more depth than you probably knew was required!

ben_r_ wrote in post #9958395
Ha ha! I was going make the SAME suggestion!

OP: This book will answer that question in more depth than you probably knew was required!

+2

shocksyde wrote in post #9956530
Hey fellow lightwalkers,

I've got a massive photo project coming up that entails taking pictures of ~11,000 wine, spirits and beer bottles. Yikes, I know.

In the attached picture, on the left is the current look of our bottles, and on the right is the look I'd like to try and accomplish.

Current Setup/Execution:

1. 3'x3' softbox at camera left right up against the bottle
2. Sheet of white paper at camera right also right up against the bottle. acting as a reflector
3. 3'x3' softbox overhead on boom pointing onto white background to throw light back through the bottle (creates a glow)
4. Super-ghetto "wine house" I made out of black foam core that darkens the edges of the bottle to give it edge definition.

How would you guys approach getting a softer look to the light reflections on the bottle? Is it as easy as getting a larger light source and reflector?

Am I right in assuming the light sources in the picture on the right are absolutely huge?

Also, random idea: What if I took a giant sheet of paper (diffuser) and curved it to match the shape of the bottle and then strobe the paper? This would create a seemingly huge light source, would it not?

I'm sorry, I know this is all a jumble. Thanks for any suggestions.

Get rid of the #1 softbox and replace it with a white foam-core reflector in front of and to the left of the camera and as close to the bottle as possible. Position the reflector so that it can provide fill to the camera-left side of the bottle.

Replace the #2 white paper with a white foam-core reflector in front of and to the right of the camera and as close to the bottle as possible. Position the reflector so that it can provide fill to the camera-right side of the bottle.

Try the shot again and see how that looks. Make adjustments to the setup as necessary.

Funny, I really like the lighting on the left and don't much care for the lighting of the one on th right, makes the product look kind of fake.

11,000 oh my gosh!

I agree, left is better.. with a little adjustment. Your shot is a bit hot on the left side, washing it out a bit. Move the left light back a bit and you got it! The right pic looks fake as stated above, you need a little inbalance to give the wine dimension. You are closer than you think!

1000arms wrote in post #9957226
Read http://www.amazon.com …oks&qid=1270747​836&sr=8-1

You may not have time to get the book, but it does go into good detail.

+100 well worth the loot. this book was used as a text book for one of my Studio classes.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I agree that the bottle on the right looks fake (possibly even photoshopped to some degree), but that's the look my bosses are after.

PacAce, I'm having trouble following your suggestion. I understand where you say to set up the white foamcore, but then were do the actual lights go?

shocksyde wrote in post #9962410
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I agree that the bottle on the right looks fake (possibly even photoshopped to some degree), but that's the look my bosses are after.

PacAce, I'm having trouble following your suggestion. I understand where you say to set up the white foamcore, but then were do the actual lights go?

The light is coming from your only source of light, the #3 light that's lighting up the background from above. You'll need to adjust the distance of the bottle from the background so that it's far enough away to prevent direct light from the BG light from hitting the bottle ( or else that'll cause a specular highlight on the bottle which, I don't think, you want) but be close enough to allow some light to bounce off the front foam-core reflectors to light the label on the front of the bottle.

Check out the black outline at the sides of the bottles.. It appears there's two black "reflectors" on either side of each bottle..

To me it looks like each bottle was shot separately then each bottle cut and pasted onto the one image..

yogestee wrote in post #9962539
Check out the black outline at the sides of the bottles.. It appears there's two black "reflectors" on either side of each bottle..

To me it looks like each bottle was shot separately then each bottle cut and pasted onto the one image..

The OP has a "wine house" (#4) to take care of the black outline at the sides of the bottle but I can't think of any reason why each side of the bottle would need to be photographed separately and then pasted together to form one image.

yogestee wrote in post #9962539
Check out the black outline at the sides of the bottles.. It appears there's two black "reflectors" on either side of each bottle..

To me it looks like each bottle was shot separately then each bottle cut and pasted onto the one image..

To clarify, the two bottles in the attached image are from seperate shoots. The one on the left was shot by me, the other is from a major wine retailer.

PacAce wrote in post #9962431
The light is coming from your only source of light, the #3 light that's lighting up the background from above. You'll need to adjust the distance of the bottle from the background so that it's far enough away to prevent direct light from the BG light from hitting the bottle ( or else that'll cause a specular highlight on the bottle which, I don't think, you want) but be close enough to allow some light to bounce off the front foam-core reflectors to light the label on the front of the bottle.

Ah, that is an interesting thought. I will certainly try that!

New equipment is on the way, so I won't be able to test for a little bit, but I will certainly report back with my results.

If you have to rip through that much product, I strongly suggest you set up so you can shoot tethered to a laptop.

1) You can better see what your results are on a larger screen
2) More room to maneuver around your set up
3) You won't go crosseyed as fast as you will squinting through a viewfinder all day