Shooting a bottle involves some practice because it requires special lighting and editing techniques. This post will show you an artificial light photography demonstration for how to shoot a bottle.

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Photography Equipment

Paul C. Buff Studio Lights (x1600)

For this artificial light photography demo, I used two of my Paul C. Buff strobes, but you can use any brand of lights you’d like. I modified the lights using two large soft boxes. This allowed me to soften and spread the light over the bottle without creating hot spots. 

Neewer CN-160 Light

You will need one small light to help you create the glow on the back of the bottle. You can use any type of light you want, but I use the Neewer CN-160. I recommend this light because it’s dimmable and makes it easy to get that perfect glow behind the bottle. It’s my “secret weapon” for these types of shoots and it’s under $25.00. I recommend using some Kleenex to cover the light to hide the grid and soften the light.

Pocket Wizards Plus X

Pocket wizards have been a total game changer for me and my studio lights. They allow my camera and studio lights to talk to each other wirelessly without having to use an extra sync cable. Fewer cables are always a good thing. You might need these adaptors to connect the pocket wizard cables to your lights. You’ll need a pocket wizard to connect to the hot shoe of your camera and extras to connect to your light(s).

Tripod

A tripod is a must for this type of shooting, because you don’t want the camera to move at all during the shoot. You also don’t want to move the bottle as you shoot the images. Everything needs to stay in the exact same spot. You’ll take multiple images and will use certain parts of each of image to create the final image. If the camera or bottle move at all, it will make the compositing and editing process very difficult. I use this Manfrotto Tripod for my shoots and it’s incredibly solid.

Tether Cable

You’ll want to shoot tethered for this experiment, which means that your camera will be connected to your computer. It will allow you to see your images on a large screen and make changes as you go. Make sure your tether cable is compatible with your camera model. For example, I use the Nikon D750 and use this tether cable.

Shutter Release

A shutter release will come in handy, especially if you’re shooting alone. You will need to hold the light behind your bottle for the glow shots and a shutter release will allow you capture these shots without having to be near your camera or your computer. Here’s a wireless shutter release to consider as well. Make sure the shutter release is compatible with your camera model.

READ MORE ABOUT: GETTING STARTED WITH ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS

Getting Set Up

In this demonstration, I used two black foam boards for my background and surface and chose a beautiful bottle of Diplomatico Rum for the demo. My tripod is setup to shoot the bottle straight on and I have two Paul C. Buff strobes with soft boxes set up on each side of the set. Take a look at the images below so you can see my artificial light photography setup.

Test Your Lighting

I always test my lighting for the correct exposure regardless of if I’m shooting natural light or artificial light photography. This means I take several test shots to make sure the power of my lights and the position of my lights are exactly how I want them to be.

The light test example below focuses on lighting the LEFT side of the bottle only.

I decided to use 1/2 power. Even though you’ll notice the glow getting a little harsh at 1/2 power, I’m only compositing the left outline of the bottle from this image – not the glow. The glow will be shot as a separate image.

CAMERA EQUIPMENT & SETTINGS: Nikon D750; 105mm 2.8; 1/200 sec; f/14; ISO 100

The Shoot Process

First, be sure to clean the bottle before you shoot it. Eliminating dust spots and fingerprints ahead of time helps save time in the editing stage.

Next, think of the shoot process as focusing on one part of the bottle at a time rather than the bottle as a whole. You just want the area that you are lighting to be correct. Then, you composite those “parts” of each image together to make the final image.

The Shoot Order

1. Shoot the bottle where it’s mostly DARK.
   I left my studio lights off for this shot. I shot this because I wanted to have the surface be dark for the final image so I could add a pretty reflection of the bottle.
2. Shoot the LEFT SIDE of the bottle only and get a nice outline along the side.
   I only used one light on the left side powered at 1/2 power.
3. Shoot the RIGHT SIDE of the bottle only and get a nice outline along the side.
   I only used one light on the right side powered at 1/2 power.
4. Shoot the LABEL only so it’s bright, sharp and readable.
   I used both lights at 1/2 power and moved each light forward a bit to fully light the label. Note: I didn’t shoot the top label, because the bottle had been opened before I shot it and I didn’t want to highlight the torn label.
5. Shoot the BOTTLE GLOW only and adjust the dimmable light as needed.
   To do this, you will hold the dimmable light behind the bottle and use your shutter release to capture these shots. Don’t worry about the light extending beyond the bottle or that your hand may be in the shot. You will only be using the glow from that image.

IMAGES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

1. The first image is step 1 (shot dark to achieve a dark surface & background).
2. The second image is step 2 (light and shoot the left outline).
3. The third image is step 3 (light and shoot the right outline).
4. The fourth image is step 4 (light and shoot the label).
5. The fifth image is step 5 (shoot the glow using the separate, dimmable light).

Editing

What is Compositing?

Compositing is where you take elements from one or multiple images to create one final image. It’s one of my favorite editing techniques. Let’s go over the steps on how to do it!

1. Open Your Images in Photoshop

Once you have captured your images highlighting different parts of the bottle, export them from Lightroom and open up Photoshop. You’ll want to open each image that you’re using into the same work space with your main image as the top layer, so you can reveal parts of the layers beneath it. I had five images to work with for this demonstration and used my dark image as my top layer with the rest of the layers beneath it.

2. Create A Layer Mask

A) Make sure your images are open together in the same work space with the dark layer on top.

B) Add a layer mask to the top layer. You do this by clicking the layer mask icon at the bottom of the layers panel.

C) After you click the layer mask icon, you’ll see a white box appear next to your main image in the layers panel. Be sure that white box is selected and make sure the layers you want to start with are turned on. I had my top layer and the layer immediately beneath it (left light) turned on. I usually leave the rest of the layers turned off until I’m ready for them.

D) Select your brush tool and adjust the size to your liking.

E) Notice the black / white foreground and background color at the bottom of the tools panel. If you select black, your brush strokes will reveal the layer below. If you select white, your brush strokes will erase the layer below.

3. Use Your Paint Brush Tool (black) to Reveal

This part is so fun, because you get to see the different parts of the images come together to create your final image. Make sure the layers you’re working with are turned on so they can be revealed and leave the rest off until you’re ready to work with them.

Editing Tip: Layers

I composite one layer into my top layer at a time.

A) Once I have revealed and erased what I want into the top layer from the layer immediately beneath it, I duplicate these two layers. Then, I place the duplicated files into a group folder named appropriately for later just in case I need to go back and make adjustments to those edits. The duplicated layers are in a group folder called Left Edit Reveal, Right Edit Reveal, etc.

B) After I’ve duplicated and grouped the two layers, I merge the same two layers together. Now, that layer has become my top layer and I start the process over again. I create another layer mask in the top layer, turn on the layer directly beneath it and start revealing and erasing.

4. Use Your Paint Brush Tool (white) to Erase

Don’t worry if you start to show parts of the bottom layer that you don’t want to show. You can easily select the white color and erase them with the paint brush tool. Adjust your brush size accordingly to reveal or erase carefully.

5. Final Edits

After you’ve composited your images together, be sure to zoom in close to the bottle and clean up any dust spots and imperfections. I use the spot healing brush tool and the remove tool for the image clean up. It ensures that your final image is as close to perfect as possible.

SEE HOW THE COMPOSITED IMAGE CAME TOGETHER IN THE IMAGES BELOW

6. Retouching

Retouching is a true specialty and also a big part of the photography process. I know how to do some basic clean up and retouching on my own, but when it comes to the more advanced stuff, I work with Michelle Tucker.

She is my go-to retoucher for the advanced retouching that I may not have time for. She has worked with photographers and clients in different industries including: beauty, fashion, products, food and manipulation. View her website here.

She’s super fast, a true professional and an EXPERT at her craft. I love being able to support her retouching business when a project calls for it. So I highly recommend checking her out to help with your retouching needs if/when you might need it. I didn’t require retouching for this demonstration, but I did have her retouch the Jack Daniels bottle in the natural light experiment, if you want to hop over and take a look.

I hope you enjoyed this artificial light photography demo on how to shoot a bottle with artificial light. It’s a different approach to shooting, but it can be so fun to experiment and see how everything comes together. The compositing process works the same with artificial light photography as it does with natural light photography. Don’t be afraid to practice a bunch so you can get used to how this process works. Reach out with any questions anytime!

Happy Creating!

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All images ©Regan Baroni 2020.