Working on lighting

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Peter Livingstone on March 7, 2011 at 11:21am

I like the image & the lighting

my opinion would be that you have a great reflection - it was a shame you didnt get the whole bottle reflected.

It looks good enough to be an advert for  Disaronno, well done

Permalink Reply by T. Williams Photography on March 7, 2011 at 11:58am

Thanks for the comment. I would have liked to get the whole reflection, but was limited because of the sheet of plexiglass i used wasnt big enough to get all of it.

Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on March 7, 2011 at 12:42pm

There are several things, reflection in the plexi notwithstanding.  1)  It isn't sharp.  2)  You are using the wrong type of light source for this image.  It needs a huge diffuse light source, you were using a small specular.  In order for this type of image to work correctly you must have highlights that run the length of the bottle and are unbroken, including over the shoulder of the bottle and in the glass.  It is difficult to do but can be done and digital makes it much easier since the glass and the bottle can be photographed separately and then composited.  See my blog post on this website called, "It's the Light Stupid".

Permalink Reply by T. Williams Photography on March 7, 2011 at 2:58pm

Thanks for the reply. I don't have a soft box to get the large diffuse light I need. Would using a bed sheet hung in front of the light work? Also any tips for making it sharper. I used a 2 sec timer and mirror lock up, but I think it's that my tripod isn't the sturdiest and any little vibration seems to make it move slightly.

Permalink Reply by nathan mccreery on March 7, 2011 at 5:38pm

A bed sheet will work fine.  If you used your finder to trigger the exposure that is the problem.