*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com
We get a lot of questions related to product photography, especially shiny reflective objects like glass or plexiglass. Luckily, photographer David Bergman with AdoramaTV just had a few tips on photographing one of these objects – a wine glass.
David shares: “Lighting reflective objects presents a whole other set of challenges. The first thing to think about is placement. I’ve talked about using Plexiglas under products before, because it gives you a subtle reflection underneath. However another way to do the same exact thing is to just use two identical glasses, put one upside down, and the one you want to photograph on top. Magic!”
“Now onto the lighting, when you shoot something like a wine glass, you shouldn’t just pop a straight flash right into it. The surface acts like a mirror and you’ll see small points of light, which is the reflection of your speed light coming right back at you. So what we’re gonna do is put our light right behind the glass, so that we see it in the background.”
“If you have a big soft box for your flash, go ahead and use that. But you can also use just a piece of white foam core, or white background paper and direct your flash to hit into that, and it lights it all up.”
“When you shoot this way, you can see that the black edges are what defines the shape of the glass. The black is basically a dark reflection of everything else in the room, and it may or may not be dark enough or even symmetrical.”
“…so what you can do is use negative fill, and surround your set with black foam core or anything solid like felt, or duvateen, and that’s gonna block out as much of the room as possible.”
“Now you’ll see the black on both sides reflected in the glass, and it defines the shape and adds some drama to the image. Lastly the same thing works in Reverse by using that same black foam core, to create my background, the light slipping out from the sides around it, creates a rim light giving a very cool look. “
heck out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!
One of our closest workshops –
Studio Lighting 102: Portrait Photography Lighting
will take place on September 11th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!
Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV: