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Zoundz's Avatar
Zoundz
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12-11-12, 04:09 PM
#1

Photographing very shiny bottles?

OK - I need some help as I'm on the verge of a meltdown! I need to take photos like this:

http://www.mindfulroots.net/wp-conte...een-image1.jpg

http://water.arredemo.org/images/6-s...er-bottles.jpg

http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/ui...009bottles.jpg

http://www.hotfrog.ca/Companies/Envi...7425_image.jpg

and I am having a nightmare trying to light them! I have a daylight spot which is the only lighting I have to work with and I have some vellum for diffusing the light, but I'm still getting a strip of annoying reflection... and I cannot see how to do it without reflections at all!

So - this is the initial shot I had - just lit with flashgun on camera, diffused. Obviously it's rubbish - and I needed to work out a way to improve it. I think I have, but to me, it's still not good enough!



I don't have a way to take flash off camera, so I got a daylight bulb in my old anglepoise lamp and tried surrounding the bottle in vellum. That worked, but obviously I needed to have a gap for the camera to shoot through, and that's caused another line of reflection:



Is this good enough? Am I being paranoid? Is there anything else I can do/try? I can't go shopping for equipment, I have to work with what I have - which is not much for lighting!

xx
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12-11-12, 06:26 PM
#2

Re: Photographing very shiny bottles?

I know you're working with metalic reflections here but have you got a polarizer that you could try ?

Have you tried much lower light with a longer exposure on a tripod ?

Do you have to be 'straight on' to the bottle ?
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12-11-12, 07:53 PM
#3

Re: Photographing very shiny bottles?

Thank Phil. Tried it with lower light, it still reflects the stuff opposite :/ but might try again now it's dark, I think the window may not have helped, but we'll see.

I don't have a polarising filter sadly and yes, I do rather need to be straight on to the bottle - I guess small amounts of angling wouldn't hurt, but having tried a few shifts in angle, it didn't seem to make any difference.

xx
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Nikon D800
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Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8
Nikkor 105 mm f2.8 macro
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8
Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 EX DG HSM
Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM
Nikon 70-300mm AF f/4-5.6G
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12-11-12, 11:54 PM
#4

Re: Photographing very shiny bottles?

You might also want to try a defused light from all angles - so the light is balanced? Or how about a longer exposure with lower (again balanced) light?
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23-11-12, 03:11 PM
#5

Re: Photographing very shiny bottles?

The strip of light is due to angle of incidence. Google angle of incidence to learn how to correct it.
You also need a good size peace of diffuser material, say 5ft x 3ft. You will also need reflector/s.
place the material camera left or right just out of camera view a(as close to the bottle as you can get) and place your light behind the material so that it lights the material evenly. Add a reflector for fill.


     
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