video: episode 2 , lighting glassware in the studio
29 March 2008
21 Comments
Let’s use some very simple lighting to shoot glassware in the studio:
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Let’s use some very simple lighting to shoot glassware in the studio:
thanks for the video, very easy to understand. i’m excited to try it!
Can I do the same thing using a flash?
Sure, sbug5901, a flash can give the same results as the tungsten (hot) light used in the video – light is light. The advantage of the hot light for my illustration is that you can see what it’s doing as it’s moved around.
How cool is that! I never thought that you could mix the bright and dark techniques in the same photo. Great video!
This video is great! Very instructive. You have a new subscriber
Nice,smart ideas for ‘poor photographers’. I’m enjoying the tips and looking forward to the next videos.
Thanks
CU
Thanks, this was very helpful. I like how simple it is.
this website just save me from frustration!. I,m just learning photography just by my self and now I have a very good buddy!
I stumbled across some of your videos on You Tube and have since viewed your other video lessons. Gotta say they are really great simple but very effective learning tool.
Keep up the great work!
Glen
UK
Excellent video! I really am learning a lot here – you help me see!
Excellent, Thanks! A great glass photography tutorial,
Hi Jim,
I find myself shooting glassware often. One problem I have is that I usually have the image clipped around the outside. The results is a perfectly white background with a grayish background. Any suggestions to minimize photoshop? I’ve tried overexposing, but I’m curious to se if there are any other ideas out there.
Thanks!
Sorry,
To be more specific, I have a hard time getting the background through the glass to look natural.
Daniel, do you have a sample image we might see? Is it a harsh gradation where the white and gray meet, instead of being a smooth gradation? If so, it might mean finessing the light a bit more or exposing in a way to retain that detail. Send a sample this way if you can and I’ll do my best to help get it figured!
Jim,
I wish I had a better example. This one was photoshopped quite extensively:
Valentine’s Day
The shot was taken inside of a home made light tent with a single bulb above and slightly behind the glass. Although I didn’t use black cards to help define the edges, I do still run into this problem in the studio.
I pretty much erased and redrew the rim of the glass around the top. The stem has lost a lot of contrast because I had to bump up the brightness.
Are there any steps you would normally take on a plain drinking glass that you knew was going to be put on a white background?
Thanks for the help!
Daniel, here are a couple thoughts, let me know what you think. The background light appears a bit too bright. We just need it bright enough for a clean background and this is overexposing a bit much.
It’s also hard to get a defined edge when the background is completely white. The reason the glassware in my video has separation is because there is a spot of light on the background surrounded by darker areas. It’s the darker areas on the background that reflect into the glass and create contrast on the edge. Make sense?
So, if you can, use a less powerful background light and try to make it more of a spot or create darker background areas just outside the frame.
If all else fails, get a black grease pencil and draw a black edge right on the glass when your shooting. It’s not great photography but that’s a way to cheat from my old catalog photography days.
Makes sense. I’ll try it out next time I have the opportunity. Thanks for the tips!
Newbie Photographer Here !
Question for when shooting this type of photo:
what camera angle and distance is suggested ?
and what aperture and shutter speed would you recommend for a Canon Powershot SX10Is ( thats my rookie entry level camera ).
Great tutorial no frills and yet very informative and inspiring
time to practice…Thanks again! 
Thanks man for this great video. you did it a great job!
[...] DIY studio lighting for glassware: este é um dos meus preferidos. É impressionante a facilidade com que Jim apresenta a solução [...]
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