Curl Loc: Toronto, Canada

This is my first attempt at lighting stemware. I am backlighting with a softbox and have some additional diffusion material between the softbox and the glasses.
I am a little concerned about the amount of shadow I am getting on the side of the glasses but I'm not sure if there is anything I can do about it.
I welcome any suggestions for improvement please.

Thank you in advance for helping me out.

Curl

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E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

If you are not shooting for a food and beverage ad, there is no need to fill the classes. The dark line is probably caused by the liquid causing refraction. Notice that the unfilled areas of the glasses have cleaner outlines. Even in a high key shot, however, you do need some dark areas to define the shape of the subjects.

Try a few variations: Sometimes the simplest lighting is best. One light, from below and in back of the glassware, aimed at a white or gray solid background will do the trick. Keep the background far enough away so it is rendered out of focus- that way, minor defects in the background won't show up and the lighting effect will be smoother.

Another method is to place the objects on a glass shelf and light them from underneath. Ordinary plate glass can be used or get a sheet of SIGN-WHITE" Plexiglas- it is made for trans-illuminated signage and spreads the light more efficiently, especially in tight spaces where the distance between the light and the Plexiglas is limited.

When glasses are filled with colored beverages, an entirely different method is entailed. It is usually best to light from above and make small reflectors out of white cardboard or aluminum foil and hinge them to the back of the glasses where the can not be seen by the camera. By incrementally tilting theses little reflectors, you will find the best degree of trans-illumination.

I will try to prepare a tutorial soon. Meanwhile, try some of theses variations- it's fun!

If you want to show the reflections at the bottom of you composition, include the entire stems and bases.

Cut glass, so called lead-glass or glasses with etched designs make for more interesting subjects.

Curl Loc: Toronto, Canada

Wow. What a very helpful and detailed response! Thank you!
I am just faking the reflections in this image by placing them on top of upside down glasses but I'm pretty sure you already knew that.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

One thing I learned was in addition to control the lighting is to control the reflections. Glass especially, will diffract and reflect the surroundings of the set up as it has done with yours. There are whole books devoted to just shooting glass and highly reflective objects.

There are a lot of lighting schemes you can try. For your attempt, I would first try a backlit white background (either shoot through from the back of the background or highly lit from the sides onto the front) with a black plexi for your table top. The black plexi will actually reflect the white background and not be black, but still give you a reflection of the stemware. To control extraneous reflections, put black foamcore on one side of the set to give you a black edge on one side of the glass and a thinner one on the other. White foamcore on the other side.

A good way to learn how to set up for table top photography, is to start with the subject, add one light or modification at a time and see what it does to your composition. If you start with everything turned on and set up, if you don't like something, you have no idea what is making it not work. You will get a lot of AH HA moments when you see how what you added contributes to your composition.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lighting-for-product-photography-allison-earnest/1110904054?ean=9781608955466

This is, for me, a bible of light for photography
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0415719402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506727574&sr=8-1&keywords=light+science+and+magic+5th+edition

Valsmere Loc: New Jersey

This is why I love this section AWESOME knowledge being shared.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I think for a first attempt it's very good. I will give you my impression of how I experience it. There are odd shadows above the center glass and the middle of the glass on the left. My eye sees them. Something seems slightly out of balance to me. I notice the negative space on the top, perhaps less negative space on the top and a tiny bit more of stem on the glass on the left, or even better, raise the glass on the left slightly and reduce the negative space on the top, might result in a more balanced image. These are just thoughts and minor things.

Overall it is a very nice job.

Curl Loc: Toronto, Canada

Thank you Idubu!

LarryN Loc: Portland OR & Carbondale, CO

I think your initial shot is quite good but the suggestions are excellent. I’m going to try several.

RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

I hope this will help... glass photography can be difficult...

RodB

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RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

Glass photography can be difficult... it takes some messing around even with the best starting setup. I hope my comments on the pic help some.

Rod B

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