Dior Perfume Bottle Photography

In this product photography class, Karl uses refraction through two Dior perfume bottles to create this lovely fresh product image.

As he works, Karl highlights common problems – lighting the chrome details on the bottle, the transparent bottle tops and achieving the right amount of refraction.

This photography tutorial is an uncut version of from a “How To” video available on YouTube, but we believe our members should see every step of the process that went into capturing this luxurious shot.

Watch as Karl and Urs Recher tackle each challenge, clearly explaining and demonstrating the solution to each. At the end of the shoot, Karl experiments with a number of alternative lighting modifiers and shows how each produces a slightly different result.

In this class:

  • Product photography: How to photograph perfume bottles
  • How to create refraction
  • How to photograph chrome objects
  • How to photograph transparent objects
  • Lighting modifier comparison and results

To see how Karl retouches this image, check out Dior Perfume Bottle Photography | Post-Production.

Dior Perfume Bottle Photography

Comments

  1. Great work! In love with those colourful reflections! I struggle with them and can’t 100% understand what type of light better to use for such flash light effects inside objects shadows. Is it possible to get them with strobe light or it’s necessary to have continuous light for such purposes?

    Thank you and your team for all classes!

    1. Hi and thank you. Continuous light or flash it doesn’t matter, what matters is the modifier type on the light source.

  4. Hi Karl,

    Regarding the silver tape you use on the lids, is it just normal silver duct tape or is it something more specialised?

    1. Hi I think it was silver electrical tape. Most electric tape is black, white or red, brown, blue etc but there are also some interesting ones like this silver one too.

  5. Hi Karl,

    I’ve been trying to experiment with doing a refraction shot like that but on a gloss black background but can’t get it to work – I can get a reflection of the bottle but not the pass through light. Is it even possible or is the black too dark to show the refraction?

  6. wonderful technique, after few years of photography still I can see your videos for hours passionately. thanks dear Karl.

    1. Hi yes but it would have probably have spread the ‘beam’ of light to wide but this would depend on the size and distance of the snoot, also for the refraction to work through the bottles it is better with a harder light which the fresnel still provides

  10. Great tutorial, very professional, thanks for that. Please Karl, can you spell for me the thing that sounds to me like FINAL…I am after the thing that you have used on your main light source. So it’s not the honeycomb, not the snoot, nor the grid….

    1. Hi Luigi, I think you mean ‘Fresnel’ but if you can give me the time in the video I can double check.

    1. Hi Mark, It is a photographers/filmakers effect spray, you should find it online from studio suppliers.

  12. Great shot and techniques as ever. It is so good to hear the supportive banter between you both. And Oh! Dulling sprays. In the ‘old’ days before any compressed air sprays existed we still needed to dull some surfaces like glass, wood and metal. We used to dab fresh window putty to the area. It worked a treat. It was a little disconcerting however for a male actor to have a ball of putty rolled over their shiny pate to achieve the same effect. It wouldn’t do in today’s world would it Karl?

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