Whisky Photography

Treat yourself to a dram of photographic magic.

Recorded LIVE, this photography workshop covers the start-to-finish process of a product shoot, photographing a bottle of whisky to advertising standards, using a simple three-light setup.

Karl guides you through each step of the process, from planning and previsualization, to the retouching required to finish the shot.

How to light reflective surfaces, controlling gradient light, using reflectors and useful post-production techniques are all covered in this exciting shoot. Karl also shares a number of little-known industry secrets that help elevate a shot to advertising standard.


In this class:

  • Product photography: How to photograph bottles
  • Product photography lighting tips
  • Lighting setups for bottle photography
  • Photographing using multiple lights
  • Useful post-production techniques for product photography
  • Creating a composite image in Photoshop

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Vladimir Ladev

    Casting a shadow to trace the silhouette is pure genious! I’d like to ask about foils on the bottle cap and excise stickers, what is to be removed and what left and if it is for e-commerse versus commercial shoot is it bad to leave it as is?

    1. Hi, I remove everything that is ugly, aim for making the product look like it looks on the brands website and ad campaigns. When I’ve shot for e-commerce companies then I’ll let them know that I want to remove that stuff. I’ve shot loads of perfumes, beauty products, vitamins and all sorts for e-commerce and they’ve always wanted the products to look clean and appealing for their website.

  2. Hey Karl, I gave this setup a shot using a 60 x 90cm soft box instead of the strip box you are using. However, I am getting a diffused but a heavy blotch of light on the bottle instead of a thin strip that you are getting. Is it an issue with the size of the scrim or the soft box?

    1. Hi, the ‘blotch’ of light on the bottle is a reflection of your lightsource. The only way to change the shape or size of that is to change the shape or size of the light source itself. You can also mask your softbox with black card or fabric if you need to make it thinner, also pay attention to the distance of the softbox and the angle from the scrim.

  3. David

    Hi Karl,

    I don’t know where to write this comment so I will write it here.

    Is there any chance that you have time or want to do product photography that involves Cigars either paired with whisky or not?

    Great content, learned a lot and making money from it now.

    1. Hi, I can add it to our list of ‘ideas’ for future shoots – can you email me some mood boards to consider, my email is on the ‘about team’ page.

  4. acroft911

    Hi Karl, I can not seem to find the link to buy a 7m x 1.5m Lee diffusion 216. Is it no longer made?

Leave a Comment