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. David

    Karl, I’m doing a photoshoot for local bar. They probably won’t let me peel off the back label (if they do, that would be amazing) and I want to use the gold cards to show the richness of the spirit, how can I work around that?
    From my understanding I could photoshop it some how but I would like to avoid hours of that kind of work because the solution is very simple.

    1. Hi David, physics are physics I’m afraid, if you have a label at the back blocking your reflector card then you can’t get the light through consistently.

  2. Gary Stasiuk

    Karl.. I thought I would take another look at this video (likely the third or fourth time now), which I know was live.. and you ran through it very quickly. I don’t want to be critical.. or seem like I am being overly critical. I’m trying to be objective as if a client was in the picture. I have a very specific question, having shot quite a few whiskey or cognac bottles by this time using your instruction.. My question has to do with the right side of the bottle. There is a dark stripe or lensed image along the edge.. So if this was a real ad, would you leave the dark strip? And would the client accept the dark stripe? Or would you rework the gradient and make the bottle look more perfect? I’ve never worked for a large client before, and I don’t have direct experience with a creative director in the mix during a photo shoot. I have worked in other capacities with agencies and art and creative directors. They look at things with a dubious critical lens. Part of this question has to do with just how perfect do I need to make my shots? I usually fall on the side of beyond perfect and I wonder if I’m moving in the right direction.

    1. Hi Gary, no problem at all. I think what this demonstrates is that you are developing a more finely tuned critical eye which is essential for good commercial photography. I think that the vertical stripe is probably a little strong for commercial purposes and an art director would have asked for it to be blended into the gradient as you would still require a darker edge on the right. I didn’t have too much of a problem with it as I felt it framed the bottle well and overall I look at my shots and try and view them holistically and how they feel. I’ve sent shots back to art directors retouched and they’ve come back to me with further things that they want ‘fixing’ that is the normal course of action in the commercial world. The main thing though is the standard of the deliverables out of the camera and you usually have a client or art director looking at that stood next to you in the studio or via live screen. As I was my own client on this one I felt the shot was appropriate but I may have a play with it further when I have some time.

  3. David

    Hi Karl,

    Once you painted the hardboard to the desired colour, can you repaint it with another colour later, or you just buy another piece?

    Thanks,

    David

    1. Hi David, yes you can once. After a couple of repaints they get a bit ‘textury’ looking so I prefer a new sheet.

  4. David

    Hi Karl,

    I’m at 58:20 and was wondering what is the difference between using a white card as a reflector or a mirror in this case

    Thanks

    David

    1. Hi David, the mirror gives me a harder crisper light down the right hand side neck of the bottle, a white would give me less light and it would wrap slightly more around the neck.

    1. My Shazam says it’s Dhanbad Blues Theme Song. I think this is correct, however, the version I found has lyrics.

  6. Hi Karl, at 1 hour 07 minutes, you roll in the overhead light with the honeycomb grid, what model is that stand and arm connected to it? Thanks!

    1. Hi, this is the top section: https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/light-boom-35-black-a25-without-stand-085bsl/ and you’ll find other options in this section: https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/products/stands-arms-and-clamps/lighting-booms-and-boom-stands/ The bottom part is just a large heavy duty stand with wheels but I’m afraid I don’t know the model number, I can tell you that the large pin from the tilt mechanism of the boom fits into a hole on the stand which is about 3cm in diameter.

  7. Hi there!
    Would a painted MDF board work as a backgroud as well? Does it do the job right or there are problems with it?
    Thanks a lot!

  8. jacktranterphotography

    Hi karl,
    At 35:15 you are using the colour checker and you naturalize it, does this save it to the raw file or is it purely just a visual aid for you when viewing in the software and has to be re-neutralized in photoshop/Lightroom on the final edit.

    1. Hi Jack, it saves it to the RAW file and then each shot I take after that will remain at that neutralization until I change it. Then when I export the file as a PSD, tiff etc it will keep that colour balance.

  9. Hi Karl,

    You mentioned that an option is to use some gel on the top light to warm up the shot. Do you advise getting a pack of gels or are there just a few that is needed in general for food and product photography? If so, please advise the colour code or pack and size to get. Thanks!

    1. Hi Joycelje, please email the studio or contact customer support through your home page and ask them for the details of the filters of our ‘technical pack’ as I’m away at the moment but they should be able to give you the specifics.

  10. Lastly,

    Do you use a coat of white primer on the hardboard before painting the color you chose?

    1. Hi Kelloosh, no I normally just paint straight on with a roller, two coats of the colour with about 40mins drying time between.

  11. Hi Karl,

    Would a Godox AD-200 Flash work ok for the background glow? The unfortunate thing is that the barn door attachment will not fit on the bare bulb head but does attach to the speedlight flash head. Worried I won’t get a round glow due to the shape of the flash…

    1. Hi Kelloosh, I’m afraid I can’t really answer that without trying which is what you are best doing in this case. If it doesn’t work try to figure out why it’s not working and what you can make to solve it.

  12. Hi Karl,
    Thanks for this amazing live show! I have checked rosco white diffusion rolls, and there multiple numbers of them. Can you tell which one you usually use or specifically in this live?
    Thank you,
    Saeed

  13. tastrong61

    Hi Karl,

    I was wondering if I could get a response to my question above that I posted Feb 21st.

    Thanks
    Todd

  14. Hi Karl,

    I just joined KTE yesterday and just finished watching this video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and for letting us in on your process. I will definitely try a whiskey shoot, but curious what reflectors you’d use other beverages that are either bright red, purple, or even yellow. Would you stick to gold on warmer tones, and Silver for the colder ones?

    1. Hi, thanks for joining us and I’m sure you’re going to love some of our other content too. If you need the colour to remain true then silver is the best choice, gold is only good if you need to ‘richen’ whiskies etc. So for example as it’s a warm colour it would enhance yellow, orange or red liquid but it may take them away from their intended form but you wouldn’t use it on blue or purple unless you wanted to make them less blue or purple. Talking of which you might find this useful – Kind regards Karl.
      https://visualeducation.com/class/understanding-basic-colour-theory/
      https://visualeducation.com/class/live-workshop-post-production-techniques/

  15. tastrong61

    Hi Karl,
    This tutorial impressed me so much I am going to try to duplicate it just to see if I can. I finally found a bottle of Dalmore to shoot. I’ve had a difficult time finding the color of paint you used for the hardboard. Finding the hardboard proved a bit more troublesome than I thought. The ‘cognac’ color the stores here have is a reddish color instead of what looks like a mossy green in the video when you lift the board off the floor. I think I found a suitable substitute. We’ll see as I have to go about this a piece at a time as the budget permits. The question I have is, what are those clamps you are using to secure the hardboard to the support and, what is that support? Would a standard backdrop stand suffice or is the aluminum not sturdy enough to use the clamps, in other words, would the clamps crush the cross bar. If so, what do you suggest as a support for the hardboard backdrop. Also I’m going to try to shoot this in my very small apartment and I’m not sure I’ll be able to get the lighting right. THAT will be my problem to solve along with the rest of it.

    Thanks in advance for your quick response.
    Todd

    1. Hi Todd,

      Please accept my apologies for the late reply, this one must have got missed in the whole covid lockdown matrix! I think I used differrent types of clamps but it would have been one of these –
      https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/spring-clamp-clamps-on-to-bars-up-to-40mm-175/
      https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/super-photo-clamp-without-stud-aluminium-035/
      https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/quick-action-super-clamp-635/
      https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/avenger-grip/pelican-gaffer-grip-c500/

  16. HI Karl, I just renewed my subscription to your class because i feel that what you are sharing here is really a treasure. I am still making up my portfolio and would like to add pics like that to it but I have a very small space to shoot in…. since this is a lot of physics, as you always mention, is this something I can replicate in a very smaller space?

  17. Hi karl,
    I learned lot from your videos. I love the way you set up the lighting, composition etc. But i believe most of us face it difficult to visualize in our mind to what we want our pothograph to be, like what you sketched on paper in this video. The creativity that i am afraid wont come as easy as it comes to your head. Is there any suggestion how to train and drill the creativity? Or it just comes with experience? Or may be you suggest to see someone’s photographs as much as possible?

    Thanks Karl,
    I wont regret the money spent in this web platform

    1. Hi Gilanka, thank you for your comments. Yes this does come with experience but you can take inspiration from many places such as other photographers websites, art, pintrest etc etc. This will help you develop new ideas of your own that you can then sketch.

  18. 1. what is the best technique to paint a background, so it will become smooth and looks contsant ?
    like in this tutorial – the KONIAC colored background.
    is it by spray ?
    by brush ?
    2. what kind of color ? acrilic ? oil paint? color based on water ?….
    3. on what surface ? simple foam card ?

  20. Hi Karl,

    Just subscribed. I had a question on how would you get the color of the liquid in the glass to be the same as the color of the whiskey? (as the bottle is sealed). Thank you!

  21. Hi Karl,
    Nenad
    I’m in Denver.
    Can you please tell me where is the best place to go or what website is the best to buy Lee filter 216 diffusion material?
    Thanks/ Hvala

      1. Hi Daniel, thank you for the info but that particular one is quite small, it’s the correct material but the rolls we use are 1.52m wide by 7m long and are less expensive than that one?

  22. Hello Karl,

    An (maybe good, that would be up to the photographer) alternative for the Lee defusion paper could be white baking paper. It doesn’t come as wide as the Lee, but it doesn’t catch fire and if gives surprisingly good results on bottles. I use for the moment and you have to play around with the power of your strobe, but it gets the job done..

    Regards

    Philip

      1. Hello good morning Karl and team,

        I have a quick question. Any tips on taking pictures from dark bottle. I did a shoot a couple of days ago with a dark brown beer bottle (Brown Leffe) and I was not able to reflect light through the bottle, but when I went outside and held the bottle the to sun I got a nice dark natural glow. But no matter what i did inside I was not able to replicate it. I tried putting the flash behind the bottle but that looked to much over the top and bouncing light back with a reflector was not strong enough. Any tips Karl? Thanks a lot.

        1. Hi Philip, I think if you had enough light on the front of the bottle then some should have been able to reflect through, so the physics says you need more light through either off of the reflector or directly. You can weaken the power of any flash by using ND gels over them.

  23. Hello from Finland!
    I joined KTE few weeks ago and i have to say it´s really worth money!! Learning so much everytime, in every tuto and live workshop! For sure the best investement i have done seens the begening of the year.

  24. Hello sir… your tutorials are too good….I just wanted to ask y did you feel the need to use colour balance card……and what difference does it make when you use diffuser instead of scrim in front of softbox???

    1. Hi, Yes I generally use a colour balance card to measure the grey levels to check they are neutral before I process the file. I don’t quite understand what you mean a scrim is a diffuser?

  25. Good job, a few useful tips for added finesse. How about a downloadable lighting diagram to help us remember?

    1. Hi Barnymobil, thank you. Unfortunately we aren’t going to produce those, the videos are there for members to enjoy and reference for as long as they are members. Cheers Karl.

  26. luizcfreire

    “don’t use a tea spoon to dig up the garden”, that is the best possible advice! hahahahaha
    Karl you are the King! Have a nice weekend.

      1. i liked it too..ahahha
        btw..i like the way u teach..direct easy to understand and no waisting time–with boring talk:)

  27. Hi Karl and KTE Team, thank you for an amazing workshop ,the whole content here is amazing I must say.

    Brilliant teaching skills – definitely my best investment in learning photography so far .

    I do have one question in regards to the set up of this shot.

    I managed to get a LEE 216 diffusion which is 122cm x 122cm -Now if I want to try similar set up of a beverage shot would I need slightly smaller Strip Softbox for example 30×90 ?
    Am I right thinking that 30×120 would spill the light as it would be bigger than the scrim ?

    And would that be sufficient size of a soft box or even the scrim for this type of shots?

    Thanks

    Michal

    1. Sorry, regarding my previous question :

      I meant that the softbox would almost be as tall as the scrim – only 2 cm difference is that ok ?

      1. No I think that would be fine as you often have the softbox further from the scrim so it would appear smaller than the scrim from the subjects perspective. Why didn’t you go for the 150cm wide roll 7m long?

        1. Thank you so much for answering my question.
          In regards to size I had a decent offer on that size.
          And to be honest this is going to be my first product shot experiment.
          If I “pass the test” I will defenitly invest with and get the big roll.
          Massive thank you again for sharing the knowledge with us.

  28. Hey Karl,

    Any suggestions on a good substitute for the broncolor projection attachment? Not much on the market in the sub 300 range..

    1. Hi I don’t know any specific ones but there have been a few comments referring to independent brands on some of our other shows in the comments sections I believe.

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