Wine Bottle Photography

In this product photography workshop, recorded LIVE, Karl shoots a bottle of red wine, sharing a host of useful techniques that you can apply to your own work.

He demonstrates two different lighting setups as he achieves a variety of shots, explaining the modifiers, background choices, lighting considerations and post-production requirements for each.

Follow Karl step by step as he reveals how to achieve the perfect photograph of a bottle of red wine.

In this class:

  • Product photography: How to photograph wine bottles
  • Product photography tips
  • Lighting modifiers for product photography
  • Rim lighting techniques
  • How to control reflections in bottles
  • Working with composite images
  • Correcting image distortion
  • Photographing using coloured gels

If you enjoy this class, be sure to check out Whisky Photography or browse our huge Product Photography section.

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

Please note that we no longer sell diffusion material directly, but Visual Education subscribers are eligible to receive a wide range of discounts from top equipment suppliers.

Comments

  1. desavoiecorp@gmail.com

    23min24s
    I have 80mm or 120 Macro II, can I get away with the 120mm instead of 100mm for my product photography?

      1. desavoiecorp@gmail.com

        👍

  2. desavoiecorp@gmail.com

    Where on your website is your shop?? On this video you talk about selling LEE 216 on your website??

    1. Hi, we don’t sell it any more I’m afraid as it was becoming too much trouble with shipping around the world.

  4. hi Karl, minute 31, regard the big soft box..I have a a 30x 120 and a big 120 cm octabox..then I have a 5 in 1 150x100cm…can I use this as a frost and what do I need between the strip box and the octabox? for the label I think I can use a snoot with a speed lite

      1. Hi Fafo87, I’m sorry what do you mean by ‘how can I use the 30×120’ and at what time in the video are you referring to?

          1. Hi, yes you can but you will need the diffussion material too to do the job properly

  5. Remig

    Hello Karl,
    Thank you for this very instructive (as usual) lesson!
    I just tried a similar rim-lit shot of a Bordeaux wine, and was wondering about the projection attachment position: do you usually position it above camera at a downwards angle?
    Since it is a hard light source, I find myself struggling with nasty reflections in the bottle needing to be retouched out.
    Would a polarising gel on this light solve this in camera?
    Thanks and kind regards
    Remi

    1. Hi and thanks. Yes directly above camera so that I can light the label square on and create a patch of light. With the projection attachment set with the gobo blades just the right size for the central part of the label you should only have a tiny dot of light on your bottle that is easily retouched. A polarizer wouldn’t work in this instance as you are perpendicular to the light source.

  6. Really loving the content! I currently own a westcott scrim jim 4’x4′ and I’m wondering if you know if it’s good enough to use or if the diffusion paper is better. I keep going back and forth on spending $70 to get a 1.5 stop diffusion for my scrim jim at $70 vs the roll of lee 216 at $170. Thanks Karl!

    1. Hi Allen, thanks for your comments and I’m glad you are enjoying the platform! I’ve not used the Westcott scrim but I’ve heard people say it works perfectly well. For me the LEE 216 has always been my first choice as I can make my own scrims in almost any size or use it on the roll. A roll is 7m long x 1.52m wide.

  7. Hello Karl, love the tutorials. Have learnt so much from you being a member of your platform!!

    Could I check please when getting LEE FILTERS 216, does it matter if it’s a 1″ core or 2″ core?

    Also, do we still get a member’s discount and where can we apply this?

    Thanks so much!

  8. hey karl , what if i make these scrims only and use it on mostly product shoots rather than using those softboxes , is this will good enough for most of the product shoots? or i have to include those softboxes also ? as i have seen you using mostly scrims with lights having reflectors .

    1. Hi Adarsh, there are many shoots where I only use the bare bulb studio light through a scrim but for a lot of bottle shots I do need a softbox especially the 30×120 shape is often used.

    1. Hi, it’s listed on LEE’s website and it is mostly used in the film industry so you might try some film supply companies or pro photography supplies in main city’s or ask LEE or see LEE’s dealers on their website.

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