Got vermouth?

I recently received two of these glasses(?) as a gift. Since I have become obsessed with shooting shiny objects, I decided to shoot the glasses. It turns out that I can't shoot them together because one always reflects the other. So, I'll digitally composite two copies of the glass, the shaker, and the bottle into an ad layout.



Canon 30D ISO 100 f/10 manual focus manual exposure RAW capture

one softbox camera left

Charles,

This is so impressive!

I love this project!

Asher

Charles L Webster said:

So, I'll digitally composite two copies of the glass, the shaker, and the bottle into an ad layout.

Click to expand...

Hi Charles,

That'll be interesting. I could imagine you'll need to shoot them in sequence, in their respective spots in the imaginary total composition. Otherwise, when just using two identical copies, the lack of subtle perspective differences and shadow directions will trigger a (subconscious) uneasy feeling. It might even be interesting to compare the effect that the two different approaches would have on a viewer.

Bart

Thanks Bart, I hadn't considered the subtle distortions that would be introduced by using identical copies.

Hmmm, I'll have to work on that idea

<Chas>

Hi Charles,

How about discussing the lighting issues too. This is a great opportunity for us all to move to a higher level of technique.

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Hi Charles,

How about discussing the lighting issues too. This is a great opportunity for us all to move to a higher level of technique.

Asher

Click to expand...

Small objects don't really have lighting issues, as such, because most sources are larger than the objects.

On the other hand, shiny objects have reflection issues, and dealing with those is mostly a matter of understanding the basics and having the patience to track down every unwanted reflection.

In this photo you see the reflection of the softbox in the base, a little along the rim, and on the stem. All of these hotspots are small and don't distract from the shape. The reflections in the bowl are the dark studio at the edges graduating to the gray seamless that's hung over the glass.

I had to choose the camera angle carefully to avoid hard edges appearing in the reflection in the bowl as more of the paper "ceiling" came into view.

I've spent three sessions with the glasses, with varying success. I'll post some others for comparison.