The project
In this post, I want to discuss what I have been working on and show you how to approach still life photography differently. The subject for this shoot is the perfume bottle photography and lightning. It’s complemented by several geometric shapes in this set design. In the video, you can see my setup today and the items and arrangements I have gone with. I am really enjoying using the perfume bottle as my subject lately.
I tried maybe several different angles and setups to get the final set in place. The geometric shapes were assembled around the perfume bottle, with the square block of wood as the base. I feel like the colors probably match fairly well. After shooting several images perfume bottle I decided to change the position of the bottle from straight up to suspended. Because I like ‘crazy’ designs. ‘Crazy’ can be sometimes good at photography.
Perfume bottle photography lighting setup
Perfume bottle photography lighting setup: Two lights were placed high up above the scene, with 20 degrees honeycomb grids. This steep, almost distant light creates sharper contrasts in the edges of shadows. Another light was set up on the side shining horizontally on the surfaces. A final light was placed to illuminate the white backdrop. I tried different things with my bare hands, you can see me doing so in the video. Similarly, I kept moving the cards around until I found an angle I was happy with. Furthermore, lighting is so crucial for capturing those quality images. One should take the time to position and set up this properly.
The perfume bottle appears to be balancing on a single corner of its casing. The wooden block is lit up from the front, showcasing the texture in the wood grain. While the accompanying geometrics shapes are starkly contrasted with brushes of dark shadows. The objective is to create a strong first impression. This is even more important for commercial photography where we want the brand to be central.
The perfume bottle was suspended with fishing line and rotated around as I took the photos. Above all, the spinning allowed for multiple different results. I certainly like to try different things when I shoot still life. For me, it’s important to play with the shadows and lighting using differect techniques to create different results in the images. You can see some of these results in the video. Eventually, I settled on one image and did some light touch-ups. I am very happy with the result.
FAQs
What was the setup for the perfume bottle still life photography shoot?
The setup consisted of four spotlights, two of which were mounted high above the scene with honeycomb grids, one on the side that shone horizontally, and one that illuminated the white background. The perfume bottle was suspended with a fishing line and shot during the shoot.
Why did the photographer change the position of the perfume bottle during the shoot?
The photographer changed the position of the perfume bottle from straight up to suspended because he liked “crazy” designs and wanted to experiment with different angles and setups.
What is the objective of the perfume bottle still life photography shoot?
The goal of the photo shoot was to create a strong first impression, which is especially important in advertising photos where the brand must be the focus. The photographer used light and shadow to highlight the textures and contrasts in the scene.
How did the photographer achieve the sharp contrasts and edges in the shadows in the perfume bottle still life photography shoot?
The photographer used steep, almost distant lighting with honeycomb grids to create sharper contrasts at the edges of the shadows in the scene. The lighting was carefully positioned and set up to capture high quality images.
