Need advice on How to Photograph Beer

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

01/16/2004 12:17:18 PM · #1

I am the unofficial photographer for the company that I work for. Through some great arrangement, I got the company to pay for my Rebel, and I am therefore on "retainer" for some photos. So far I have taken mostly shots for internal use: sales sheets, small in-store promos, etc. I have been mandated to photograph some glasses filled with beer, to be used as images on some packaging.

I have taken a shot of this type before, but never for general distribution to the market. I need to make these shots perfect. Basically, they are shots of a glass with the brand's logo, filled with the appropriate beer. The glass should have water droplets on it. I am to supply our graphics company with a basic shot on a white background.

Here are my concerns:

- how should these shots be lit
- what do I use for the BG
- what is the best way to create the water drops
- what do I do to eliminate reflections of the glass

Any help would be very appreciated. Also, any links to sites with info would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Message edited by author 2004-01-16 12:32:19.

scab-lab

Canon EOS-D60

01/16/2004 12:25:16 PM · #2

One little tip, is to take your white posterboard background, and cut a small cirle slightly smaller then the bottom of the glass in it. Set up a piece of plexi or glass as a table and lay your posterboard on it like a seemless background setup. Place the glasses of beer on the cut out circles of the posterboard, and shine a high wattage light up thru the bottom. This will make the glasses of beer glow. Next set up some lights for the background and diffuse a soft light so you can light the glass fronts with their labels.

Good luck, hope this helps.

alchemist

Canon PowerShot A40

01/16/2004 12:35:17 PM · #3

One of the simplest ways is to have over head light, thus no reflection on glass and have two black boards on side ( they will help in giving black outline to glass),

Message edited by author 2004-01-16 12:42:12.

StevePax

Canon PowerShot S50

01/16/2004 12:40:07 PM · #4

Originally posted by scab-lab:

That is a fantastic idea! I never would have thought of that.

Trinch

Canon EOS-40D

01/16/2004 12:42:16 PM · #5

Consider freezing the glass before filling it. Nothing looks more inviting (to me at least) than a frosty glass of beer.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

01/16/2004 12:47:42 PM · #6

I'd suggest lighting from behind - so that the light flows through the glass & beer - giving it a bright glow and reducing the number of reflections you see.

Try to use a polariser on the lens to further help cut reflections on th glass.

For good water droplets, chill the glass before bringing them out to shoot. Also helps to live somewhere humid...

scab-lab

Canon EOS-D60

01/16/2004 12:53:53 PM · #7

Definately many ways to do this, this is just a quick 2 minute sketch to show you what I meant. Light up thru the bottom and thru the back will really make your beer look good. You could ditch the front light and go with a soft box overhead with this setup like metioned above also. Try a couple different set ups and see what works best, good luck.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

01/16/2004 01:17:21 PM · #8

Originally posted by scab-lab:

Thanks, I'll try that.

BTW, I love your artwork.

The problem I see with chilling the glass is that it creates a haze on the glass (as in my shot posted above), as opposed to just droplets. This would make it hard to really see the beer. I've heard of using glycerine (or combo of glyc and water) to create the water drops. Anybody know how this is done?

mbardeen

Canon PowerShot G3

01/16/2004 01:21:12 PM · #9

The most important thing, which nobody mentioned, is not to drink the beer before you've photographed it!

willem

Nikon D7000

01/16/2004 01:23:38 PM · #10

If you need to do this moe often, you really should read this book "light : science & magic" which I recommended in this thread..

Your empty beerglass, as well as your full one, are covered in that one.

You are lucky you can have a white background. Ensure enough light behind the background and it will already lighten up the beer. And as alchemist suggest, two black boards in the background, just outside the camera view, will give the glass a good edge definition.

If you would have a overall dark background here is what you could do :
1) place a light card behind the glass.
2) replace your camera with a light, e.g. a torchlight
3) draw the shadow of the glass on the card and cut it out.
4) put the cutout behind the glass with a separate light shining on it.
5) put the camera back again and take your pictures.

I find just frosted glass through cooling often rather dull because of lack of larger droplets. Instead of just a frosted glass, you can also take a cold glass and then spray water on it.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

01/16/2004 01:27:59 PM · #11

Since they are asking specifically for a white background, I expect they will want to extract the glass for use in another image. This will be much easier if there is a clear transition between the glass and the background. It's the one situation where it helps to "blow out" the background, because then the background is by definition completely uniform. Certainly any shadow falling on the background needs to be avoided.
The suggestion of putting black card to either side to enhance contrast is good, this will increase the edge contrast. I never though of the lighting from beneath, thanks Scab, I will have to try it!

Edit:
Forgot to mention, the state of the surface of the glass is important for getting the right look of the droplets. The presence of contamination such as hard water deposits, detergent residue, etc., will enhance wetting of the drops, and you won't get those nice beads of "sweat" on the glass. Use a new glass, clean well and rinse it very thoroughly, then dry and handle with a lint-free cloth. Use beer at room temperature (or at least above the dew point) to avoid the haze.

PS,
The room temp beer also reduces the temptation to down it before the shoot!

Message edited by author 2004-01-16 13:37:13.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

01/16/2004 02:08:37 PM · #12

Originally posted by kirbic:

The room temp beer also reduces the temptation to down it before the shoot!

unless you are English...

scab-lab

Canon EOS-D60

01/16/2004 02:26:31 PM · #13

This company makes some of the best studio enhancements and specialty props around. Check out their aqua gel. Trengove Studios

Message edited by author 2004-01-16 14:27:16.

01/16/2004 03:25:23 PM · #14

Originally posted by scab-lab:

This company makes some of the best studio enhancements and specialty props around. Check out their aqua gel. Trengove Studios

Wow! This site is perfect. They aslo have a foam booster kit. I'll try it naturally first, but might end up givin this a try at some point.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

01/16/2004 03:26:13 PM · #15

Originally posted by mbardeen:

The most important thing, which nobody mentioned, is not to drink the beer before you've photographed it!

Since I work at the Brewery, that's not a problem. I can always get more!

TechnoShroom

Canon EOS-30D

01/16/2004 03:30:56 PM · #16

You might also try foam fixer. It should be available at your local homebrew store.

That Poly Gel stuff is just cheating though. lol I've got to get some!