Glassware is one of the most difficult subjects that any photographer can work with. That is because such items are reflective, and it is challenging to photograph them. If you plan on photographing glass products for your ecommerce business, you must know the right tips.
You can implement a few tips to get the best glass product photography. These include using a backlight, utilizing a black background, using a softbox on the side, using a long focal length, opting for negative fills, and much more. These tips will take your glass product photography to another level.
So, if you want to have the best glassware pictures on your ecommerce page, you have come to the right place. Here is a complete guide to the best glass product photography tips in 2022.
1. Use A Backlight
The first thing you need to do is figure out a lighting solution for your glass products. That is because the biggest hurdle while taking glass product photos is the reflection. Of course, not all reflections are bad, but you must avoid them here.
Backlight is one of the best solutions for glass product photography because it will easily kill most of the reflections. For example, if you are shooting perfume bottles or wine glasses, the backlight will kill the reflections and even make the liquid shine. The good thing is that you can create a backlight without needing any expensive equipment.
For example, you can use a large sheet of white paper or plastic and light it using two speedlights. You can also utilize a diffuser with a speedlight behind. It is up to you to decide how you will create the backlight, but once you do, it will offer an amazing solution for you.
2. Utilizing A Black Background
Utilizing a black background is one of the top ways to shoot elegant or classic glassware. Besides that, you can highlight the edges of the glasses to offer a sleek and modern look to the glassware. You will also notice that such a background will offer a mysterious and seductive feel to your photography.
After all, most photographers will usually use a white background for their product photography. However, you can do something different with glassware and get creative with a black background. Remember that the technique for shooting with black backgrounds is not too difficult.
You will have to use backlighting to create this effect. We recommend that you put some glassware in front of a softbox. After that, you can utilize black cardboard and place it between the subjects.
As you use the flash on the camera, the light will go around the black cardboard. It will eventually light up the edges of the glassware. Once you are done, you will have some great mysterious, and elegant glassware product photos.
3. Using A Softbox
Many times you will find that utilizing a backlight can lead to the flattening of the glassware. That is why if you want to offer more depth, you can use a softbox. This is a form of side lighting that will ensure your glassware doesn’t look flat in the product pictures.
For example, you can use a box and place the light on the side of your glassware. As you do, you will see the reflection of the lighting on your glassware. The best part is that you will see the reflection according to the lighting solution.
If you have utilized a lightbulb, you will most likely notice a circular lighting effect on your glassware. We recommend that you use a strip box. It should be long enough to create a reflection throughout the object you are shooting.
You will have to customize the strip box according to the glassware products. That is because a strip box that might be right for a wine glass may not be the ideal solution for a perfume bottle. So, be sure that you adjust the size and shape of your strip box.
4. Utilize A Long Focal Length
A lens is an important object that will determine how your image will look. We recommend that you use a long focal length to shoot your glass products. That is because using a focal length of 105mm or more has its perks.
For example, such a focal length will enable you to easily shoot the image from a long distance. Doing this will decrease the chances of getting the reflection of your camera or yourself on the glass products. Besides that, you can also use a small background with such a lens.
When you use a long focal length, it will restrict the space in a way that the camera will see less space behind the object. This is a good thing if you can’t use a large background for your glass product shoot. So, don’t forget to experiment with such a lens length.
5. Opt For A Negative Fill
Negative fill is a common technique in photography that enables photographs to add some static drama to the photograph. Remember that this technique will work best if you have a white background. You can surround your glassware with a matte blackboard on the top and the side.
You can place these blackboards as close as you possibly can to the glass while keeping a small gap. As you do, you will notice that the edges of the glassware will have some incredible dark reflections. The technique will add some depth and drama to your glass products while making them look fantastic.
6. Create Some Action
You don’t have to take glass product photos with still objects. Instead, you can create some action in your pictures to add some drama and flair. For example, you can add someone pouring water, making bubbles, and much more with transparent glassware.
This is where you can get your creative juices flowing and decide what you want to shoot and how you want to do it. You can also pour water and freeze the liquid in action in your shot. To do this, you can take two lights and set them on low power.
Doing this will offer a short speed duration, and you can freeze the liquid. Be sure to take a sequence of shots while doing this technique. Once you do, you can decide which one looks best for your glassware.
If you are working with models, it is best that you take some precautions because glass is fragile and light. That is why if you accidentally move it, then it can break easily. So, take adequate steps to guarantee that none of your glassware breaks.
7. Use Symmetrical Compositions
Glassware is one of the best products that can help you make reflections for your photoshoot. It looks beautiful, elegant, and classy. That is why you can even shoot glassware on reflective surfaces, such as glass, metal, marble, and even water.
Sometimes, using these techniques can also complicate everything further. That is why you can do a hack that will offer a symmetrical and great composition. You can turn the glass upside down and add another on top of it in an upright position.
When you do this, you will have a great symmetrical composition without having to use a reflective surface. Sometimes, the reflective surfaces can create reflections you don’t need in the pictures. So, be sure to use this hack for some exceptional symmetry and composition.
8. Use The Power Of Levitation Photography
Do you want to make your glass product photos look magical and dynamic? If you do, then one of the best things you can do is levitation photography. It is intriguing to many people because it defies the basic laws of gravity and looks incredible.
Such a photography technique can also grab your customers’ attention in no time. However, the key to taking such a photograph is that you will need to have some photo retouching skills. You can take a picture of the glassware object hanging with a string or be supported from below.
After that, take a picture of the background without any glassware objects. Once you take these two pictures, you can use a platform such as Adobe Photoshop to blend the images. You can also cover up the support of the string with your editing skills.
You don’t need to worry if you don’t know how to do such editing. A simple search online will offer you many tutorials that you can learn from to edit such pictures. Once you do, you will have a dynamic levitation photograph of your glassware products.
9. Experiment With Angles
It is always great to change angles and experiment with them to play around with your composition and offer a unique perspective to your audience. Besides that, changing the angles can also help you manage any light reflections without much hassle. It is good to remember here that light travels in a straight line.
Because of this, the angle of reflection will be the same as the angle of incidence. What this means is that if you change your position and step away from the angle of reflection, then you can easily avoid any reflections on the glassware. However, there is no right or wrong to selecting the angle you would like.
You will have to experiment and see what works for you in the best way possible. Once you do, you will have great composition and glassware photographs that your audience will love.
10. Add Depth With Two Light Sources
If you want to add more depth to your images, you can do it by utilizing two light sources. That is because an image of glassware with only one backlight will look minimal and clear, but it will lack depth and drama. That is especially true if you have another object in the frame that is non-transparent.
In such a case, we recommend that you place another light source on the sides of your objects. For example, you can use a reflector, or you can use a strip box with a speedlight. Both of these options will work great, but you will have to experiment and see what works best with your glassware products.
So, make use of the various tools available at your disposal and then decide which one will be best for you. You will see the difference in the glassware pictures as you add two light sources.
11. Don’t Forget To Do Some Post-Production Processing
Last but not least, you have to do some post-production processing to make the pictures look fantastic. That is because no matter how careful you are, there can still be various flaws, reflections, and other things that can come in the image. You can easily remove most of these issues in post-production processing.
The key is to edit the glassware pictures in such a way that you have a consistent presentation. Besides that, you must ensure that the pictures have the least amount of clutter and distractions for customers. You can use consistent backgrounds, alignment, margins, cropping, and much more.
You don’t have to invest in expensive platforms to edit your glassware photography. Instead, you can get a platform such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom to edit the images and streamline your post-production processing. Once you do, you will have some great pictures that will look incredible for your glassware photography campaign.
Final Thoughts
These are the top glass product photography tips you can implement in 2022. All of these tips are crucial to gaining some of the best product pictures that will take your campaign to the next level. Remember that if you haven’t done this before, then it might take you a while.
That is because such photography always comes with a learning curve. It will take some time to get used to it, but once you do, taking amazing product photos will become second nature. You can also hire a photography studio if you don’t know where to begin.
A studio will help you save time and money as they will take the best professional photographs. So, decide what you must do and then get the best glass product photos.
