Photographing Liquids
No two objects are the same, and so it applies to lighting.
Concept & Purpose
Light is a funny thing, in the way it interacts with different objects and surfaced. For this reason, different qualities and and angles of light are used to bring out the best qualities of different subjects. Glass cups, bottles and other clear containers are one of those things that require a special lighting.
Lighting & Staging
For this shot, I set up two lights.:
Backdrop light to light up the liquid soap in the bottle and define the edges
Fill Light in a butterfly lighting position to expose the label and flowers
I used a small white backdrop behind the subject, so the remainder of the background (the darker part of the room) would create the dark edge of the bottle. Other elements of staging included a white foam core board with glass on top for the bottom surface, flowers, and pouring water. Below are some behind-the-scenes shots of the setup (don’t mind the lack of a light stand for the flash).
Post Processing
Before
After
