Photographer Dustin Dolby is back with another workflo tutorial that tackles a particularly tricky type of product photography: glassware. Specifically, he uses just two lights to create a “moody,” backlit glassware shot that would be at home in any glossy magazine.
As usual, part of the appeal of the tutorial is Dolby’s easy-to-follow, no-nonsense teaching style. Frame by frame, he’ll show you how every small change in lighting changes the overall effect, before taking you into Photoshop to finish out the piece.
The basic setup for the shot looks like this:
Which allows Dolby to create this frame:
Which turns into this final frame after a little work in Photoshop:
Along the way he shares several handy tips on where to put your camera, how to nail focus on your transparent glassware, how to place your lights and modifiers to get the proper highlights, and a quick piece on adding in some splash photography as well.
Check out the full video up top to see the whole behind-the-scenes process for yourself. And if you’re interested in trying out product photography without breaking the bank, definitely check out workflo on YouTube. Dolby is an indispensable resource for product photography beginners.
Image credits: Photos by Dustin Dolby and used with permission.