How to shoot translucent product photos on a white background with just a couple of speedlights

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How to Light Catalog Quality Product Shots with a Single Speedlight

In this nine-minute video from Workphlo, photographer Dustin Dolby explains how to light catalog quality reflective product photos using just a single Speedlight.

To start, Dolby suggests shooting the products separately to avoid them reflecting onto each other, making it easier to get an ultra-clean look for each piece. Dolby also suggests using an app called AutoRetouch to help make automatic clipping paths upon importing the images into Photoshop, saving a lot of time on post-production.

Dolby then shows his setup of a long strip of diffusion paper that extends from the lens to the product where he has placed a single Speedlight in a strip box. The light source is on a slight angle behind the product allowing quick and minor adjustments for the shot to get things just right. He says that reflective products will often get a "dark padding" on the product that will vary based on the Speedlights' positioning.

Ideally, if the light source is positioned properly, the spread will fall on just about half of the product. Then it is just a matter of correctly placing a bounce card (reflector) on the opposite side of the product to fill in the shadows and recycle the light from the strip box. The depth of the bounce card placement will affect the padding position, so be sure to make adjustments accordingly to achieve a flattering and consistent light pattern to be used across all similar products.

Once a clean setup is achieved, he recommends photographers start rotating the products through the setup, making sure the light and padding fall in similar locations for consistency. Then, all that is left is to import the files into Photoshop to begin the retouching.

Dolby explains that using AutoRetouch can help speed things up by automatically creating clipping paths and removing backgrounds for product work, making bulk editing easier. In May, AutoRetouch added a feature that allows editors to bulk edit any product photo with artificial intelligence.

Once inside Adobe Photoshop, Dolby adds a reflection by duplicating the products, flipping them vertically, positioning the "reflection" directly below the originals, reducing the opacity significantly, and finally applying a linear gradient so that there is a smooth fall-off providing a nice, catalog e-commerce looking image. Finally, he shows how to fix any inconsistent shadows on the reflective parts of the product by copy and pasting stretched portions of the product over the existing setup and masking them in accordingly to achieve a very consistent look across the whole image. Beyond that, the amount of retouching and photoshop fixes is simply up to the user (or client).

For more from Dustin Dolby, subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Image credits: Photos by Dustin Dolby and used with permission.

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How To Perfectly Freeze the Action for a Pouring Beverage Photo

In this 13-minute advertising photography tutorial video from Workphlo, photographer Dustin Dolby explains how to perfectly freeze the action of a pouring beverage by using a simple three speedlight system.

Dolby says some of his favorite advertising photography involves motion, depicting a product coming to life. By using the three speedlight setup to flatter the background, beer can, and beer pint, photographers can capture a frozen motion pour. In the video, he shows how to pour for what he describes as an "over the top" pre-spill vibe, but it is still possible to apply this lighting to a more natural 45-degree pouring shot along with several other setups.

Starting with an entry-level DSLR, three lights, and a few light-shaping modifiers, Dolby explains that this setup is a simple and reliable one that allows the photographer to assure that the motion is carved out beautifully every time. Since most beverage images contain something glossy, he starts by setting up an 8 x 36-inch strip box from the side that will accentuate the glassware shape and that can be further refined and tweaked as needed.

Next, he adds a second speedlight strip box from above with a diffuser to create a soft overhead light for the can and a reflector to the opposite side of the beverage to try and recycle as much light as possible for the shot, and fully surround the drink with light.

Then as a final touch, Dolby adds a third light with a grid (and optional gels for a color splash) at the back to light up the wall in the background for an added aesthetic to further highlight the pour. This effectively completes the three-light beverage-pour system for advertising photography which Dolby says will return beautiful and consistent results when working with drinks. This is important to have a reliable system before pouring the liquids which he says "is just naturally chaotic."

From here Dolby says it is just a matter of choosing the preferred angle for the beverage pours to get started capturing the action and making the picks for the best-looking pour.

To finish things up, Dolby then walks through a quick retouch and clean-up of the final image in Adobe Photoshop, detailing how he uses the curves, clone stamp, and healing tools to further refine the image for a proper advertising look and feel.

For more from Dustin Dolby, subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Image credits: Photos by Dustin Dolby and used with permission.

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How To Photograph Beer and Successfully Retouch in Photoshop

In this 18-minute video, photographer Dustin Dolby explains many of the tricks beverage photographers use and shows how anyone can achieve professional-level beer photos with just a few speedlights and some entry-level camera gear.

Dolby says that every little detail matters when it comes to creating the perfect shot for advertising beverages.While beer photography tutorials come in all shapes and sizes, he says the big secret is most of the concepts come down to simply shaping light and using a little bit of Photoshop to fix the various imperfections that just happen throughout the course of the shoot. In the video above, Dolby walks through every step (including the mistakes) of his usual workflow for creating incredible beer and beverage photos.

Starting with just his beer bottle and a single strip box, the first, and most important step is to ensure the bottle is aligned properly for the shot. From there Dolby says that photographers need to start modifying the lighting to ensure a broad and -- what he describes as -- "milky" look with a nice highlight on the side.

Dobly adds an additional strip box (his second light source) for his backlight and will cycle through multiple power levels to find the brightness that is just right for the planned image. Next, to ensure the labels are exposed properly, Dobly recommends using a third light bounced off the ceiling for a subtle fill.

Once all of this is done, he recommends then adding some flags (he uses black foam-core) to control any light spill and avoid any unwanted flares in the final shot. At this point, he can finally add the beer.

The trick here is to pour just half the glass first to let things settle and ensure the image is still framed properly. Dolby says that this extra step that allows him to finish pouring the second half directly into the upright glass will cause a "big reaction" that will hopefully lead to a big frothy end result. Dolby explains that photographers can miss the shot either due to the drink not pouring right or a technical issue with the camera or lights can occur. If this happens, the shot needs to be reset to a certain extent. He recommends having some spare beers to repour as needed, or even using a bamboo stick to agitate the drink will react with the bear and create an additional "frothing" to help get the shot correctly.

The second half of the video explains how to retouch the image for a fantastic final result. The first step is to eliminate any distractions or mismatched elements in the shots like excessive bubbles or condensation on the glass and table. He then details how to extend and clean up the background so that there is a perfectly clean slate and removes any splashes or spills on that may be visible on the table.

Over the course of the rest of the video, Dolby shows his entire process including fixing the labels, adding some color corrections, highlight fixes, and even compositing small elements to create a perfect shot -- this even includes creating a label for the glass itself leaving him with a great sharp commercial-looking image worthy of a poster or billboard.

For more from Dustin Dolby, subscribe to his YouTube Channel.

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