How to Photograph Glass - Peerspace

Lighting

The trick to lighting glass lies in the shape and form of the product. The right kind of lighting focuses on the product’s form; eliminates reflections and flaws; and creates a unique flat look that is elegant and classy, highlighting the frame and silhouette.

There are two ways to achieve this with lighting. Set up a light box, with a bright plain background. Place the product straight in front of it, with the camera pointing straight at it, and shine a narrow beam of light directly at the glass product.

The light should go through the glass and hit the background strongly. The contrast in light and dark produced by the beam of light highlights the silhouette of the glass product, which makes it ready to capture. 

The other technique is to backlight the product. Set up a soft box behind the product, such that diffused light shines through the glass into the camera lens. Now, surround the top, bottom, right, and left with blackboards, so that the silhouette of the glass captures the black from the boards and the light shines right through! 

Always make sure you use an umbrella, a soft box, or other methods of diffusion, so the light is not harsh, causing visible reflections or unwanted highlights. Direct lighting like this usually smooths out imperfections in the glass, making it much sleeker. 

Once you become comfortable with your shots, you can try playing with adding another light source to create more depth. 

Styling tips and tricks

One of the key characteristics of styling glass is showcasing the reflective nature of the glass product. Many photographers achieve this by placing the product on a sheet of plexiglass, which is then placed on a black table/paper, creating a subtle vertical reflection that can be caught on camera. 

Others simply fake it—for example, placing the wine glass they’re photographing on another upturned wine glass, giving viewers the illusion of a reflection! It can simply be faded out and corrected in intensity during post-production. 

Accessories, if used correctly, can really bring out the glass’s qualities. Use of clear liquids (usually water, plain or sparkling, with some color mixed in), clear ice, and some accessories help ensure your shoot is not flat or one dimensional.

Keep in mind that in the case you are adding other dynamic accessories, be sure to light them separately with a smaller light source that’s slightly angled to give depth, so that these additions don’t appear as two-dimensional silhouettes. 

Pick a simple composition around your hero glass piece, and do not over-style your images. Sometimes, rather than accessories, a simple action can add drama to a shot effortlessly. 

Adjust the camera settings

Camera settings here can make or break your shoot, as you figure out how to photograph glass. What you need to remember, are adjusting your white balance to your light source (be it front lit or back lit), followed by using a long focal length—in the range of 60 mm and above. 

Use a full focus f-stop like f/16 or higher. Low ISO settings will help you capture just the amount of detail needed. But the key to a good glass shot is the right exposure. Here, playing with your shutter speed and aperture will make a difference in the amount of light you let in.

Considering that a majority of glass styling is silhouette based, many photographers choose to overexpose their shots, as it wipes out imperfections. This again depends on the number of elements in your frame, so do what’s best that suits your setup. 

Start shooting

Many photographers work with a tripod and a cable switch, and also many times, prefer using a flash, in the absence of a steady light source. There’s no one rule in how to photograph glass, but when elements like flash come into play, the other settings—like aperture, shutter speed, and so on—change. 

Your shoot cannot be static for a single product—you will want to change your settings to add dynamism. Over the course of a shoot, even simple things like pouring water or adding products can transform your composition. Glass is a fragile subject, so the slightest change will stand out. 

During accessorized shots, ensure the placement is perfect and that liquids are not affecting your pictures. When you’re shooting action shots, you may want to use a shorter shutter speed or burst settings to capture the falling liquid or accessories.

But do remember to plan and organize your shots to ensure few hiccups down the stage. 

Post-production

In your journey of how to photograph glass, it is easy to assume many things can be fixed in post-production. Post-production turns out to be a savior with this material—mistakes like accidental shifts, drops of water, flaws in the glass, smudges, and unwanted highlights and reflections can be addressed at this stage. Adobe Lightroom is a commonly used tool to help photographers here. 

However, post-production is no substitute to a well-executed shoot. Since we’re dealing with lighting a reflective material like glass, it is best to achieve as much as possible during the shoot itself.