How to shoot great product photos with just one light… and a diaper

Product photography can be a lot of fun. For many photographers right now, it’s the only type of photography they can really try. They often don’t need a lot of space, and you don’t really need a lot of gear to shoot them, either. For small things, you can usually get away with just a camera and lens and one light – and a bit of work in Photoshop compositing things together.

That’s what Peter Lindgren does in this video, with the assistance of fellow photographer, Jonas Häll. They use very minimal gear to get a very impressive final result. Their camera Sony’s new ZV-1 compact vlogging camera to shoot the images and only a single light source is used. It offers some great tips for making your beer look ice cold, including some you might not have seen before.

One of the challenges in shooting drinks in glass bottles is making them really look ice cold. And one of the first techniques the pair show after cleaning the bottle is using a light misting of clear satin spray paint to create the effect of fine condensation forming on the outside of the glass. But what’s really unique about this video is how they create the fake ice.

I didn’t realise this, and it appears many people didn’t, given the comments on the video, but apparently (and mothers reading this are probably rolling their eyes at me right now), when diapers absorb moisture, they form crystals to lock that liquid in and instantly dry it. So, they pour water into a diaper and then cut it open to reveal the crystals inside.

And they really do look like snow and ice, which they then spread around the base of the bottle. Except, it won’t melt like real ice. It’ll just stay there until you’re done with it, and not get your surface all wet.

Naturally, as with most one-light product photography setups, there’s some work to do in post to composite everything, and we’ve covered that a few times on here before, but it’s well worth watching the techniques shown off in the video, too. They, too, might be a little different than you’re used to.

[via ISO1200]