BEVERAGE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

STARTING FEBRUARY 5, 2022

WELCOME TO THE BEVERAGE CLASS AT LIGHTING ESSENTIALS.

This class is brought to you free of charge by Project 52 Pro System, the most unique training for commercial photographers online.

The class will operate this way:

Assignments will go up each Saturday for eight weeks. You will have one week to shoot the assignment, and it MUST be posted to the Facebook Gallery page by the start of the image review show. NO late submissions will be reviewed. Period.

Reviews will be on Saturday morning, at 10 AM MTN, 9 AM PACIFIC. They sometimes run two hours and we review from the top down in the album. The later you get your image in, the later in the review it will be.

What images are required:
ONE image of the assigned subject.
ONE image of the BTS (Behind the Scenes) – a photo of your setup showing the lighting and camera position. See previous albums on the Facebook Group Page for examples.

PLEASE NO MORE THAN TWO IMAGES PER STUDENT – Subject + BTS

The shows will be recorded and put on YouTube for your review. The review videos are public so others may see the reviews we do.

There is no charge or fee for this class. No signup, no CC, no registration. It is open to anyone. However, it is only open to friendly people who want to learn by doing and work on their photography in a safe and caring environment. Second chances are rare with me, so be good to your fellow students.

JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP
In order to be involved in the reviews, you will have to be a member of this Facebook Group. This is where we will post the images and review videos.
(I know many of you dislike FB, and I am sure none more than I do, but it is the only platform I can use to get people and photographs together easily. If you do not have a FB account, I am sincerely sorry about the exclusion, but I do not have another option.)

WHAT GEAR YOU WILL NEED:

Softbox, scrim, and boom are HIGHLY recommended.
Camera with at least one mid-range lens: 35-50-85
Tripod
Photoshop or equivalent to process the images.
Lighting: Whether it is LED, Strobe, or Speedlight, please be familiar with your lighting gear.
A tabletop (3×3, 4×4) and a place to shoot with room around the table for lights and camera.
Surfaces: Tile (ceramic or stone – at least three pieces, wood if you like, and white and black surfaces of varying substances.
Props:
Glasses
Wine glasses
Cocktail glasses
Beer Stein
Assorted props of your choosing for your work and style

See Dollar Stores and Goodwill for suitable glasses and containers.

… AND A GREAT ATTITUDE!

In photography as in life, attitude can make a difference.

RESOURCES

Lighting Essentials Online Lighting Workshop for Photographers

LIGHTING WITH PURPOSE: BOTTLES

LIGHTING VIDEOS

NEED STUFF TO GET STARTED WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK?

If you need a set of lights to work with in this class, consider taking a look at these. Very inexpensive, and very useful.

Since product is not usually moving around, we can use inexpensive continuous light to help us visualize where the light will fall, how it will be reflected back to the camera, and what the light will reveal on the product.

This is a good set of lights with softboxes AND a boom. Three lights and stands.

Another inexpensive kit with three lights, softboxes, boom, stands and boom weight.

If you are going to use scrims, this set of LED’s is quite a good set of lights. I have them and love them a lot.

Here is a good scrim for a good price.

If you just need a boom, this one will work well.

The scrim from a 5-in-one reflector set can be a good asset if you have one already.

Tripods are a must for product photography. Make sure yours holds the camera steady and doesn’t wobble.

Stands are the lifeblood of any product set, so make sure you have as many as you can. (NOTE: cheap stands can be great for holding fill cards or scrims.

PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON GEAR. I am happy to help you put together a good tabletop setup for any budget you have to work with.

UPCOMING CLASSES

You will need the following:

ASSIGNMENTS:

3. WINE GLASS WITH STEM (1-4)
4. LARGE CONSUMER BOTTLE OF LIQUOR (OR TEA)
A consumer-sized bottle for an ad-like shoot.
5. THREE OR FOUR SPRAY-PAINTED WINE BOTTLES.
(Two sprayed gloss black, and at least one painted matte black)
6. 6-PACK OF BOTTLES OR CANS OR A 4-PACK OF WINE SPRITZERS
7. BEER GLASS FOR A PERFECT HEAD OF BEER
(or cream soda)
8. TALL THIN APRETIF GLASSES OR GLASSES WITH A UNIQUE SHAPE (Dollar Store, Dollar Tree)

SPRAY PAINTED BOTTLES:
Do this as soon as you can so you can have them ready for the assignment. Use “Goo-B-Gone” to remove the labels. Make sure the bottles match. Take your time with the spray paint. 5 light coats is better than one heavy one that drips.

ALTERNATE: if you can find glossy black bottles with removable labels. You can use dulling spray for the matte black one