Product Photo: Arran Malt Whisky

The shot above was done with a relatively straight-forward three light setup. As a starting point for this shot, I stuck a honeycomb on a 550EX flash (equivalent to the Canon 580EX II) and used it to get a good strong light on the label of the product. This is always important when you're shooting a bottle such as this.

I then wanted to show off the whisky itself, so I needed to shine some light through the bottle. The only alternative would be a light background, but that wouldn't have gone with the mood I wanted. I placed another 550EX flash (equivalent to the Canon 580EX II) with a CTO behind the bottle and did a test shot.



As you can see, it's a little on the hot side. Not only that, but light is spilling round the side of bottle. I therefore put on a mask which acts a little like a snoot, preventing too much spill. I also notched down the power a touch.



Nearly there, I had to notch down the power on the rear light another notch, to keep the highlight under control.



It's gone very contrasty and dull now, so putting a mini softbox with a CTO gel in above gives some fill, as well as stopping the top of the bottle from disappearing into the background.



The last step is some atmosphere in a can - Magican Smoke Spray - it's like a mini smoke machine in handy sprayable form. Great stuff!



Here's some setup images