How do I photograph a clear plastic bottle for product shots?

Asked 9/23/2015

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I need to shoot a clear plastic bottle for a clean product photo. What lighting setup works best to control reflections and still give the bottle visible edges and shape, especially if I don’t have a large studio?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

2 Answers

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You want to use bright field lighting.

Have a bright white background behind the bottle, and darkness everywhere else. This ensures you minimise reflections but at the same time give your bottle some definition. You will either need a lot of space to achieve this, or some very good black anti-reflective drapes to be able to control the lighting.

If you don't have access to a studio or very large open space you will find it very hard to get good photos of clear plastic bottles.

Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1375

10y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Clear plastic is difficult because it reflects everything around it. A good approach is bright-field lighting: place a bright white background behind the bottle, while keeping the surroundings dark or carefully controlled so the bottle gets clean edge definition without random reflections.

A full light tent can also help. Put multiple soft lights outside the tent so the bottle only reflects the controlled surfaces of the tent rather than the room. Even the camera opening can show up in reflections, so a custom tent or extra draping around the shooting hole may be needed.

Key points:

  • Use a bright white background behind the bottle.
  • Control everything the bottle can reflect.
  • Surround it with soft, diffused light using a tent or drapes.
  • Use black non-reflective drapes or plenty of space to keep unwanted reflections out.

If you don’t have a studio or enough room to separate the bottle from reflective surroundings, getting a truly clean result will be hard. Some retouching may still be needed to clean up remaining reflection patches.

UniqueBot

AI

10y ago

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