Randy Bell
April 2025 - Johnnie Walker
About the Image(s)
From a photography class I took recently, we had an assignment to shoot a product photograph, similar to what commercial photographer would shoot. The only guidance we were giving was that we needed to fill the frame and make the product "pop." I happened to have several bottle of scotch lying around and decided to use them for this assignment and give me additional practice with off-camera flash. To get this shot, I set up a black cloth for a backdrop and used two speedlights, one bounced into an umbrella, one bare speedlight at a lower power to light the scene. The flashes were set up at approximately 45 degree angles from the subject on either side of the camera.
I still have much to learn with off-camera flash, and lighting glass objects presents additional challenges I have found. I didn't get much feedback from the class, so I thought I would get thoughts/suggestions from the group.
I shot this with a Nikon D810 camera using a 50mm lens at f/10, 1/125 sec at ISO 125 on a tripod.
12 comments posted
Randy, I like the Color on each bottle and the black background. Your set up with two flashes I think resulted in a very nice image. The soft light reflection off the shoulder of each bottle is also a nice touch. I did notice that it appears that each bottle on either side of Johnnie Walker Blue Label was positioned further back from the center bottle which might explain why the fine print on the center bottle is clearly legible, but the fine print on the lower labels on the other two bottles is a bit out of focus. Other than that, I have no suggestions for improvement on a very nice photo. I think you succeeded with your project.
Posted: 04/05/2025 23:46:46
Thank you, Jim. I did have the Blue bottle slightly in front of the other two in an attempt to promote that bottle a little more than the others. I had hoped f/10 would give enough depth of field that everything was sharply focused. Possibly, because of the proximity of the bottles to the camera, it wasn't enough. Something to consider for future still life/product types of shots. Posted: 04/14/2025 23:09:32
Product photography is a difficult subject that I haven't even dealt with yet.
So the task was to make the product "pop". Your idea was good. The background is black, the bottles glow and the product is immediately recognizable.
I asked myself, what do you have to do to make the product immediately catch the eye? You can't design the bottles themselves in other bright colors, the label is just the way it is. You could make the background colorful, not in neon colors, but in sunset colors. After all, scotch is probably drunk when you get home, work is done and now you want to enjoy the evening (although I don't drink alcohol and just let my imagination run wild).
Perhaps I would have placed whiskey glasses with ice cubes and scotch between the bottles, different glasses, different filling heights, to break up the photo.
Product photography should also appeal to the senses. You've succeeded in doing that, because the viewer has the amber-colored liquid in front of their inner eye and perhaps imagines a convivial evening with friends.
Posted: 04/06/2025 15:16:52
So the task was to make the product "pop". Your idea was good. The background is black, the bottles glow and the product is immediately recognizable.
I asked myself, what do you have to do to make the product immediately catch the eye? You can't design the bottles themselves in other bright colors, the label is just the way it is. You could make the background colorful, not in neon colors, but in sunset colors. After all, scotch is probably drunk when you get home, work is done and now you want to enjoy the evening (although I don't drink alcohol and just let my imagination run wild).
Perhaps I would have placed whiskey glasses with ice cubes and scotch between the bottles, different glasses, different filling heights, to break up the photo.
Product photography should also appeal to the senses. You've succeeded in doing that, because the viewer has the amber-colored liquid in front of their inner eye and perhaps imagines a convivial evening with friends.
Posted: 04/06/2025 15:16:52
Thank you, Sabine. I hadn't considered adding glasses with scotch in them. That would have added something to the photo. Not sure I would want a career in product photography, but it was a fun little exercise for me and gave me an excuse to play with off camera lighting again. Posted: 04/15/2025 00:49:26
Randy, Well you certainly made Johnnie Walker pop! This is one of my camera club members' favorite still subject. I'm thinking this ad would introduce additional labels to specific Johnnie Walker consumers. The black background nicely highlights the Striding Man logo. I agree that it would be an improvement to make the top name label legible. I do not have much lighting experience so I can't offer any tips. Posted: 04/11/2025 18:54:38
Thank you, Yvonne. I agree, I wish I had gotten it all in focus. I am not sure why it wasn't all in focus at an aperture of f/10, that is something I will need to learn the reason of. It will give me a reason to play with still life photos again. Posted: 04/15/2025 00:59:18
Hi Randy!
I'm a big fan of your photo -- although not one to enjoy Scotch -- the bottles are great and appeals to my appreciation of symmetry. As some others have mentioned, I don't know much about lighting and intrigued by your set-up. I recently added a low-cost photo light to my equipment and have just begun to experiment. Great photo!
Doug Posted: 04/12/2025 16:51:18
I'm a big fan of your photo -- although not one to enjoy Scotch -- the bottles are great and appeals to my appreciation of symmetry. As some others have mentioned, I don't know much about lighting and intrigued by your set-up. I recently added a low-cost photo light to my equipment and have just begun to experiment. Great photo!
Doug Posted: 04/12/2025 16:51:18
Thank you, Doug. I am learning that lighting is a new challenge for me. Most of what I have shot over the years has largely been with natural lighting. The few times I had used a flash, it didn't always turn out as I would have liked. I finally started trying to learn to use it. I encourage you to play around with your new light equipment. Posted: 04/15/2025 01:04:53
Randy, The colorful label really pops beautifully against the black background-great choice! I love how clean and striking the lighting looks; it gives the image a polished, professional feel. Posted: 04/15/2025 05:28:53
Thank you, Linda. I was playing with a new type of photography for me and I think I will explore different subjects to shoot to see what I can do with them. Posted: 04/18/2025 22:10:29
Really good photograph! I have a speedlight but don't have barely used it as I struggle to understand what I am doing :) But not that I've retired, hopefully I will get better.
The bottles certainly fill the frame, and they pop. I am curious as to what your instructor had to say about the photo.
Posted: 04/18/2025 19:00:11
The bottles certainly fill the frame, and they pop. I am curious as to what your instructor had to say about the photo.
Posted: 04/18/2025 19:00:11
Thank you, Sylvia. Using a speedlight was usually a hit or miss (mostly miss...) thing with me. I am trying to teach myself to use it more and get consistent results.
The instructor said he liked the photo, but didn't say much beyond that. The class had quite a number of people who were just learning to use their cameras and I think that may have influenced his critique of it. So, I thought I would post it here to get the thoughts from members of this group. And, I think I got some good feedback here. Posted: 04/18/2025 22:26:06
The instructor said he liked the photo, but didn't say much beyond that. The class had quite a number of people who were just learning to use their cameras and I think that may have influenced his critique of it. So, I thought I would post it here to get the thoughts from members of this group. And, I think I got some good feedback here. Posted: 04/18/2025 22:26:06