New Bottle and Art
Behind the Lens: Capturing a Beautiful but Tricky Olive Oil Bottle
Here's a glimpse behind the scenes of a recent product photography project. The subject was a stunning, award-winning olive oil, but its hand-painted bottle presented a unique set of technical challenges.
The client's request was specific and urgent. The photos were needed ASAP for a magazine article. Here was the checklist:
Fill the bottle.
Add the correct cap from a previous shoot.
Fix a missing line on the chili artwork.
Avoid showing the back label.
Provide a shot with the "Olio Nuovo" dot.
The Challenge of Product Photography
Before I even set up the lights, my process begins with studying the product in natural light. Every object has a story, and this beautiful bottle was no exception. Its dark, cylindrical shape and hand-silkscreened artwork were designed to protect the oil and tell a story of their own. High-powered strobes can create gorgeous, shadowless images, but they can't capture the subtle interplay of light and form that makes a product special without intervention.
To tackle this project, I first ran a few test shots to fully understand the client's vision and how the bottle would behave under studio lights. The main hurdle was the reflective, transparent glass and its cylindrical shape, which made it difficult to light evenly without creating unwanted reflections or showing the back label.
The Final Shot
To achieve the desired look, I devised a specialized lighting rig that allowed me to capture the entire bottle in a single shot, while eliminating reflections from the back label. This technique, combined with precise post-production work in Photoshop to append the chili art and add the Olio Nuovo dot, enabled me to meet all the client's requirements while preserving the bottle's elegant, handmade character.
You can use the slider below to compare the initial test shot with the final, delivered image.
This olive oil isn't just about being in a beautiful bottle. It's genuinely delicious. Having won multiple awards, it's my personal favorite, and it sells out fast. If you're looking for a new olive oil, you'd better act quickly before it's all gone! I cherish every drop and use it as a finishing oil on salads, veggies, risotto, pasta, pizza, and soups.
The natural light study on my desk.
