Over the last week I have started feeling the chill in the evening air. Winter is around the corner! There really is nothing like a great glass of red wine around the fire to warm one up from within.
I love it when you are given the creative room to produce something a little bit different. My aim was to create branding shots that will evoke a distinct feel for the brand and stand out within the crowded wine marketing industry. The Pepperjack range is a tribute to the Barossa Valley. The wines were gently pressed, racked and transferred to seasoned and new oak for 12 months maturation, before blending and bottling.
Photographing bottles can be quite the challenge. Due to the curve in the glass and the neck of the bottle, it is imperative you have the perfect lighting setup. For this photography shoot I used over 6 lights to achieve this single image. With the lights this close to the bottle the focal length of the lens is critical to the success of the image. Normal or slightly wide lenses place the camera so close to the subject that controlling the reflection of the camera and studio stand in the bottle becomes an issue. For this set up I used the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens made by Canon. This focal length is perfect. The camera is well back from the set allowing room for working around the set both for adjusting the lighting and for adding to the scene. This lens is incredibly sharp and lens elements are multi-coated, it helps reduce flare from the lights and their reflections in the bottle.