Tricks of the Trade: Photographing Liquids

Class Preview

Master the pour, the splash and the perfect shot with liquid photography skills!

Getting Started

Meet your instructor, professional photographer Chris Grey, and hear about the joys and challenges of photographing liquids. Then, delve into studio and gear needs before Chris introduces you to using a light meter, a studio photographer’s best friend.

Ice Illusions

Discover how working with plastic ice cubes gives you the time, clarity and control you desire as Chris takes you through his first photographic technique. Learn how to use polarizers to diminish reflections and how to adjust your lighting and camera settings to compensate for their use.

Appetizing Photographs

Add warmth and bring out details as Chris demonstrates a variety of ways to shoot beer and soda in and out of the bottle. Construct reflectors and add fill light using card stock. Unlock several secrets for creating a perfect head of foam and find out how a $5 flashlight can give your glass of icy soda an inner glow. Then, Chris guides you through the pitfalls — imperfect labels, phantom shadows and bottle imperfections — that are correctable in post-processing.

Drama on the Rocks

Shoot dynamic photos of liquids in a glass using a single softbox under a platform you build yourself. Chris shares tips for making sure your ice looks realistic — inside and out of the glass — and offers advice for avoiding common mistakes. Then, learn compositional secrets for ensuring symmetry, quality and believability and how to look at your subject from different angles.

Freeze the Pour

Capture liquid in action as Chris shows you how to freeze a wine pour. He details how to use a laminar liquid device (and includes a diagram for building your own in the class materials) before walking you through setting up your own shot with the help of accessory arms and clamps. Chris shares several cost-saving methods for taking great photos, even without a high-speed strobe.

Make a Splash

Create photos that have impact as Chris demonstrates how to capture liquid splashing out of a glass. Discover how to set up your lights and backdrop and then gather tips for catching the moment where it all comes together. Explore a variety of compositions and, most important, keep shooting!

Perfect the Image

Chris shows you how to polish to your photos in Photoshop as he cleans up shadows and adds contrast and dimension. Finally, he shows you step by step how to create an amazing composite photo as he combines his favorite parts of three shots from the previous lesson.