Techniques to get a flawless finish photographing wine bottles

Wine bottles are one of the most challenging products for visual content creators to work with. Due to their reflective nature and often translucent contents they are prone to picking up unwanted highlights, surface marks and environmental reflections.

To get a polished finish on your bottle there are some simple techniques you can implement into your workflow. Read our guide below to learn how you get can higher quality results from your next wine photoshoot.

Once you've got your technique down pat you'll some creative ideas for styling your next wine photoshoot, don't miss our blog Yes way Rosé! Your ultimate guide to styling inspirational wine photos

Top 3 expert tips for photographing wine bottles

Clean up your bottle

Remove the back label (if it's not required) and any other stickers that are distracting on the bottle. You can already see a huge difference just by getting rid of those stickers.

No one wants to spend hours removing finger prints and specks of dust in post production. Avoid this by wiping the bottle down with a microfibre cloth so you get a clean and crisp image straight out of camera!

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Optimise your lighting

Start by turning off all your ceiling lights as they will cast light spots on the bottle. Alternatively you can remove them in post, but reducing them first will make it easier to edit at the end.

You can use a diffuser to create a smoother and more consistent light edge on the bottle. This technique works even when you're using window light as a light source.

See what a difference having the edge highlighted consistently from top to bottom on the bottle makes. It also eliminates hard shadows on the the bottle.

Lower your camera

Shoot from a lower angle and tilt your camera slightly upwards. Pointing your lens up at the bottle to create a low angle shot creates a more powerful photo by making the bottle appear heroic and taller.

If you can master these simple techniques you'll find it much easier to photograph wine bottles with a flawless finish.