How to Photograph Glassware on a Pure White Background

Glassware makes for beautifully contrasting shapes on a white background. Taken under studio lighting, this high-key style of photography looks really impressive. If you’re into product photography, then this 8-minute tutorial by photographer Dustin Dolby of workphlo is one you will want to watch.

By positioning a strip light box directly behind the glass, facing the camera, you’re able to create that neat white background. It’s really important to make sure this is facing the camera completely straightly to ensure an even distribution of light around the glass.

Moving the light backwards and forwards changes the thickness of the black lines created in the glass. The closer the box is, the thinner these lines are. Be careful though: the thicker the lines, the more dust and imperfections is picked up in the glass.

One neat trick highlighted in the video is to place two glasses stacked on top of each other. This simulates a reflection, and is a great substitute for using acrylic glass (which can throw up its own issues).

Another cool trick is to select precisely half of the glass, straight through the cup and down the stem, and then mirror the image across to the other side. This creates a mathematically perfect symmetrical shot, although it will be a headache if you have hundreds of product shots to take of glasses.

This brilliant technique is great fun and definitely worth trying next time you have a spare moment. The simplicity of the style creates elegant, professional images.