January 14th, 2012 | 
This is a quick walk-through for the Lancome shot you see right below:
The Lancome Shot
The shot was staged in a 3 different sets: The mascara alone, then the mascara in a water and drops of liquid gels in a water. All of them were necessary and none of them could be combined in one shot.
Lets go through each stage and I’ll you everything.
First part, the mascara tube.
The mascara tube itself is a combination of 3 shots. Here is the lighting setup:
The lighting setup for lancome liquid splash shot
2 striboxes on sides, slightly behind the tube created the edge reflection on our subject. I’ll talk about top one later.
Because of the shape of the tube, I couldn’t have it on a table, as the bottom part of the tube was reflecting even the smallest table. Therefore a stick was used, tube was standing on it. Exactly like this:
So, with 2 lights on a sides and tube on a stick we got this:
Almost everything looks pretty cool as-is, except the golden label. Because it is engraved on the body, there was no way to get a reflection on it without getting reflection on a tube itself. So, I did these two shots, each had top light turned ON and reflector on upper portion (first shot) and lower portion (second shot) of the frame:
label reflectin shot
label reflectin shot
Reflector clearly visible on both shots, it was Photoshop task to take labels from these shots and put them on a final composition.
Second Part, the tube and the liquid.
Because subject suppose to be standing in the water, we did this additional shot of the tube on a black glass, covered with tiny layer of the water. I’ve used a small amount of putty to create a little borders on front and on both sides of slightly tilted on front glass plate, making water to stay there.
Filling with the water
And below is what I was needed from this shot: the bottom of the tube, surrounded by the water:
the bottom of the lancome in a water
Third Part: dropping water balls
We used liquid gel balls, similar to these The mysterious water balls, but black ones. Unfortunately, the they are smaller than clear ones, and this was the reason why it was not possible to get a whole composition in one shot, as the the mascara looked disproportionally big for the gel balls. See it on a shot below:
The real size of the balls and lancome tiube
As for the dropping balls part (he-he, sounds funny:-), we used the same piece of black glass (actually it was a regular mineral glass spray painted with black paint), filled with a layer of water.
Only one stripbox, positioned on top was used. I’ve got it the way that the reflection was not visible on a flat water surface, but did appear on the waves. The same light from a stripbox created reflection on top of each gel ball:
Below are few examples of those drops.
Water black gel drops in a water
Black gel liquid balls drops in a water
Black gel liquid balls drops in a water
Liquid gel splash
Again, the final shot:
Now, if you enjoyed the article you may take a look at this video, where I and our Splash Master contributor, Dave Nitsche were talking about this and other Dave’s shot.
Here you go:
Studio Photography insights G+ Hangout with Dave Nitsche
Shoot specification:
- Camera/Lens:Canon 5dMKII + 180mm F3.5L macro lens
- Lighting: Einstein E640 studio strobes
- Exposure: 1/200 sec, F13
Like it? Want to learn how to create shots like these? Take a look at what I have for you:
About The Author: Alex Koloskov
The lighting magician, owner of AKELstudio, Inc.
Hi Alex. First of all let me just say what a wonderful shot! I love the shallow water work you do on black glass. Is it possible for you to post what kind of putty you use to waterproof the edge of the glass?
David,
I’ve used some putty from a construction store, I think it was for windows/bathtubs insulation. It is a roll of putty separated by thin plastic film. BTW, other day I’ve used kids play dough (sort of putty), and it worked just fine. The the other day I;ve used double-sided thick tape, wrapped the shooting table glass around, and it holds 2-3 mm of water..
SO, almost anything sticky will work:-)
thank you!
Hi Alex!
Great tutorial, THANK YOU!!
I have a question for you.
There is a blue trim ring on the mascara, below the cap. Wanted to ask why did you decide not to keep it blue?
because it will be a destruction from the rest…?
Best regards,
max
Hi Max,
This is how the mascara looks like: black tube with a blue ring. Why do you think we may need to take change the appearance?
Good point!
It just on the final shot it looks darker comparing to the previous once and i thought will ask.
Maybe it’s my monitor
Thank you!
@maxim sivyi, Hey Max, I see now. Sorry, I did not look at the image, was answering based on what I remember. And since genia did the final post-production, I forgot about what the did with that blue ring.
I’ve just asked her why it is not blue anymore, and the answer was the she liked it better this way:-). So., this is the answer to both, me and you.
I see now
Thank you for looking in to it!!
wow !! Alex your blog is a minefield of knowledge. Every topic I go through shows a different side of lighting. You are so inspirational. BTW I wonder how many hours you put in to photography.
Best Rgds
Deb
Hi Alex,
What is the size of these strip softbox you used here ?
Many thanks
DELISLE,
these are standard PCB strips, they are 10”x36” (25×86 cm).
Thanks Alex… at some point I may be in the market for a macro and I’ve seen another pro shoot the 180. Keep up the great tuts and sharing. You’re a great inspiration.
Kerry
Alex, great tut as always. Very detailed. Can I ask if you’re using a macro lens when making these images? 180? 100?
Thanks in advance,
Kerry
I believe this is the Canon 180mm macro lens.
Yep, exactly
Yes, I use Canon 180mm F3.5L macro lens. I have 100mm F2.8L as well, but I like 180mm, it is the best:-)
Really loved the hangoutconversation with Dave…
What an amazing shot(shots)…Again and again I get triggered by you to look beyond 1 or 2 shots to get a composition done.
Sharing your techniques is highly appreciated.
Thanks and have a great weekend
Rich