Creating reflections??

[Noz03]

I'm just wondering if someone could explain to me how to make a reflection accurate? I stupidly thought just flipping it would somehow work but obviously not

More specifically, I'm trying to add a new bottle to this image but obviously isnt working so far.

 

[IamSam]

Hey,

The main problem is the added bottle is not in the same perspective as the native bottle.


The added bottle is leaning slightly more towards the camera.
It's really noticeable in the labels and the tops and bottoms of the bottles.

 

[IamSam]

If you have trouble finding an adequate bottle in the correct orientation and perspective, for me, the best possible solution would be to duplicate the native bottle, add some clone work, and change the labels and their positions. You could also alter the color.

 

[Rich54]

I'm just wondering if someone could explain to me how to make a reflection accurate? I stupidly thought just flipping it would somehow work but obviously not

Just adding my two cents...

You can often get away with flipping an image vertically to create a passable rendering of a reflection, but usually it's not really "accurate". In the illustration below, you can see the top surface of the cone in the original, but you cannot see that top surface in the reflection. Similarly, you cannot see the bottom surface of the cone in the original, but you can see the bottom surface in the relection. (Try this yourself by holding a real object up to a mirror.) An accurate reflection depends on where the viewer's eye is positioned relative to the scene.

In your wine bottle photo, you can slightly see the top of the bottle cap, so therefore you should not be able to see the top of the cap in the reflection because the eye of the camera is positioned above the top of the bottles. And everything IamSam has discussed above is also in play. In my opinion, truly accurate reflections can be fairly difficult.

 

[Eggy]

Have a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtgzYGBd1pc

 

[IamSam]

Sorry, I got called away.

I was working on a similar example where I borrowed the native bottle. I made it a bit larger and did not change any of its features. Had I changed the labels, I would have gotten a much better curve.

In making the reflection, I used a similar technique as is described in the Phlearn video, but I only used warp and not the arch feature.

I did this quick so it's not perfect.

 

[Noz03]

Oh I didn't know they had a different perspective. I actually thought the lable was a bit uneven or something. Is there anything that can be done to correct that in photoshop?

It doesn't have to be 100% accurate, just not noticable when I print it.

 

[IamSam]

Oh I didn't know they had a different perspective. I actually thought the lable was a bit uneven or something. Is there anything that can be done to correct that in photoshop?

It doesn't have to be 100% accurate, just not noticable when I print it.

Think of it this way, if the perspective is off, you really cant rotate a 2D flat image with Photoshop so that it's in the correct perspective. You can however cheat it with Photoshop. You can use the Clone Stamp, Brush tool, Free transform warp, maybe Puppet warp, or even Liquify. It will involve some creative work and may take awhile depending on your skill level. In the end it will probably be noticeable to most people. I would make any attempt to locate another bottle that's a bit closer to the native bottles perspective.

Then your left with creating its mirrored reflection and all of it's inherent problems! If I were faced with this challenge, I think I would just take another photo!

 

[Noz03]

Think of it this way, if the perspective is off, you really cant rotate a 2D flat image with Photoshop so that it's in the correct perspective. You can however cheat it with Photoshop. You can use the Clone Stamp, Brush tool, Free transform warp, maybe Puppet warp, or even Liquify. It will involve some creative work and may take awhile depending on your skill level. In the end it will probably be noticeable to most people. I would make any attempt to locate another bottle that's a bit closer to the native bottles perspective.

Then your left with creating its mirrored reflection and all of it's inherent problems! If I were faced with this challenge, I think I would just take another photo!

Ohhh the problem is the original bottle? Actually I plan to remove that one anyway. The reason I want to add a new one is because the bottle in the photo is a famously cheap brand. My problem isn't that the bottles have to match exactly, just that I need to make a reflection. I think I will photograph another bottle later tonight making sure to keep the lable perfectly vertical, in that case its a simple flip right?

 

[IamSam]

I think I will photograph another bottle later tonight making sure to keep the lable perfectly vertical, in that case its a simple flip right?

No. You need to make sure that the bottle you photograph is in the same perspective as the bottle in the photo. You camera angle needs to be exact. The label angles may not reflect the orientation of the bottle, you need look at the bottle as a whole and do your best to match it's perspective.

The reflection is whole different matter. If you watched the Phlearn video tutorial you would know that once you turn the bottle image upside down, you need warp the image in order to accomplish the reflection.

 

[Noz03]

Ok here's the second attempt using phlearns method. Think this is good enough to pass for real?

 

[Noz03]

Oops, just noticed the very faint reflection in the tiles. Hope I got them all now...