Wine is one of the easiest subjects to photograph badly. The bottle glares, the glass reflects your phone, red wine turns black in low light, and the table looks cluttered. Restaurants, wineries and home cooks who post wine content run into the same problems. The fixes are cheap and fast.

Shoot near a window

Natural side light suits wine better than anything else. Set the table near a window and turn off overhead bulbs, which add a yellow cast and hard reflections. Light from the side shows the color of the wine and the shape of the glass. If the sun is harsh, hang a sheer white curtain or tape parchment paper over the window to soften it.

Try backlighting a glass of red, with the window behind it. The wine glows ruby instead of looking like ink.

Control reflections

Glasses and bottles act like mirrors. Move around the table until your phone and your own reflection disappear from the shot. Shooting at a slight angle instead of straight on solves most of it.…