Why I Test Shoot: A Winter Lager Session with Lights, Movement, and Magic

No client. No brief. Just curiosity, a can of beer, and a free afternoon to experiment. I used a free afternoon to do something I don’t do often enough as a working photographer: I made a photo just for myself. 

I also invited my good friend Jason, a photographer friend who’s been learning lighting to stop by and make his own photos. I love the mix of his fresh eyes with my ancient well of knowledge and experience behind the camera. It turned into a relaxed, nerdy, creative session using beer product photography as the catalyst—exactly the kind of play that keeps my work sharp when I’m on real jobs.

You can check out Brew Detroit and their beers here!

Why I Do Test Shoots (Especially for Product Work)

Sitting down to “practice” might sound basic, but test shoots are where I work out ideas that later show up in client sessions.

For this shoot, I wanted to explore:

• How far I could push a single can and still get variety
• Ways to create a holiday feel without relying on cliché props
• Directional lighting that keeps the label clean and readable
• Using movement in the frame while keeping the product crisp

When I’m not under pressure to deliver on a deadline, I can slow down, make mistakes, and chase the happy accidents. That experimentation quietly builds a mental library of “Oh, I know how to light that” solutions.

The Setup: One Can, Holiday Vibes

The core idea: treat this one can of Winter Lager like it’s the star of a full holiday campaign.

Gear list:

• Camera: Sony A7R IV

• Lens: Tamron 28–75mm

• Rim Light: Two Godox AD400Pro with strip box and grids for a clean edge highlight

• Main Light: Godox AD200 with MagMod sphere and grids focused right on the branding and typography

• Bonus magic: An old string of colored Christmas lights in the background

We started with a simple hero shot: can on a surface, background far enough back to separate with light. From there, we layered in atmosphere.

The rim light gave the can a nice shape and separation from the background. The MagMod sphere and grids on the main light let me steer the light exactly where I wanted it: on the logo and the important text. With products—especially cans and bottles—it’s easy to create beautiful light and accidentally blow out or muddy the label, so this part was critical.

Playing With Christmas Lights & Motion

For two of the setups, we brought in that old string of colored Christmas lights. Instead of just hanging them and letting them sit, we decided to play with motion.

Here’s what we did:

1. Placed the lights in the background so they’d fall nicely out of focus.

2. Set the exposure so the can stayed sharp and properly lit.

3. During the exposure, Jason gently moved the lights around—creating little trails, flares, and shifts of color. I also used some of the lights just standing still to add some depth and ground the photo just a bit. 

It gave us this festive, almost electric background while keeping the can itself steady and hero sharp. Watching Jason experiment with how much to move the lights, how fast, and where to hold them was half the fun. It was a great way for him to see how shutter speed and motion translate visually, without having to move the actual subject.

Built In-Camera, Finessed in Photoshop

We did use Photoshop to composite a few frames together, but every element came from something we actually shot in-camera: the can, the bokeh, the movement of the Christmas lights.

For beverage brands, that’s important:

• It keeps the product looking real and trustworthy

• It gives you consistent results across a campaign

• It makes retouching about refinement, not rescue

The final images are built for real-world use: web banners, social campaigns, point-of-sale graphics, email headers—wherever you need a strong seasonal visual.

Teaching Moments With Jason

Because Jason is learning, we turned the whole shoot into a mini class as we went:

• Why this light here? We talked about separating subject from background and protecting the label.

• Why that modifier? The MagMod sphere and grids were a chance to show how you can sculpt light instead of just blasting it everywhere.

• Why move the Christmas lights? A hands-on demo of how motion plus longer shutter speeds can create background energy without touching the subject.

For me, explaining why I’m doing something forces me to slow down and be intentional. For him, it connected the technical pieces to real, visual results.

Beer Product Photography - The Bigger Picture

On the surface, this was just an afternoon with a beer can, some lights, and a friend. But sessions like this are the quiet engine behind my client work:

• I test ideas when it doesn’t matter… so I can trust them when it does.

• I explore how products react to different light… so I can make quick, confident choices later.

• I give myself permission to play… so the work stays fun and alive.

This Winter Lager shoot is one small example of that process, and I’m already seeing lighting ideas from it pop up in other projects.

And honestly? That’s my favorite part.

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If you're interested in One to One Mentoring to improve your photography please contact me here!

Happy Holladay's and remember:

Share forever. Learn forever. Celebrate everyone.