What makes a product photo look bright? Does this come in your mind ever? Vivid color and bright photography lighting have made product photos look more attractive. A warm light during product photography gives a more professional and realistic look. If the photographer arranges the lighting setup properly during the product photography, they can expect for perfect photos. If you mess up your lighting setup, nothing will look worse than your product photo. Proper lighting makes the product look realistic.
In this article, we are going to have a look at the entire lighting plan for product photography.
What is product photography?
Product photography is said to be one of the different parts of photography. Proper skills and knowledge is needed to get the perfect outcome. Photographers who have different skills and expertise in the related term can bring out the expected outcome. It is a bit challenging to display products flawlessly.
You will not offer products in your store that look awful. Even awful and wretched photos cannot bring the customer for a business. Moreover, it will not be beneficial for a web page also. Product photos are normally found in the webpage or business profile. It is a significant part of websites, magazines, brochures, and catalogs.
Product photography tends to display an object as an enchanting and attractive one. It can bring a massive change on a website. Photographers use the latest technology and capture incredible detail images. They use various methods to make the product attractive in the customer’s eye to make them buy the product.
From this article, you will know about the whole lighting plan for product photography.
Light setup for product photography
For product photography lighting, removing the background is the best way to make it look bright. In the case of studio lighting, the specification for lighting is different. Most of the time, lighting arrangements for product photography is the same. Moreover, lighting is an indispensable part of product photography. It does not matter how many times you try to take good shots; your photographs will not look realistic without proper lighting arrangement.
Let’s have a closer look at the perfect light setup for product photography.
Ring light:
Ring light separates an object from the background and displays every part of it with great detail. Most of the photographer needs the skill to display the products in front of the ring light. Ring lights do not have a diffuser, but they are bright. This is why it is better to set the ring light at a distance from your product. More back, you set the light; it will become softer. It is one of the best ways to set up light for product photography. But when you feel that ring light is not working good for your product photography, you have to go for another type of light setup.
Direct front light:
One type of light setup that is used by photographers most of the time. The direct front light is attractive if you can use it in the right way. You have to keep several facts in your mind. Keep the subject at a distance from the background. Do not mess up the background. Take a little control over the background and use a fast lens. Set up the front light and make it a little brighter. During setting the front light, try to keep the eye level to the subject. The direct front light setting will not work better if you do not remove the light reflection.
Triangle light:
This kind of lighting is set up in a triangle shape. Portrait studio photographers use this setup most of the time as it works great. You are lighting a product from the front. But you need a bit of backlight from the back to make it separate from the background. Triangle light creates an outstanding three-dimensional look of the image. For this kind of light setup, you can apply this in any products. To create a beautiful three-dimensional look, photographers use three lights.
Natural light:
Natural lighting can be the most advantageous if you can use it properly. Poor quality of lighting is responsible for making a photograph look worse. Lighting determines the quality of the final photo. If you utilize the natural light, you can capture photos with your smartphone easily. Natural light results in beautiful photos. Some of the photographers will advise you to go for expensive lights and other techniques to take great photos. But the brightest source is in your hand. But you need a proper lens while taking shots with natural lights.
Tips for product photography lighting that you have to know
You cannot imagine anything in case of product photography without lighting. If you are just a beginner, we want to make you know that product photography is not so easy. We are not saying this to make you get scared. We are going to make it easy for you. You are trying for a long to take great product photos, but you are not satisfied yet. We are not saying that you are not a good photographer. We want to make you know that it is not easy to take great photos. But you have to know some tricks. We are going to share several tips for proper product photography lighting.
Broad light source:
Your light source must be broader. When the light source is broad, it reduces the contrast. If the light source is narrow, it will be harder. Broad source of light hits a subject from different directions. This creates more radiance to a photo. When you want to implement it in your photography, you do not need studio equipment. Put the subject near to a bright and large window in order to create no-cost softbox.
Make the light source closer:
How far the light source is from your subject, the light becomes hard. When you move the light closer, it becomes broader compared to the subject. It becomes literally small and narrow when you move it away. When you are taking indoor shots, move the lamp or light closer to them.
Get the control in your hand:
You get control in your hand with product photography lighting. You can decide the enormous light and its right direction. Using light diffusers changes the color of the light. Photographers use an umbrella as a diffuser to make the light softer. The color diffuser creates a dramatic look.
Take a sharp image:
Most of the professional photographers focus on the sharpness of the images. If your photographs are blurry, it says that you are not a professional photographer. Photographers normally aim for taking sharp photos. If you do not shoot with enough light, the camera will not focus properly. Ensure that you take shoots when there is adequate light.
Fill in light:
In case of a large or huge product photoshoot, put the light from every edge. Go through this if you shoot the product on a seat or a bookshelf. Please place the product in front of a white background. Put a bulb directly on the product. In this way, there will be no shadow. You can change your camera introduction for the photoshoot. Do not let any outside light to enter. Use a dark card so that any kind of light cannot hamper your photoshoot.
Know how product photography lighting can be difficult
It is disappointing when your product photo does not match with the product itself. Besides, the screen of a phone, computer or television is not the same. In the same way, that does not display a product in the same color tone. Explicit and faultless color is crucial for product photography. Display the products with accurate and actual color.
Some of the product photos are reflective like glass, jewelry, and bottle. These kinds of photographs are reflective and tough to capture. Reflective surfaces are annoying and mess up the lighting setup. Imagine the photo of your emerald ring with the reflection at the center.
One quick tip
Arrange two sources of lighting before you start your product photography. You can make your light perfect with several facts and tricks. Some of the facts are not connected to the lighting arrangement directly. Consider the white balance and ISO fact in your mind. It has a huge role in displaying your product. Do not focus much on shadows. Shadows can display your product in different ways.
Summing up
It requires experimentation for proper arrangements of lighting for product photography. Prepare your studio lighting and find out which lighting arrangement works best for your product photography. We think that a camera is everything for product photography. You may have the best camera, but that is not the only thing to take stunning photos. Hope that you liked the article and have got enough idea for the proper arrangement of lighting for product photography.
