Simply dropping products in front of a white background and clicking on digital images doesn’t quite work. The importance of the visual lies in its aesthetic sensibility. Beginners should never undermine the importance of adhering to these essentials. The simple application of basic rules can turn an ordinary image into a masterpiece!
The three L’s are the way to go! Lighting, lenses, and placement…let’s get into all these aspects and understand how best to combine craftsmanship and creativity to produce perfect product shots!
When it comes to lighting, the most important thing is to create clean, soft lighting that enhances the look of the product, making it bright and glowing. A set of umbrella lights or softies with good diffusion can be used for key and fill. You can even attach a spotlight or overhead light if you want. The idea is a feeling of balanced clarity during the day and not a warm yellow light. Also in soft light you can avoid harsh shadows, which can spoil the beauty of the product. Beautiful drop shadows or reverse mirror images can be created in fewer transparencies in post. A solid single color background can be illuminated or even a light marquee can be used. If you don’t have softies or elinchroms or the budget to hire then you should go for daylight. An overcast English day is perfect for a photo shoot! Or you can place your subject on a textured table reporting an open window light source. Just make sure to hold it down with some parchment paper or even a sheer white curtain will do the trick!
The lens is an important aspect in product shots, as texture and detail are important. Products look much better from afar than if you stand close to the image and click. Get yourself a decent long lens and step back to click decent images. If you have a Nikon then a 105mm or 70-180mm macro should suffice. For a Canon DSLR, a 100mm macro is a great option. Whether you’re shooting tiles, beer cans, or cell phones, these would be more than adequate.
Location is the third main feature in a product session. Depending on the type of campaign, the medium and the budget this is fixed. You will have to do your pre-production, referencing, recognition, etc. Respectively. If it’s a studio shoot, you need to create a lightmap, plan the background or stage, or sometimes do a test shoot to see if everything is ok. If it’s outdoor shots, check locations, find out backgrounds and elements with the art director. The size of the locations will also affect your backdrop dimensions and possibilities. If there are models involved in the session, again the schedule will change accordingly. The photographer must have a good idea of where they are shooting and use the space effectively to display the product.
Creative application of these basic 3Ls for product photography will result in great images.