If you want to attract your customers interested in your product, photography is necessary. But taking beautiful photos is not straightforward because these photos need to be the brightest and truest. So that is the reason why you need to know how to product photography lighting setup. You also have to prepare a product photography lighting kit. The light from the lamp will help you make your photos more beautiful.
The role of lighting setup when taking product photos
Product photography lighting kit
The role of lighting setup when taking product photos can be seen clearly in:
- Brighten the photo frame clearly.
- Lighting the subject helps the subject stand out and be clear in the overall context.
- Create composition and depth for photos. Thanks to the light direction and color intensity, the viewer can perceive the distance, distance, wide-narrow space,…
- Bring life to your photos and draw a vivid story. The light itself will tell you the message you want to convey through the way you adjust the light direction and color level.
- Lighting dictates the shooting style you’re aiming for. By adjusting the light intensity, you can easily create diverse photos such as: Low key, High key, Dark Food photos,…
Principles of lighting setup for product photography
Setup for product photography in studio
To be able to produce a photo with beautiful lighting not only requires increasing power but also requires the support of suitable lighting equipment for product photography.
So, the first thing you should consider is:
- The purposes of taking photos and the type of products you choose
- The place to shoot?
- For each person, the needs and purposes of taking photos will be different. You can choose to take photos outdoors or take product photos in the studio. So when producing photography light setup, you should be interested in:
- Use batteries or AC power
- How long does it take for the light to be restored?
- Remote control device.
- How to handle when safety is needed.
Product photography lighting setup methods
You need to know how to set up lights properly to ensure a stable light source and not cause shadows when taking photos. Difficulty in moving and setting up in places with uneven terrain: mountains, hills, rapids, etc. Therefore, if you want to ensure the light source when taking photos, you need to pay attention to taking advantage of both light sources to complement each other. This will help you handle situations such as cloudy weather, sun out,… when taking photos outdoors or in case of a power outage while shooting at the studio.
Thus, both natural light and lamp light have their own strengths. You should combine both light sources to help your photo have enough light, become vivid and clear.
The 1 light setup for product photography
Actually, using 1 light setup for product photography is not suitable. Because 1 light can not I’ve you enough light to shine your products. So I not recommend you use 1 light setup for product photography. Because the front lighting comes from behind the photographer and shines straight on the subject. This light, also known as flat light, clearly exposes details and has no shadows.
The 2 light setup for product photography
The 2 light setup for product photography
In this step of lighting setup for product photography, you need to know 2 lights is what for. In which, 1 light is the main light and the other is the auxiliary light. The main light is placed in front of the product or to one side. Auxiliary lights are placed on the opposite side or behind the product. You should move the lights to find the most beautiful and suitable lighting angle.
The 3 light setup for product photography
Seting up the 3 light setup for product photography is more difficult. Lighting setups with 3 lights are often used both in the field of lighting for photography and video production in the studio. The 3-light setup technique is to use 3 different light sources to illuminate 1 or more subjects at a fixed location. Because there are 3 different light positions, it ensures that the subject is best lit and controls the shadows from the main light source. At the same time, the photographer can also create depth for the subject in a more diverse and easier way.
What light do you need for product photography?
How to set up light to take photos
When taking photos, light will determine whether your image is beautiful or ugly, youthful and dynamic or blurry. With product photography, you must highlight the product and its edges, even the most minor details. When buying goods, viewers need to look very carefully through the photos, so the images need to be sharp and realistic so that you can feel the material when looking at them. It’s as simple as taking a photo of a shoe product. The image needs to be the brightest and most colorful. You can closely observe the shoe sole, shoe laces, and the position of the lace buttons, and many people with sharp eyes can still feel the material it’s made of.
Product photography lighting is usually white light for the most apparent visibility and most realistic photos. The light intensity of the light bulbs can be different, such as 100W, 60W, 30W, etc. When taking product photos, you need to arrange lights around the product so that the product is the brightest center. Large and small light bulbs can be placed alternately.
Product photography lighting setup methods
Product photography lighting setup
The benefits of product photography lights are enormous in creating emphasis and attraction for the photo. However, you may need help understanding how to produce a photography light setup. The best lighting setup for product photography follows the steps below:
Step 1: Set up a photography background
In the first step, you must set up a background for product photography. You should choose a white background to highlight the product or facilitate post-processing.
Step 2: Arrange the layout for the photo
After that, you need to arrange the composition of the photo. Product composition plays a vital role in creating beautiful images. Arrange the products in a suitable layout, highlighting the uniqueness of the product. Note that you should not arrange too many distracting objects or limit the use of too monotonous frames.
Step 3: Set up product photography lights
So how many lights are not necessary? It depends on the style of the photos you need and the purpose of the photos you set up for the lighting kit. The lighting setup for product photography helps make the product stand out most beautifully and vividly. If you need photos for selling on Facebook or any e-commerce platform, you don’t need lots of light to produce an image. But if you have the luxury of selling products, the lights are essential to make your photos more expensive. So you will need 2-3 lights and more time to set up the background.
Step 4: Adjust the light appropriately
After setting up the lighting, adjust the lighting parameters accordingly before taking the photo. When changing the lighting intensity of the lamp, it should not be too strong, causing the light to become unnatural. On the contrary, the light intensity should be strong enough for the photo to stand out. Lighting is essential to take a beautiful photo. If you take a low-light photo, the photo will be dark, but if you take an over-exposed photo, the photo will be overexposed. Therefore, the step of arranging photography lights is vital. However, not everyone knows how to arrange lights to take photos as well as set the appropriate light intensity for each product in each given shooting context. That is why they always ask, “How many lights or reflectors should I use for product photography?”.
The critical thing about arranging lighting when taking photos is that you need to understand the principles of photography. This also helps avoid shadows when taking photos.
Read more: 3+ How to remove background in illustrator
How many lights or reflectors should I use for product photography?
If you need photos for selling on Facebook or any e-commerce platform, you don’t need lots of light to produce a photo
Setting up product photography lights is an essential step in the professional photography process. To get satisfactory, beautiful and attractive product photos, you need to pay attention to the following:
- Test shots at many camera angles to be able to choose the most suitable photo angle. Each camera angle will have its characteristics suitable for each product type. Thanks to that, you can easily choose a photo with the right camera angle.
- Use composition principles when taking photos, such as the ⅓ principle, symmetry principle, etc. Apply each principle to each different situation that is most suitable.
- Set up the lighting, the most harmonious light. This is a crucial step that requires you to have experience and technique. When set up incorrectly, the light source will not be enough or too much, affecting the quality of the photo.
- Post-process after taking photos with professional editing software.
How to avoid shadows with led lights?
As mentioned above, to create the proper lighting for your photos, it is essential to understand the principles of lighting setup. For example, front lighting comes from behind the photographer, shining directly on the subject. This light clearly shows details. It is also called flat light because there are no shadows.
Backlighting is light shining from behind the subject to the lens. Using light requires a lot of experience in aperture and speed. Properly taken photos are often gorgeous if the subject is a portrait. When used, the light on the face is very soft; the hair has bright edges, the eyes are not dark, and the face is not wrinkled like when photographed with flat light. Many experienced photographers use this style of photography. Contrast is also used to create dark silhouettes where the background is a sunrise or sunset (silhouette). Thus, to avoid shadows in photography, you should choose direct light for amateurs. However, later, when you have more experience, you can combine many types of light. However, it is necessary to ensure the principle of eliminating excess light so as not to create shadows when taking photos.
LED lights have vigorous light intensity (although you can adjust the intensity), but the diffusion ability is low. Therefore, to limit the creation of shadows when taking photos, it is recommended that you arrange the LED lights directly towards your product. Similar to the principle of direct light. This is important to limit shadowing.
Read more: A Complete guide for High-Quality Product Photography Setup
Some advice for you to product photography lighting setup
In setting up shooting lights, I think you should use at least 2 lights. In which 1 light is the leading light and the other is the auxiliary light. The top light is placed in front of the product or to one side. Additional lights are placed on the opposite side or behind the product. It would help if you moved the lights to find the most beautiful and suitable lighting angle.
Remove.pics hope these information be useful for you to have the best way to product photography lighting setup. However, there are actually many ways to arrange lighting and produce better photos. You should research and look for other methods to optimize costs as well as create creative ways to take beautiful photos.
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