The Right Use of Light to Get Better Results from Your Product Photography

An essential feature of both online and print advertising, product photography uses different techniques to showcase products in attractive ways. The aim is to attract potential buyers to purchase those products. We see these pictures daily in newspaper, magazines, brochures, catalogues, billboards, online advertisements and on websites.

It may be an e-commerce store or just another website marketing services, good photographs do increase conversion rates. This is because 90% of the information sent out to our brain is visual. Photos become a key constituent of decision making by consumers.

You too can make that right first impression by creating polished and professional pictures that drive engagement. Here are some tips that will help you at this art:

Lighting

One of the most important factors in any form of photography is lighting. It is good to start with one kind of light and observe its effect on the product being photographed. In a London photo studio for hire, you may find plenty of light sources – test them one by one to see which source brings out the best results. The particular points to check are:

• Does the light accentuate the silhouette of the product and other design materials used or does it camouflage them?
• Does the light put focus on the branding and offer clear visibility to the product logo?
• Does it also convey the mood that you expect in the picture?

If it suits the theme of your photography, you can use natural light for your photography. A natural window scene is simple and free solution to get some beautifully lit product shots. This is especially good for pictures where an organic or natural look is desired. All you need to do is style the product and shoot.

Disadvantages of natural light

Natural light may not work in all situations because of the following reasons:

• You have less control on the light. Remember that natural light constantly changes and accordingly everything will change – the colours, the camera settings and the moods.
• Natural light may also lead to lengthy exposure times or call for higher ISO settings. This can create undesirable noise or grain.
• Such light may create problems with ambient light – such as reflections and mixing colour sources.
• When you have to shoot a complete catalogue of product images, the task will get complicated if you need consistency and colour matching between all the products.

Using Artificial Light

Artificial light sources in a well equipped photographic studio can be used to get better results from product photography when natural light doesn’t suffice.

It has its specific advantages:

• You will have consistent output for each of the products that are being shot.
• While shooting for a product catalogue, it is important to retain colour balance throughout and this is achievable only when you are using a stable light source. Furthermore, if you have to re-create the same effects in photographs for another client, you can keep a record of your lighting and camera settings and use the same once again.
• When you are working in a more styled or conceptual ambience, the consistency of lighting matters significantly and it is common to work on the same shot for several hours. In this case if the lighting keeps changing, your work will be less productive and less fun. By using the same frequency of artificial light you can avoid this problem.

Also, there are plenty of tools and modifiers and technologies to manipulate artificial light. Use your imagination to get the best of results.

Simulacra Studio is an impressive film studio in London offering creative spaces for professional photo shoot. The studio is managed by professional photographers.