Lighting
My previous spotlight on white backgrounds proved to be really useful, not only for clients when making choices about the sorts of backgrounds they may want to use in their product photoshoots but also for me as a reference when educating clients on the different forms a white backdrop can take, so continuing right on from that I thought writing up a post focusing on lighting would be useful too.
Without light you can't have a photo, but the ways in which we choose to use light and shadow have a huge impact on the overall impression a subject gives and so the more deliberate we can be in the ways we light a subject or object, the more we can use lighting as a tool to make your images stand out and reflect your brand aesthetic.
Single Light Set-Up
1. Soft Light
Soft lighting is the one that most closely replicates indoor daylight, creating an even light on the subject with soft shadows.
2. Hard Light
Hard light creates hard shadows which create a dramatic contrast with the background. This lighting most closely replicates direct sunlight and is a really popular lighting style at the moment.
3. Flat Light
Minimal shadows with even lighting across the entire subject, flat lighting can be a bit boring for product photography, but the most flattering for portraits and modeled shots because it softens any lines on the skin.
Creative lighting
4. Rim Ligh
Another dramatic choice, rim lighting is great for separating the subject from the background, creating silhouettes, and adding colour without lighting the entire scene in one hue.
5. Mixed Light
Using a mix of ambient light and artificial light (in this case daylight from a window and a rim flash) is brilliant when adding a little extra to an otherwise 'naturally' lit shot. In the above image, the window light creates a smooth, bright, even lighting while the rim light throws a highlight onto the label and adds extra highlights to the ripples in the water.
6. Backlight
Lighting a subject from behind makes for a glowy, ethereal look which I personally love using when the opportunity arises.
Natural Lighting
Using natural light is an obvious choice for lifestyle images, though when working with a large number of products or where a large number of images are required, ambient light alone is guaranteed to create consistency issues as the clouds move across the sun and the sun moves across the sky. It is very pretty though.
7. Window light
Perfect for food photography, window light is often enough on its own, though factors such as the weather, time of year, and the space being worked within must be kept in mind as all of them will have an impact on how the light will behave in shot.
8. Outdoor light
Typically more reliable than indoor light but again is more suitable for small numbers of images or shots where lighting consistency isn't important.
9. Widow light pt2
A perfect illustration of the unreliability of sunlight in photography. This shot and image 7 were taken using the same light source, but from a slightly different angle and with a different background. But the time I'd changed the set-up, the sun had moved, the clouds had gone and the lighting was dramatically different. Had I been relying on sunlight alone, the 7th should have been near impossible to recreate should I needed to have gone back to it, and with so many clients coming back to add to their ever-growing collections of products months after a previous session and requiring identical photography to keep their shopfront consistent, natural light just wouldn't be an appropriate choice. HOWEVER it can be recreated beautifully. So if you like the look of natural light, that's okay! We just may need to fake it.
A Trip To Pitt Rivers
During the bank holiday weekend, we took a little trip down to Oxford to visit the Pitt Rivers Museum. I hadn't been since Chris and I were at college together and it's even more of a spectacular place than I'd remembered and naturally, I couldn't resist taking far too many photographs so thought I'd share them here. Whoever works as a museum staff photographer is living the dream!
April '22 Wrap-Up
In April I decided to put the school holidays to some good use and update some elements of my marketing kit, beginning with my price guide which now includes a far more detailed rundown of all of the different ways we can work together to give your brand a bit of added sparkle. Whether you're a returning client or planning our first ever shoot together, if you'd like to receive a copy get in touch!
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Kaye Heseltine Design
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Earlier this month I met up with Kay Heseltine, an incredibly talented graphic designer based in Bridgnorth, Shropshire to shoot some personal branding portraits for her business marketing. As is so often the case for small business owners who are used to running the show from behind the scenes, taking the step to put herself in front of the camera was a brave one, so we made sure to pick a location where Kaye felt comfortable and approached the session in the laid back way that lets me get to know the person I'm photographing, helps them to forget about the camera and bring out their most authentic self.
George & Vicky Engagement Shoot
George of The Shropshire Macaron Company is getting married!
Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to be his wedding photographer and recently discovered that George's fiancee Victoria is equally as brilliant as the man himself when we went on a little trip around Apley Wood and Telford Town Park for their engagement session.
Can't wait for the big day!
The Shrubbery Soaps
For my first time working with The Shrubbery Soaps, we photographed a handful of their wonderful range of handmade soaps, powdered face masks, and facial oils. The brief was natural, light, and airy which complemented their gorgeous branding and packaging beautifully.
I can't wait to work with them again!
March Wrap-Up Part 1
March is Meet The Maker month and I love taking part in this celebration of creatives over on Instagram. My feed has been alive with 31 days of Behind The Scenes, Days in the life and lots of personal work, but if you don't have the app you can see what I've been up to right here!
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Emilie & Will
Emilie & Will came over to the house have some headshot portraits taken after missing their official school photos last term, and since they absolutely smashed their brother/sister and solo uniform shots in about 10 minutes flat, it left us with plenty of time for a quick outfit change so that Emilie could show off her best pirouette and then pose for some pictures with mommy & daddy too.
Will was 100% sick of my nonsense by this point and opted out of the extra photos, which is completely fair enough, I definitely would have as well XD
