Simply dropping the products in front of a white background and clicking through the 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 location… let’s dive into all these aspects and understand the best way 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 appearance of the product, thus making it bright and shiny. A set of umbrella lights or softies with good diffusion can be used for key and fill. A spotlight or overhead light can even be attached if desired. The idea is a feeling of balanced clarity during the day and not a warm yellow light. Also in soft light you can avoid hard shadows, which can spoil the beauty of the product. Beautiful drop shadows or reverse mirror images can be created on fewer transparencies in post. A solid background of a single color can be illuminated or even a light tent can be used. If you don’t have softies or elinchroms or the budget to hire then you should go for daylight. A cloudy 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 you hold it down with some parchment paper or even a sheer white curtain will do!

The lens is an important aspect in product shots, as texture and detail are important. The products look much better from a distance than if you stand near 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’s 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 session, you need to create a lightmap, plan the background or scenery, or sometimes do a test session to see if everything is okay. If it’s outdoor shots, check locations, figure out backgrounds and items with the art director. The size of the placements will also affect the dimensions of your backdrop and the possibilities. If there are models involved in the shoot, 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.