How to use natural light in product photography?
Want to capture nice photos of your products to use on your company’s social media? Here are some easy tips on how to take photos with natural sunlight, without the need of artificial lightning.
We now live in a world where visuals are important and let's be honest, we all want to achieve nice lighting in our photos. Specially when it comes to product photography, they have to be amazing and flawless. Remember that first impressions are important. We don’t always have artificial lighting available to use, but do not worry because there are many solutions to light your products. You need to know how to manage natural light and use it in your favor. The major difference between artificial lighting and natural lighting is the control you have among them. But both can be mastered if you understand how they can be used. So let's start mastering natural light and don’t let yourself win by the lack of artificial photography lights.
We can capture amazing photos using natural light by knowing the key elements necessary to obtain the best of it. You can either use your phone or a digital camera. The difference between a phone and a semi-pro camera/pro-camera is the resolution, size and manipulation of the colors in post-production. But it is your choice. Today we are talking only about lighting. Many environmental factors can determine the photo light, shadows and predominant colors.
First, search for natural light at your home or location. It is important to notice if the light comes from a window or from an open space. We recommend you to use windows as your light source. Being indoors versus outdoors will save you from the struggles that wind and rain can give. Draught can make your product’s move or affect your background’s surface. There is no need to explain how rain can cause problems if you decide to have a photoshoot outdoors.
After choosing a nice window, you need to notice some things in order to obtain the best visuals.
1. Recognize the origin of the light illuminating your environment.
The sun is coming right through the window.
The sun is not coming through the window.
2. Learn the difference between soft and hard light.
Soft light = soft shadows
Hard light = hard shadows
Depending on the style you want to obtain in the photos, you can choose what light works best.
If you choose the hard light effect, you will be needing the sun coming through the window.
If you choose the soft light, you will be needing the sun not coming directly from the window.
After choosing the perfect indoor location with natural light,you are now ready to set your product to start the production.
You’ll also need:
A white or color background (keep in mind that if you choose a color background not a white one, you will get color contamination in your product.)
Accessories if you need them. We love accessories!
White bounce. Can be any white board, reflector, etc. This is for bouncing and filling up the shadows (optional).
Extra tools: tape, double side tape, a clip, etc. to arrange your product and accessories.
The set for soft and hard lighting is the same.
Behind the scenes difference of lighting:
Hard lighting photo behind the scenes
Soft lighting + fill photo behind the scenes
Hard lighting final photos
Softlight final photos
Be creative and have fun experimenting with your photos. The difference of each lighting is very noticeable but both can make your products stand out. Knowing what mood and style you are looking for in your photographs is key when making the set up. Also keep in mind that natural lighting is ever changing, so lighting varies so as the exposure due to the amount of brightness that comes from source.! Another tip when shooting with natural lighting is to pay attention! Pay attention how it moves and how it changes so you can accomplish your photographs fast. Natural light cannot be controlled.
We hope you make many amazing images for your products.