Object photography doesn’t need to cost a lot of money to be great, nor does it demand a ton of fancy gear. Often times, it’s just about knowing what to do with the light.
With a little bit of creativity, and a simple setup, you can get photos that look polished, clean, and professional.
Start With One Light Source
For beginners, using just one light source can help keep things simple.
It makes it easier to understand how the direction, distance, and intensity of the light affects your subject. Once you get the hang of this, adding more lights will feel much less confusing.
Natural Light
A big window can be a great source of light for simple object photography.
Position your subject near a window, and then move it closer or further away to see the effects.
Artificial Light
An adjustable desk lamp or other photography light will give you more control over where the light is going and how strong it is.
The key isn’t how much light there is, but where it’s coming from and how it’s interacting with the subject.
Think About the Direction of the Light
Lighting can completely transform the look of a subject.
Front Lighting
Light from the front tends to flatten out shadows, giving you a fairly evenly lit photo. This can be great for simple product photography.
Side Lighting
Light from the side can emphasize the contours, texture, and details of an object. It can make 3D objects look even more three-dimensional.
Backlighting
Lighting from behind an object can create interesting silhouettes, glowing edges, or a more dramatic overall effect.
Soften the Harshness of Shadows
Sometimes direct light can be a bit too harsh, creating hard shadows that might compete with the object you’re photographing.
A diffuser or translucent material placed between the light source and the subject can soften the light and create smoother gradients from highlights to shadows.
In general, the bigger the light source is compared to the subject, the softer the light will be.
Use Reflectors
You don’t need to buy another lamp to fill in the shadows on the other side of your subject.
A piece of white cardboard or paper will reflect some of the light back onto the subject. This can help balance out the lighting without complicating your setup too much.
Adjust the Distance of the Reflector
The closer or further you place the reflector from the subject, the more or less light will be reflected.
Play around with the distance before you decide that you need a whole new setup.
Think About the Background
The lighting you use will also affect the background.
If you want a light, airy feeling, use a bright background. If you want a more dramatic look, try a darker background. The key is to choose a background that enhances your subject rather than distracting from it.
Look Out for Reflections
Objects like glass, shiny metal, or glossy packaging will reflect the light and the surroundings.
Rather than just turning up the brightness of the light, move the light around or change its size, and see how the reflection moves.
More often than not, you’ll find that it’s better to manipulate the reflections than to try to remove them entirely.
Make One Change at a Time
A good habit in photography is to adjust one thing at a time.
Move the light. Take a picture. Move the reflector. Take another picture. Look at both pictures.
This will help you understand exactly what is causing your photo to change.
The Light is Your Tool, Not a Setting
Good object photography comes from knowing how to control the light. You don’t need a full studio to achieve this.
Begin with one light source, play around with the direction and distance of the light, use simple materials to fill in the shadows, and look closely at the results. If you know what the light is doing, even the simplest of setups can lead to amazing images.