Product Photography Lighting And Best Practices

Ring lights are a multifaceted tool which cast a vast range of usage in the world of shoot and activities involving camera usage. Clean lighting is lighting that doesn't scream hey look at me, I'm using 6 lights in this setup”, it's lighting that compliments the subject and nothing more. If you're doing a lot of macro photography in the field, or are shooting a lot of relatively close-up portraits or fashion images, then a ring flash can be a good investment.

Manually exposing your image properly is usually just a matter of using your camera's light meter, which you can find by looking through your camera's viewfinder, and adjusting settings to make the meter notches reach 0. It isn't so simple when you're using a strobe, since there is no lighting for the camera to read until the flash fires.

It adds a hint of detail to the deepest shadows without interfering with the lighting pattern you've otherwise created with your key light. No matter what you do the light from a ring flash is going to look "flat" because the flash heads are too close and too parallel with the lens.

If you take the time to experiment with different shooting angles and manually adjusting the exposure within the camera app, you can actually use bright light to emphasize shapes, lines, textures and patterns in your subjects. When backlighting, the use of a white or silver reflector is pretty important as the front of your subject is facing completely away from the light source.

Like I mentioned at the start, these are subjective and there are always occasions to bend these ‘rules' with lighting but if you're starting out or just have this nagging feeling that your lighting needs improving, you may find that these 5 classic pointers will Rmit Sharma help.

For objects close to the camera, the size of the ring flash is significant and so the light encounters the subject from many angles in the same way that it does with a conventional flash with soft box This has the effect of further softening any shadows.

Also, the presence of twin strobes very near the subject exagerates light fall off so the background goes dark quite quickly - an excellent way to bring emphasis to the subject. With any macro subject, an on-flash light modifier is a handy accessory for your lighting setup.

Backlight your subject using a mirror, a powerful torch, sunlight or off-camera flash to provide a dramatic rim-light around your subject. Use: If you are taking a lot of pictures or video for your business and want a predictable light source, the ring light is for you.

One of the easiest and most efficient lighting setups for apparel photography can be created with a large window and natural sunlight streaming through it. Below is an example of this setup as a bird's-eye-view diagram so that you can visualize the setup before you try it.

In the 3-point lighting image above, your key would be closer to 3:15 and your fill would be 8:45. They are great for filling shadows created by your main light. Photographers and videographers absolutely love ring lights as they offer more diffused lighting around the subject while reducing the appearance of harsh shadows, which is why it is a popular lighting tool for close-up portraiture.