Proper lighting is an important thing for product photography. The final image's appeal, accuracy, and appeal are influenced by the light's interaction. Which enhances your products, including their shadows, highlights, and exposure. For product photographers seeking to capture a more genuine or lifestyle-based vibe, natural lighting is an effective option to go with.
When doing product photography to get the most beautiful and aesthetic photo, natural light is the best option. You may improve your product photography without breaking the bank by capturing the photo in natural lighting. These tips & tracks will explain to you details about how to use natural lighting for product photography, from how light works to how to adjust your camera and edit your images. Now is the time to learn all about how to use natural lighting for product photography.
In photography, natural lighting means to use light that is not artificial but rather comes from natural resources like the sun. Based on the weather, the time of day, and how it interacts with the environment, it can produce mild, distributed, or even stunning effects.
It is important to place your products near a wide window or an outside area during the day in order to get images that are highlighted only by natural light. Sunlight, particularly in the morning or late afternoon, softens shadows, brings out product details, and makes a photograph look better without using any artificial lighting. It is suggested to shoot under direct sunlight, which can produce harsh shadows or overexposure which is not good for your picture quality. Make sure the light is well distributed on the product for the best effects. Another trick to getting that perfect shot is to use white objects or reflectors to bounce the light back onto the product.
One easy and effective way to do product photography is to use natural lighting. Here are some of the main reasons why to choose natural light for product photography:
Soft and Diffused Light: When the sun's rays filter through windows or the sky is overcast, natural light tends to be gentler than artificial light. It will help you to provide an attractive and realistic picture of your products by reducing sharp shadows.
True Color Portrayal: Sunlight helps to display realistic color imitation. For customers who will purchase the product online, the product image will play the main character. Natural lighting will help you to catch the actual colors of your products and impress your customers to look up to the product. But artificial lighting will leave a tint effect while capturing the product photo which is not a good sign.
Cost-Effective: Using natural light is a cost-effective option, while artificial lighting may cost you a fortune. As natural light is easy to access and product photographers on a budget can use it as much as they want without spending a penny.
Variety of Light Qualities: Natural light has a range of qualities that change with the time of day. In the morning, it's gentle and golden, but by midday it will change again. You may play around with the lighting, camera angle, and your product photographs thanks to this adaptability. Here is a time suggestion for finding the best natural lighting for your product photography.
| Time of Day | Lighting Quality | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Early Morning | Soft, warm light | Jewelry, clothing |
| Midday | Bright, neutral light | Large items, outdoor products |
| Late Afternoon | Golden, diffused light | Food, luxury goods |
To get an amazing your product photography outcome, it is important to have a solid understanding of how natural light behaves and how to manipulate it properly. During every moment of the day, natural light is continually shifting and transforming, and the weather causes this transition.
When it comes to doing product photography with natural light, it is essential to have a solid understanding of the two primary types of natural light: direct sunlight and diffused sunlight.
Direct sunlight is important to accomplish the goal of product photography. The powerful and harsh nature of direct sunlight can cause the formation of sharp shadows and high contrast, both of which can be useful for highlighting particular product characteristics. The product must be handled with caution to prevent overexposure and uneven illumination.
The opposite of direct sunlight is diffused sunlight, which is produced by clouds, windows, or reflective surfaces. This type of sunlight is characterized by a gentler and more even light. Diffused lighting reduces the amount of harsh shadows and brings out the real colors of the product. It is an excellent choice for displaying things that have smooth and subtle features inside them. Position your products in close proximity to huge windows or shoot during cloudy weather to take use of the naturally diffused light. An overview of both types of natural lighting:
| Type of Light | Characteristics | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Sunlight | Harsh, bright, and casts strong shadows | Highlighting textures or specific features |
| Diffused Sunlight | Soft, evenly spread light with minimal shadows | General product shots and balanced lighting |
In product photography, the natural lighting of the time of day is one of the important factors to consider. Here are four nature light options which will change with the time of day.
Different types of weather influence the creation of various types of lighting in the case of product photography. In cloudy weather, the natural light is quite soft and scattered looking. Also, on sunny days the weather will also have an orange tint which is able to accent certain features of your products. It is quite weird to see reflections of natural lights on rain days but it is too bad to do outdoor shooting. Using lighting caused by various weather conditions is not easy when doing product photography but if one knows how to handle natural lighting, it will be better than expected.
Shadow is a creation of natural lighting. It can either enhance the product photo or ruin the product photo, depending on how the photographer uses it. Shadows can add depth and dimension to your product image, but if they are too strong, they can hide important product details. Understanding how to control shadows with diffusers or reflectors is key way to use natural lighting for product photography as a friend.
The use of natural lighting helps to improve the quality and aesthetic appeal of a product. Because of the gentle and realistic look natural lighting produces products may appear more real and appealing rather than artificial lighting. If you want your product shots taken well in natural light, follow these steps:
Getting the location correct is key for making the best use of natural lighting. Try to find a place that lets in a lot of natural light, especially place with plenty of windows or an open floor plan. South facing windows are the best option to find day long natural lighting for product photography. Outdoor locations can also work, but they may need the below control over the lighting environment.
Put your products near windows, where the natural lighting will be softly diffused. The gentle, diffuse light that comes from north-facing windows is perfect for making pictures that are lighted and free of strong shadows. Use sheer drapes to diffuse the light if you must shoot outdoors in full sunlight. You can achieve this by using:
Reflectors are essential tools for manipulating natural light to suit your needs. They have the ability to reflect light back onto the product. While will smooth the edges and bringing out the product's features. White foam boards or aluminum foil are two DIY alternatives to commercial reflectors. Here are some tips to work on:
Reflections and glare can be challenging when working with shiny or glossy products. Out of control natural lighting can cause lighting differences which can hide the product features. It is essential to know how to handle these problems. Here’s some way to reduce glare:
The background you choose can either complement or detract from your product. A clean and neutral color background make the product stand out. Choose backgrounds that complement the product, and avoid busy patterns. Here are some background ideas:
Natural lighting can make or destroy your product photography. Mastering your camera's settings is important if you want to take product pictures only using natural lighting. When capturing photos in natural light, it is important to use the camera's ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and white balance to their full potential. Even gathering the idea to use an auto mode is also important while using natural lighting for product photography.
When doing product photoshoots by using only natural lighting, it is important to keep the ISO at a low setting to prevent noise in the product photos. ISO setting 100-200 will result in photographs that are clean, sharp, and have a high level of detail when taken in bright locations, such as outside during daylight hours or close to large windows.
In situations when the natural light is less bright, you should try to increase the ISO somewhat up to 400-800, but you should try to avoid going higher unless the photo will contain a lot of noise.
Relying on natural light sources like window light during the golden hours starts from early morning or can be found during the late afternoon when light is softer and less harsh, reducing the need for higher ISO settings.
Aperture settings not only control the amount of natural light entering your camera but also influence the depth of field in your product photo. You can blur the background and focus on your product by using a shallow depth of field created by a wider aperture (lower f-stop, such as f/2.8 or f/4).
Use this mode to get the focus on your product while using natural lighting. Use a narrower aperture setting higher f-stop, such as f/8 or f/11. This setting is ideal for larger items or when you want the entire product to be clear and sharp.
Use a tiny aperture and a fast shutter speed in extremely bright lighting to prevent overexposure and preserve clarity.
When you're taking outside where the light can change, shutter speed is very important for freezing or adding motion to your product photos. If you want to take clear, sharp product picture in natural lighting, you should set the shutter speeds faster than 1/500s or 1/1000s.
When taking in low natural light, especially when it's cloudy or when you're in the shade, slightly slower shutter speeds (around 1/125s or 1/250s) can still get clear pictures without needing higher ISO settings.
Use a tripod when the shutter speed is slow to keep the camera from shaking and the image clear.
It is possible that the colors of your products will seem different in images. The reason is that the color temperature of natural light shifts during the whole day. After making the necessary adjustments to your white balance, you can have confidence that the real colors of your product will be exactly captured.
Adjusting the white balance settings will help you avoid unexpected color shadows in the photographs you take of your products. Here are three preferable white balance settings:
If you shoot in RAW format, you have to learn about the white balance in post production. This provides you with more flexibility to fine-tune the color accuracy.
The timing of using auto mode and the idea of when to switch manual mode is important for getting best results while using natural lighting for product photography.
Use auto mode if you're a beginner. Automatic mode automatically adjusts the camera's settings (such as ISO, aperture, and shutter speed) to ensure your product photos turned out well. It saves you the trouble of manually adjusting settings while dealing with unpredictable weather like clouds passing over the sun.
When working with stable natural light, your camera's manual mode is your best friend. The manual mode will give you full control over all of the settings. Shooting in manual mode allows you to fine-tune the exposure, aperture, and white balance. Which will allow to capture the product's details and texture. To show your creativity and get that perfect appearance in your product photographs, manual mode is a must-have.
In short when shooting in unpredictable lighting or when time is of the nature, go to Auto mode. To things make a little more professional switch to manual mode. Here is an overview of auto vs manual mode:
| Criteria | Auto Mode | Manual Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Skill Level | Ideal for beginners or quick shooting | Suitable for experienced photographers |
| Lighting Conditions | Fluctuating light (e.g., cloudy weather) | Stable, consistent natural light (e.g., near a window) |
| Control Over Settings | Camera automatically adjusts ISO, aperture, and shutter speed | Full control over ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and white balance |
| Speed of Shooting | Faster, great for capturing quick shots | Slower, allows for deliberate fine-tuning |
| Creative Flexibility | Limited creative control over exposure | High creative control, enables precise adjustments |
| Best For | Fast-paced shoots, when focusing on composition | Detailed shots requiring fine adjustments, and consistent light conditions |
The aesthetic value of product photography can be enhanced by the use of natural lighting. By understanding how to use natural lighting for product photography, you can create visually appealing product shots. Here are some ideas and tips about how you can use natural lighting to your advantage in photography.
Sunlight creates shadows; rather than trying to escape them, engage them and let them add richness to your product photography. Put your product where the sun will produce gentle, organic shadows that will bring out its best features. Products will seem more real when the angle is correct, for example, because it creates the illusion of three dimensions.
Advice: Early morning or late afternoon sunlight, also known as golden hour, provides softer shadows that are less harsh and more flattering.
When shooting outside in natural lighting, one problem can be direct sunlight, which sometimes causes too strong hotspots or dark spots. To prevent this from happening, employ a diffusing device like a semi-opaque sheet or even a thin curtain to even out the sunlight and distribute it evenly around the object. This method enables a more even light distribution to be achieved and reduces harsh contrasts in the lighting, thus permitting the product to take on a smoother and more professional finish.
Tip: A white bedsheet or frosted plastic makes a good alternative and easy to use in the creation of a DIY diffuser that you can simply place on the window.
Again, one of the advantages of using natural light is that it is very versatile but also very variable depending on the hour or the weather. So, let’s say the only thing standing between the viewer and the product is the light source. You should hold the product at an ideal angle. It will make the product features clear. Try holding your product up to the light, at an angle, or even from behind the light to see how the angle affects the image. The goal of at least the images is to accentuate the best selling points of the product breakdown to the color images, texture, and even shape.
Tip: Instead of sticking to one viewpoint, rotate around the subject while shooting to uncover various angles and positions with the light that are not apparent from a stationary shot.
Improving your product images taken in natural light requires careful post-production. To avoid overexposing your products, make sure to adjust the exposure and brightness settings first. When trying to capture the exact shades of your product, it's essential to color correction so the image looks realistic. When natural light casts unpleasant reflections or dark patches, it is absolutely necessary to remove them. Improving the image's highlights and textures will help draw attention to the product's unique features. Lastly, cropping and framing can completely change the way the product looks.
Yes, natural light can be a great source for product photography. Set your product close to a big window and let the soft light enter and click the perfect photo without any artificial light settings. Sheer curtains or a reflector can help deflect bright sunlight, which can prevent shadow and can be used as a light controller. The ideal time to take pictures is during the "golden hours." When the sun is at its softest and warmest, typically in the morning or late afternoon. Natural light is free but needs preparation and adjustments to keep it consistent. The weather and the direction of the light can change during the day, so keep that in mind. Natural light can produce stunningly lit product shots with almost no setup if you know what you're doing.
For photographs taken with natural light, the "golden hours" are ideal. When the sun isn't directly overhead, it's warmer, more diffused, and casts a flatter, more even light that brings out the finest details in products without casting glaring shadows. Midday sunlight, while bright, can be too intense and create strong shadows, making it harder to achieve balanced product images. The golden hour’s softer, angled light also reduces the need for post-production, saving you time in photo editing. Properly timed natural light can elevate the visual appeal of your product photography.
You may not need expensive lighting equipment if you have natural light, but some extra photography lighting kits can help you get better shots. For example, a reflector helps to bounce light back onto your product, which lessens harsh shadows and makes the glow even and balanced. Simple tools like mirrors, diffusers, and tripods can help you get better results when shooting with natural light. A tripod is a must-have equipment to keep your camera steady for longer product shoots, especially if the light position changes because of clouds or the time of day.
In the end, natural light is the best fit since it brings about ease and beauty by depicting the true colors and beauty of the products without any complex arrangements. All you need to do is learn how to control natural light’s various moods – the warm, soft one of the golden hour, the flattering softness of a cloudy day — and apply them to improve the way your product looks in the picture. This guide has tackled the basics very well, including the placement of the camera and window light and which angle to shoot shadow for various items.
In learning these things, patience, good observation, and active practice of people are important when working with natural light sources. Look for spots at different times of the day, utilize reflectors, and attempt various backdrops. Every modification, however small it may seem, makes you come one step closer to getting the ideal shot you want. They will also see how natural lighting puts emphasis on their products in a way that fits the narrative that they are trying to convey.
Natural light can be called free of cost, but it is one of those things that fetches a lot in terms of value to images. Don’t shy away from this element; cherish it and make it a point to use it in all ways possible.
On the other hand, If you’re using a post-production technique for product photography and you need to enhance the natural lighting or adjust the colors to achieve a realistic effect, a professional photo editing service can be incredibly effective. Moving on, natural light adjustments often involve color correction, exposure balancing, retouching, and shadow enhancement to maintain the natural look of the image while subtly enhancing its appeal. Techniques like color grading and light manipulation can bring out the true colors, creating a vivid yet authentic feel that doesn’t look overly edited.
For more insights and tips on product photography, check out our blog here. Keep practicing, keep experimenting, and remember, every shot is a step forward!
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