A Guide to Natural Lighting for Product Photography

When you are doing a DIY product photo shoot, then you will want to learn how to effectively harness natural lighting. The camera and lighting settings you choose can make all the difference when you shoot your product photos.

Lighting Conditions

Natural lighting through a window is ideal. It generates natural shadows, it is easy to get, and it can create a 3D effect on the photos by adding texture. Shoot next to the window when the day is the brightest for the best results.

Reflector to Fill in Shadows

If the sun hides away behind clouds, you can use a reflector to intensify the light and fill in the shadows. A reflector can be a white foam board or a simple white screen.

Setting Up the Background

A backdrop should be used when photographing your products. You should have an open space to set it up. The backdrop should be white because it reflects natural light onto the products, and it is also useful during the editing process.

Manual Settings on the Camera

Shooting in manual mode allows you to achieve a variety of lighting conditions and allows you to control the settings. The main settings to learn to take advantage of natural lighting during the photoshoot are aperture, ISO, white balance, and shutter speed.

Now that you have a few natural lighting tricks under your belt, you can set up your tripod and start shooting. Play around with all the different settings of your camera, take photos of several different angles, and have fun with it.

Try to avoid using the flash because this can overexpose the photo as well as distort the colors and always use a white background. A darker background is too distracting and may require too many edits.