Importance of backlighting in cosmetic product photography

Many people try to film their products themselves. While it’s nice to do it, they don’t really have the skill set to get a good picture. Amateur photographers also due to lack of experience can leave a lack in a good image. Decades of experience is a greater teacher than just a few photography tutorials. That is exactly where a professional photography service company like EtherArts Product Photography enter the image. This is what is necessary along with professional photography equipment and some knowledge of Lights and Reflections. In this article, we will share some light on the photography of reflective cosmetic products, particularly liquid cosmetics, and what are the most important factors to pay attention to for successful photography.

The lighting of the product attracts most of the attention of the photographers. Each photographer would endeavor to light the product appropriately. Some go further and light it so much that the product is overexposed and disappears in the images. Such images are bad photography. A smart and experienced photographer will pay attention to product lighting along with something called backlighting. Backlighting it essentially means lighting the back of the product or the bottom of the product. To do this, it is necessary to pay attention to the aspects of the product mentioned below.

Nature of the product– The most important thing is the nature of the product to be photographed. Solid products are very different from cosmetic products that contain liquids. Therefore, we must be careful in choosing the correct configuration.

Background- Often times, eCommerce photography requires a white background. Amazon requires a uniform white background for all of its listings. This is a mandatory requirement. To get this white background, many photographers tend to use extremely bright lights or use a high camera aperture number. This results in the product ‘bleaching’ and virtually disappearing in the light. The contrasts are low and the edges of the products look blurry. For Aroma Oil cosmetic photography, all we need is the right amount of background light to get just the right amount of solid white. So be careful when trying to get the white background. A photo-editing software will come in handy to erase what’s left of the greyish-white background.

Backlighting- Hobbyist photographers focus less on lighting. They believe that daylight (sunlight) is the best environment for product photography. But they are wrong. Studio Daylights are different. Use daylight (white light) bulbs for lighting. A dark room is a must for product photography. This allows the photographer to control the lights as needed, primarily based on the type of product being photographed. For fragrance oil cosmetics photography in particular, try using a low-intensity daylight bulb as your backlight. This gently illuminates the liquid within the glass containers giving it the most heightened look. Yellow or colored oil begins to show a nice color, rather than just a black or clear liquid. This brings out the colors of the oil paintings giving them that much-needed wow factor in photography.