Significance of Back Lighting in Beauty Product Photography

Photography is storytelling; product photography is an expression of the product’s features more simply. To cover the story of the product in one single frame, you need to take care of many aspects and one of them is Lighting. Lighting is the soul of photography and without light; a photo is just a piece of the body without any purpose.

Importance of Back Lighting in Beauty Product Photography

Professional product photographers are always aware of the importance of lighting. In product photography, the photographer tries to represent the product in the most attractive way to catch the eyes of a customer.

Lighting is a crucial step in product photography and the importance of backlighting is way more than you think of.

Many unprofessional people tend to believe that lighting is at best when it is natural lighting, but the fact is a dark room is most suitable for product photography. In a darkroom, product photographers can control the backlight the way they want. You need to know that every beauty product is unique and needs a unique touch of lighting.

Backlighting gives the subject product a greater sense and gives a dramatic effect. Through backlighting, the product photographer can give extraordinary contrast effects between the product and its background. When you are doing beauty product photography, the backlight is the essence that will give purpose to your photography.

The Light factor helps you to set the mood of your photo. The purpose of the backlight in product photography is to highlight the product image. The backlight makes a product more attractive and attainable. The results of the backlight will produce dimensional effects that will definitely catch the customer’s eye on the product.

In beauty product photography you just need to take care of the texture, you need to control luminosity, and need to make beauty products vibrate with the atmosphere. All these are only feasible with the perfect backlighting.

Let’s Discuss Each Point in Detail

1. The Bigger, The Better

The bigger is better when it comes to the lighting of product photography. The bigger the light source, the better the outcome. Broad light creates fewer shadows and focuses more on the subject product. In beauty products; the main focus is on the subject product and hence it needs broader backlight support.

2. Keep Backlight Close to Product

To have an illuminated photograph, you need to keep the backlight as close to the subject as possible. The fewer distance between the light and the subject will create more impact on the final outcome. When the backlight is closest to the subject, the focus will be entirely on the subject.

3. Front-Lighting Judiciously

You saw the significance of the backlight in the product photography but alongside you also need to keep the front light ready from your end. To give the product more texture, and to cover up minor defects of the product; you need front light.

4. Split Lighting

This method is followed to split the product into two parts- one appearing in the light and another to the shadow. For a dramatic look of your unique product, and to simply show your art skills of photography- you can apply this split lighting technique.

5. Natural and Flash

Do not just dive too much into the backlight that you forget about the natural element of light. If needed, do not restrain yourself to take help from natural light. Some products are at their best when they are supported by natural lights.

Importance of Proper Lighting Position

There is not a single straight position that applies to all product photography. Based on the size, purpose, and volume of the product pick your lighting position. Always keep in mind to keep the product- subject at an eye-sight level to have extraordinary effects.

Some products require lighting with inclined angles while some require lighting with different angles. Proper lighting position will let you avoid glares and can reduce blurred photos of the product. Beauty products never go out of style and so is their need for photography.

Beauty products photography is more fragile than it looks and for that, you need to have proper lighting position. The proper lighting will light the product so it becomes more mesmerizing. If you pick up the wrong angle of the lighting, it is a blunder similar to picking up the wrong lens for photography.

Conclusion

No matter what is said or elaborated here, the best result sometimes comes out of nowhere. You can follow your gut feeling; can use your artistic mind, can improvise while shooting products, and can apply your personal experience to get the best results.

The product photographer would never fail to have a perfect lens and perfect lighting place, and will never leave anything to chance. If you are a professional or beginner, these tips and backlight importance will make you think twice before just clicking any random picture.