Significance of Back Lighting in Cosmetics Product Photography

A lot of people try to shoot their products themselves. While it is a good thing to do, they actually do not have the skill set needed to get a good picture. Amateur photographers too due to lack of experience can leave a lack in a good picture. Decade of experience is a great teacher than just some photography tutorials. That is exactly where a professional photography service company like EtherArts Product Photography comes in to picture. This is what is necessary along with a professional photography gear and some knowledge of Lights and Reflections. In this article, we will share some light on the reflective Cosmetics product photography – Liquid Cosmetics in particular and what are the most important factors that you need to pay attention to for a successful photograph.

Lighting the product takes most of the photographers attention. Every photographer would make efforts to light the product up appropriately. Some go beyond this to light it up so much that the product gets overexposed and is washed out in the pictures. Such images are poor photography. A smart and experienced photographer will pay attention to lighting up the product along with something called backlighting. Backlighting essentially means lighting the back portion of the product Or the background of the product. To do this it is necessary to pay attention to the below mentioned aspects of the product.

Product Nature- Most important is the nature of the product to be photographed. Solid products differ a lot than the liquid containing cosmetic products. Hence we need to be careful while choosing the correct set up.

Background- A lot of times, Ecommerce photography requires white background. Amazon requires a seamless white background for all their listings. This is a mandatory requirement. In order to get this white background, a lot of photographers tend to use extreme bright lights or use a high camera Aperture number. This results in the product getting ‘white-washed’ and practically disappears in to the light. The contrasts are low and the edges of the products look foggy. For Aroma Oil cosmetics photography, all we need is just the necessary amount of light in the background to get just the correct amount of seamless white. So be careful while trying to get the white background. A photo-editing software will be helpful in clearing what is left of the greyish-whitish background.

BackLighting- Amateur photographers focus less on lighting. They believe that the daylight (sunlight) is the best environment to shoot products in. But they are mistaken. Studio Daylights are different. Use Daylight (white light) bulbs for the lighting. A dark room is a must for product photography. This allows the photographer to control lights as needed, mostly depending on the type of product is shot. For Aroma Oil Cosmetics Photography in particular, try using a low strength daylight bulb as a backlight. This gently illuminates the liquid inside the glass containers giving it the most enhanced look. The yellow or colored oil starts showing a nice color to it, instead of just a black or transparent liquid. This brings out the colors of the oils giving them the much needed wow factor to the photograph.

The author is a Professional Product Photographer for more than a decade now. Working with EtherArts Product Photography, the author now serves Amazon Store owners with their product photography needs. EtherArts Product Photography is now Amazon Approved Photography Vendor and has served a lot of White background Photo requirements and also Lifestyle images. Pricing starts from $15/pic. Affordable pricing with effective product photography is our strength. We serve Nationwide clients. Products, Jewelry, Ghost Mannequin Apparel, Electronics, Supplements, Industrial, Handbags are all photographed with great quality. Quick turnaround time and transparent pricing. We allow our work to speak for itself and have 5 star Google reviews offered by our clients. Email us now for a quote.

Purchase Stock Photography or Download for Free

With the advent of social media, came an influx of image sharing. An image on a social media site is downloaded to the local computer and re-posted on another social media site. This practice creates a serious problem for the owner of the original image and the 3rd or 4th generation “right-clicker.”

I am a photographer and book format designer by trade and often I see images in the body of the work that I recognize as owned by a photographer. When I inquire about the license for the image, I often get, “I downloaded it from the Internet, can’t I use it?”

Many people know it is easy to grab a photograph from the Internet by right-clicking and downloading it to your computer. The image that is saved is not one that can be used in a book or any re-saleable product.

Without going to the source of the photograph and purchasing it, the image is illegal for commercial use. If the image is in the Creative Commons or Public Domain it is free to use in a published work.

Another problem with the practice of right-clicking is quality. Most images on the Internet and of low resolution and that results in a poor quality product.

You may be a blogger, and book writer, or a media creator for your new small business. You may find yourself wanting to enhance the materials you create with photographs.

Before you right-click on an image you find on the Internet, I would like to encourage you to check out the numerous photography sites that offer high quality images that are licensed for commercial use.

Photographers create images. In the same way, your words are created by you and put on a page, photographers put light and color on digital media. Photographers and their agencies own the images and when you “borrow” them for your product the photographer is not recognized, appreciated or given any compensation. This is a dangerous practice for you and could end up costing you more than the purchase of a photograph.

Agencies that represent the photographers and issue usage rights licenses have litigated for payment for images used without the proper license. The compensation to the owner, or agency will often amount to a large sum of money. The agency has the right to ask for compensation as the owner of the image.

Photographs have digital signatures called metadata and they can be traced to the owner and photographer.

Stock photo agencies, public domain micro stock sites sell photographs for photographers and the cost is so little. Purchasing an image from the agency does more than give the agency your money. It supports the creativity of the photographers as well. For each image purchased at an agency, a portion goes to the photographer who created it.

The sites I suggest to my clients for free and low-cost public domain images are Pixabay and Public Domain Pictures.

The sites I personally use for stock photography images for products are Dreamstime, Adobe Stock and Shutterstock.

As a photographer, I have a vested interest in the practice of “right-click.” My photography has been submitted to Pixabay, PublicDomainPictures, Dreamstime, Twenty20 and EyeEm. Some of my pictures have been sold to customers for book covers and even clothing products. I believe I would sell more if people knew how easy and inexpensive it is to get original, licensed photography.

Ladies – Use Bikini Photography to Motivate Your Fitness Workouts

When it comes to working out and living the fitness lifestyle, motivation helps you get started, and discipline helps you stay consistent with your diet and exercise. But as time goes on both motivation and discipline can easily start to wane, and an additional boost is needed to help keep you on track – and that’s where booking a bikini photo shoot can be a big help.

If all you’re looking for is some shots of you on the beach you can have a friend with a good cell phone or camera shoot some shots of you in your new bikini to post on social media. Those shots are also great for ‘Before’ photos, to show where your latest exercise path began.

But for shots that truly inspire you and others, for bikini photos like the pros use, for those shots you’ll want prints of for posterity, you’ll want to book your bikini photo shoot with a professional fitness, glamour or bikini photographer. Yes, it will take a lot of work and determination to prepare, but you’ll find it so worthwhile.

To get the most from your bikini photo shoot, do it the same way the professional bikini models do when they’re preparing for shoots for publicity or magazine ads. Speak with a few professional photographers who specialize in the field, looking through their portfolios to see their work, and settle on the one you feel most comfortable working with. Discuss the shoot with them, learning the cost, the location of the shoot and what rights you have to using the photos personally and commercially. Then book your shoot for 2 – 3 months down the road and start preparing for your first professional bikini photoshoot!

Now you start using your bikini photography to motivate your fitness workouts. You have a firm goal date, knowing when and where the shoot will take place. You know the shape you want to be in and how you want to look in your bikini by that date. So get a couple of quick snaps of your current shape, front and back, and decide what changes you want to see over the next 8 – 12 weeks. Plan your nutrition and design your new workouts to meet that goal.

Write down what you want to achieve between now and then. Then figure out what your workouts need to look like for the next month to be 40% of your way to that goal by the end of the first month. What does your nutrition need to do to support those workouts and those goals? During that first month you’ll want to achieve 40 – 50% of the journey because results slow somewhat as time goes on, so getting a jump on it is your best path.

Once your workouts and nutrition are on track and progressing all that you need to add in is to start practicing your bikini posing during the last 6-8 weeks before the photo shoot. You can practice in front of a full-length mirror, but for best results set your cell phone or camera on automatic and try as many poses as you can think of, from prim and proper to as bare as you dare – remember, no one is going to see these photos unless you choose to show them. Then go through the photos as objectively as you can, choosing the poses you like best and noting any further prep you need to achieve the look you want.

Fine tune your diet and nutrition to meet your goals and continue to practice your posing until it feels natural. And don’t worry if you’re not overly creative with your posing – a professional bikini photographer will be able to guide you throughout your shoot.

Best of all is you’ll be in the best shape you’ve achieved to date, will capture that in photos that can last forever, and will be ready to now move on to bigger and better goals, having the confidence this whole experience has fostered within you. All because you used bikini photography to motivate your fitness workouts and keep you on track with your fitness goals and lifestyle. And it won’t hurt the ego to have all eyes on you at the beach next summer either, right?

Doug Champigny is a certified personal trainer and certified fitness instructor who, with his wife Teri, runs Champigny Photography. Published professional photographers, the pair focus on glamour, lingerie, bikini and artistic nude photography, as can be seen on the Champigny Photography website. To stay up to date with the photography work of Teri & Doug Champigny, be sure to follow Champigny Photography on Instagram.