Lighting diagram for a product shot
Product work is edges and gradients, not faces: the big soft source comes from behind and above the object so its top planes carry a clean gradient, a white card in front returns just enough to open the shadow side, and a hard strip from the side draws the edge that separates the product from the background. Everything is centimetres: the plan matters less for where things stand than for the argument it records about what each source is for, because on a tabletop every light that is not doing a named job is doing damage.
- The product· On a 1m riser2.5 m × 1.8 m
- A cam· Macro, locked off2.5 m × 3.4 m
- Top soft80°5600K· Behind and above, the gradient2.5 m × 0.7 m
- White card120°25%· Opens the front2.5 m × 2.6 m
- Edge strip20°5600K60%· The line down the side4.2 m × 1.4 m
- Flag· Kills the top soft off the lens1.0 m × 1.4 m
- Top soft · Behind and above, the gradient
- White card · Opens the front
- Edge strip · The line down the side
- Flag · Kills the top soft off the lens
- Softbox · from the lighting plans