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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 product100mmA cam2.2 m · SBTop soft0.9 mWhite card1.3 mEdge stripFlag1 m
  • 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

The packing list this plan writes

  • Top soft · Behind and above, the gradientlighting
  • White card · Opens the frontlighting
  • Edge strip · The line down the sidelighting
  • Flag · Kills the top soft off the lenslighting
  • Softbox · from the lighting plansgrip