Photographing reflective objects and products is relatively easy once you know the right method. You need to keep some basic aspects in mind before photographing highly reflective products. Reflection often occurs when shooting product images, but no worries. Things can be easily fixed in the post-processing steps, something we call image retouching.
It is always important to showcase high-quality product images from online stores. If the product images can’t get the busy attention of potential customers, the ultimate business purpose will be delayed. Are things becoming complicated? NO WAY! We’ll guide you through photographing reflective objects and products in the easiest ways.
Why Remove Unwanted Reflection From the Objects or Products in Photography?
Don’t confuse reflection with shadow. Creating shadow effects with the product images sometimes becomes quite evident. However, reflection on the reflective products or objects might seem a bit weird in most cases. You need to highlight the details of your products. But the images don’t look catchy when an unwanted reflection occurs.
Avoid Distractions
You should not allow distractions with your product images as this denies the attractions. Let’s say you have captured an image of one of your products. And on its surface, you notice a slight reflection of something else. What will it look like? So, to remove any distraction from the reflective objects and products, it is important to shoot products in an ideal manner, which we’ll cover shortly.
Improves Clarity
One of the key features of a high-quality product image is, it should come with an improved clarity. But what reflection can do, it makes the objects or products appear blurry. This is something you should not allow as unwanted blurry effects on the product images reduce their impressions.
Brings Absolute Professionalism
Professionalism should be on the card for your business. This is something that can help your business stand apart from competitors. Do you know it is possible to bring professionalism with the product image you share? Absolutely.
Precise and high-quality product images demonstrate that you are careful enough in showcasing what you sell to your audience. At the end of day, these little things help business flourish in the longer run.
Enhanced Brand Reputation
No matter what the size of your business and the niche you are in, branding should be mandatory. Businesses that are looking to grow should give enough importance to branding. Showcasing consistent product images will help you attain the goal. Brands are created in the mind of the audience. Don’t forget that. Objects or product images will ultimate perfection will help you enhance the brand reputation of your business.
Start With Background Settings
When it comes to product photography, you should put enough emphasis on background settings. A suitable background can add more attraction to the product images. In the background is not quite up to the mark, this can bring reflection to the product images.
Now in this case, the best practice would be to choose a plain background. The plain background can help you remove the distractions from the product images. And the more capable you are when it comes to ensuring a distraction free background, the better results you can attain.
But sometimes, you may need to use a colored background. In this case, it is always the best option to place your object in enough distance from the background. This will help you avoid color cast reflection on the objects or the images.
Lighting Setup
Similar to setting up the background, it is also equally important to go with the proper lighting set up. This is not only the case for photographing reflective objects or products, but also essential for general product photography. But the question is what you really need to take into consideration in this case, right?
Well, this is not rocket science. All you need to do is use a soft, diffused light so that you can deny any sort of reflection out there. It is also important to place the light in the proper place. Moreover, experts recommend placing the light angle on the product. Don’t just directly place in front of the products which is often done by the newbie photographers.
To prevent glare and reflections from your product, position your light sources behind or at an angle to it. A popular technique is to place them at a 45-degree angle on either side of the product, mirroring the camera’s position. This ensures that the light is reflected away from the lens, resulting in a clearer and more professional image.
Camera Settings
This is the most essential setting you need to perform. It may take a few moments to set up your camera. But the outcome you are supposed to have will be pretty much beneficial. But what do we mean by camera setting?
Well, it is always recommended to use a smaller aperture (f/8 to f/16) for greater depth of field. Now the greater depth of field will be on the card to perform the task of photographing reflective objects and products. Not only this, it is always important to ensure enough transparency.
When photographing transparent or highly reflective objects, manually focus on an object located inside or near the product to achieve optimal clarity. This is something you should never deny in achieving improved product photography output.
Angle and Perspective
The fact is, you need to try quite a few angles in order to capture the photographs of the reflective objects or products. Unless you find the best possible angles from where you can have reflection free objects or product images, the attempt should be carried on. Sometimes, you might not be able to remove the entire reflection. In this case, it will be better to minimize as much reflection as you can.
Post-processing Techniques
Let’s assume you have tried your best to capture the best of photographs. Now this should not be the end. It doesn’t matter how capable you are when it comes to capturing photographs, you should go with the post-processing techniques. Thankfully, you will find advanced tools like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator super helpful when it comes to modifying the product images.
Here, professional image retouching services can play a prominent role. They know what works for the ecommerce business. Even if you are not quite able to capture the reflection free product images, the professional can edit and modify the images.
Here at Clipping Times Ltd., we have a dedicated team of expert professionals who work 24/7 in order to bring our clients the best possible outcomes. If you are thinking about outsourcing your ecommerce product image modification, don’t get late to reach us out.