1、Cosmetics Photography in a Nutshell Vichy SoundshellSimple steps for photographing cosmeticsAs you may know by now, cosmetics is very difficult to photograph because it reflects in many cases up to 99% of the light is receives. It is very shiny, highly polished and above all this it may contain colo
2、r stones or diamonds that make the job even harder. In many cases, photographing a piece of cosmetics is like taking a picture of a mirror you will see all kind of items being reflected into the piece the lights, the camera, yourself, the table etc. Also if you try to use your new digital camera to
3、do the job, two major things may happen. If you use a flash, you will either wash out the item (over illuminated) or it will be under illuminated with lots of dark areas and uneven lighting from one side to the other.The solution to Cosmetics photography is the use of an enclosed lighting system. Th
4、e reasons are many. The enclosed system wraps even and balanced light around the entire product youre photographing. The advantages include an even distribution of light, consistent natural lighting, elimination of glare, and illumination of hard to reach spots. Tips for Photographing Cosmetics:1.Us
5、e a closed photography setup with soft wrap-around continuous lighting 2.Perform a custom white balance according to the light you are using 3.Be sure you have set your camera to manual mode 4.If you are going to photograph rings or bands, set your maximum aperture to the highest f/stop in order to
6、get the maximum depth of field. 5.Turn off the flash on your camera, and if you can, connect the camera to the wall using a power adapter. This will ensure that you not run out of batteries during the shooting session.2. The Basics: Key elements in cosmetics photographyAs you may know, cosmetics is
7、one of the hardest products to photograph because of the nature of its components. The metals, precious stones, diamonds and other elements that most fine cosmetics is made up of, have reflective qualities that can easily show reflections, shadows and hard spots in photographs if the right tools are
8、 not usedTherefore, understanding the nature of cosmetics and obtaining the right tools for photographing it is essential for producing high quality cosmetics photographs. In our opinion, here are the six most important elements in cosmetics photography:1.Continuous natural daylight lighting: To eve
9、nly reproduce the colors in cosmetics 2.Diffused lighting: To eliminate shadows and hard spots3.White Balance adjustment: To adapt your camera to the lighting environment used to photograph4.Depth of Field & Focus: To get a sharp and clear image 5.Shutter Speed/Exposure time: To control the lightnes
10、s and darkness of your image 6.Stable camera mounting (tripod): To ensure your camera is stable to avoid a blurred photo. 1. Continuous Natural Daylight Lighting Cosmetics is very difficult to photograph because it抯 shiny highly polished surface reflects, in many cases, up to 99% of the light it rec
11、eives. If you use flash photography, you抣l usually end up with glares and hot spots. The key is to use continuous natural light which has the ability to evenly and accurately reproduce all the spectacular colors found in the different elements of cosmetics. Therefore, for photographing cosmetics we
12、will be using fluorescent daylight light.Remember: all of our photography lighting systems contain continuous fluorescent lighting in at least the bottom/platform, right and left panels of the box. Other lighting systems, like the MK The Box also contain light on the back, top and doors. Other featu
13、res include LED lighting, rotating platforms, halogen lighting and more. 2. Diffused Lighting When illuminating cosmetics, you have to make sure never to expose it to light directly, as direct light will be reflected on the cosmetics, and will create hot spots and shadows. What you need to do is exp
14、ose cosmetics through diffused lighting, which is light that has passed through some sort of light diffuser. The diffuser evenly spreads the light, and eliminate all hot-spots, shadows and reflections. Remember, that all of our photography lighting systems already include natural daylight that is ex
15、posed through the boxes thermoplastic housing that acts as light diffusers.3. White BalanceA key element of successful product photography is white balance. You need to be able to program the white balance setting on your camera. Although many cameras will come with pre-program options or presets yo
16、u need at least one custom white balance option. This means that the camera can read and self-adjust itself to be able to take pictures under many light conditions. This feature is very important. If your camera cannot perform this custom adjustment, it is very likely that you will end up with badly colored product pictures, especially if you are trying to take