Product photography has evolved so much from the past few years. Experimenting with different elements has resulted in groundbreaking product imageries. There are so many variations seen when it comes to using background for product photography.
Especially when you have your own website, however, e-com marketplaces such as eBay or Amazon mandate the use of white background for product images. The problem only arises when the product itself is white-colored. Well, in such cases, white on white photography procedure is used.
White-on-white product photography can even stump a pro photographer. White or translucent products are hard to be photographed on a white background. It is hard to capture the details of the product in the images.
In the worst-case scenario, the product and the background may look the same or be hard to differentiate even. However, learning and applying a few elements can help in achieving the technique.
Here we present to you a step-by-step guide on how you can capture the best results with white-on-white photography.
- Adjust the camera settings
You need to start from the basics to get white-on-white product images right. Adjusting your camera settings accordingly will help you capture the detailing of the product.
Set your white balance properly in accordance with the shooting environment and light source. If you don’t set your white balance correctly then the white-colored products will suffer from oranges or blues.
Along with white balance, you also need to set your ISO settings right, otherwise, the images will turn out to be grainy. It is ideal to set the ISO at 100 or 200 and also make use of a tripod for flattering results.
Fix your manual camera settings to the point so that you get absolute detailing on your product images.
- Creating the right studio setup
One of the most challenging aspects of white on white photography is that the product and white background almost look the same. It is important to separate the two in your product images.
Well, setting up the right studio contributes to making that happen. You would need a flat table or any elevated surface where you shall place the product. The next thing you need is a white reflective surface.
The reflective surface will be used behind or beneath the subject. A white foam board can be an inexpensive surface option for you to use. It is recommended to use four boards or even five boards to surround the product completely.
This way you can mold the light in the studio setup so that focus can be more on the product and also make a clear distinction between the white background and the white-colored product.
- Using the white-on-white lighting
Manipulating the studio light in your favor is key to obtaining extremely beautiful and perfect white-on-white photography. The white foam board which you’ve used in the previous step may appear similar to that of the product.
However, with the right shaping of light, you can ideally differentiate between the product and the foam board. This also helps in developing a certain amount of depth which will enhance the unique texture and shape of the product.
No matter which lighting you choose, you need to keep a note that a broader light cast will give you the scope to prevent vignetting. Also, make use of indirect lighting for white on white photography rather than using the obvious direct lighting.
This will result in shadows which do the fabulous job of creating definition in the product images. We recommend using the test images as a reference in order to make suitable lighting adjustments.
The primary aim is to make the white background as bright and white as possible while at the same time ensure that the product’s edges do not disappear in the background. If somehow your image background looks perfectly right amount of white but the product appears a little too dark then you can fix this issue by including additional lighting.
Experiment and adjust the lighting keeping the basics of lighting in mind. You want to achieve the right balance where the products are neither overexposed nor underexposed.
As soon as you are done with the adjustments make sure to take another test shot. If you follow the steps right then you might get perfectly lit product images by this time.
Just in case if the product image has a bit of dark or unnatural cast on the front of the product then you can avoid that with a simple trick. You need to take a small white foam or strip and keep it below the camera lens all the while facing the product.
This will immediately result in lightened front in the product.
- Retouching the white on white images
Once you are done with all of the steps enumerated above and captured desired images, it’s time for you to retouch them as needed. According to your preference, you can remove the background in this step.
Based on the lighting you’ve chosen for the captured images, you may have soft or intense shadows. For the best results, it is always recommended to remove the shadows in the post-production or retouching phase instead of adding more light while shooting.
Make sure that the final results after retouching the images look polished and ideally exposed.
Conclusion
You get to have flexible techniques when it comes to white on white photography. This one is a standard guide that you can follow for shooting white products on white background.
However, if you desire to get specific product imagery then you need to experiment and adjust accordingly. But once you get the hang of shooting techniques and are familiar with materials used for images, you can efficiently capture white on white product images.
