Furniture photography lighting can come from natural and artificial lights. To get appealing furniture images, you need to pay attention to the shooting time and area, use neutral and consistent color temperature, and use large and soft light source to illuminate the furniture from above. Read the article to get more detailed information.
What types of lights to use for furniture photography?
Natural and artificial lights are two commonly used types of light sources for furniture photography. If you are on a tight budget and have access to adequate daylight, you can make use of light from a large window or outside. Artificial lights give you more control over the illumination and allow you to photograph the furniture at any time you want.
Natural light: A simple choice for illuminating furniture naturally
Natural light is always the best option if it is abundant, especially with the various sizes and forms of furniture. Find a place that is at least three times the size of your furniture and has enough light. For instance, close to a window or even outside on a cloudy day.
If you make furniture photography with natural light near a window and notice unpleasant shadows, use a sheet or white piece of paper to diffuse the sunshine. This softens the light and allows it to wrap around your object without altering its appearance.
Artificial light: Give you the flexibility to shape the furniture photography lighting
Sometimes the weather is bad, or there isn't enough light coming in through the windows. You may need to complement the ambient light with artificial light in this instance.
Artificial light in photography can refer to a variety of light sources, including on-camera flash, off-camera strobes, continuous lights such as LED constant light for photography, and even sources found in your environment such as lamps and neon signs. When photographers talk about artificial light, they usually mean flashes or continuous lights - basically, lights that you can control.
It offers you the following benefits in furniture photography:
- It allows you to have control over the amount, quality, and direction of illumination. It is also possible to control the lighting color, softness, and direction.
- It ensures repeatability and consistency in different shooting scenarios.
- It eliminates the technical limits of cameras when used in natural light.
Furniture photography lighting tips: Five tips to get perfect furniture photography
Follow the 5 tips below to get proper lighting for furniture photography.
Use top lights as your key light in furniture photography
The top light is typically ideal for use as a key light in furniture photography. This creates highlights and shadows to emphasize the shape and texture of the furniture. This can help the product appear three-dimensional and pop out in the shot.
Top light may also assist to eliminate glare and reflections on bright surfaces, which is frequently a problem with product pictures. However, it all relies on the piece of furniture in question as well as the desired look and feel of the shot.
Use large light sources to create soft and even furniture photography lighting
Large light source creates soft lighting for photography evenly, which helps prevent sharp shadows and highlights on the furniture. This can give the shot a more natural and appealing appearance as if it were taken in a bright room with huge windows. It can also assist to lessen the contrast in a shot, making it simpler to capture detail in both shadows and highlights.
Use fill light to reduce harsh shadows on furniture
When shooting your goods in natural light or in a studio, don't forget to add fill light. To bounce natural light back to furniture, use a reflector or simply a piece of paper. Fill lighting assures two things.
The first, the fill light, will keep the shadows cast by the key light from becoming too dark. Second, it may add dimension to your furniture and make it more visually appealing.
Choose proper color temperature to reveal true furniture color
Light, believe it or not, has a hue. Consider the bright tones at midday and the soft gold colors seen at dusk. Light occurs in a variety of hues, and these hues might influence the appearance of your product.
It's critical to understand how the color of the furniture photography lighting affects the color in your image while photographing furniture. It is critical to shoot images that correctly represent the color of the furniture.
Avoid flare when illuminating furniture from the side or rear
When photographing furniture (or large objects in general), it is occasionally essential to employ illumination from the side or even the back. We must be careful not to cause flare or glare on any part of the furniture when doing so.