Everything You Need To Know About Hard Light Shadow
Hard Light Overview
Hard Light Shadow is a new lighting style option available from POW.
What Is It?
Hard Light has 2 distinct attributes:
- First, it has a nice hard edge shadow that comes off the side of the product that helps give the product a sense of dimension.
- Second, the hard edge light on the product helps enhance the texture of the product usually resulting in an image with more contrast.
Hard Light gets its name from the specular hard light that is required to produce the shadow. Direct sunlight is a type of specular hard light, but we mimic it in studio with flash. A specular light usually doesn't look great on a product but we use a special technique called Multi-Capture composite to make sure that the product always looks its best.
Ordering
There is no additional fee for ordering hard light. Just pick the option when placing your order under background.
Remember when providing direction to specify if you want the shadow to be on a specific side or if you would like it overhead or standing up. Overhead is the best position to show off the shadow.
Get Inspired
Check out some examples of this fun new lighting style:
Upgrade Standard Listings With Hard Light
We all know about your standard listing image like the examples below. Hard light is a great way to mix it up a little bit and take your listing to a new level.
Group Photos Look Trendy With Hard Light
There's just something about group photos shot with hard light that makes them look sort of edgy and cool. It's best to do overhead photos as opposed to straight-on or you will not see the hard-edge; however, it can be done.
Get Creative With Hard Light
Here's some examples of how people are getting creative with hard light shadow.
What To Keep In Mind:
- You are responsible for giving clear instructions. The best way is to provide a cell phone photo of the angles you're looking for. All the photos you see above started with a quick cell phone photo on someone’s desk letting us know where they wanted us to position the products.
- You must provide all props and backgrounds. In situations with leaves, flowers or food, the customer used a food or flower delivery service. Check our articles on props and food props for more info on this!
