Pixiq

As a product studio photographer, I shoot a lot on a solid (usually white) background. Nothing new about this, but it makes me smile every time I have a chance to "force" my client to use other than just a plain solid color background.

I am talking about gradient backgrounds. Simply highlighting background with uneven light change image so drastically, it "pops" the subject from it! It works for portraits, products, jewelry and especially for any transparent objects (glassware and liquid).

I am far from scientific research here, but I think that gradient light makes thing look interesting and more appealing for a human eye. I guess it works somewhere on a  subconscious level. So, why not to use this simple technique in a photography to improve the shot?

Lets look at this shot I've made last week for our good client, Anisa International:

This is as-is shot, on the almost white background. The client usually asks for a white background, but I really like to provide tham with more options, when I can. So, here I did exactly the same composition but added a gradient light on a background. I simply moved spot light closer to the subject, which made vertical part of a shooting table to be not fully exposed.

Such a dramatic change, is not it? See below:

It seems so easy and obvious, and I never stop shooting if I see the another, different from what the client wants, way to represent the product. The best response I can get is when client select my version, as it happened with this brush set. And that was a simple gradient!

Another example, a designer's LED tabletop lamp I shoot about a year ago (full article about this shoot is on my blog:Lighting the lights: Designer's tabletop lamp product photography):

This is how the client wanted the products to be photographed: almost on a white background, catalog-like style:

Looks nice, but lets look (below) on what I did myself, just because I felt that it will create more dramatic look with the added gradient:

The lighting was changed as well: shooting table become a transparent glass flat table, but the most drama was created because of the gradient.

BTW, the tricky part was to get LED light from the lamp captured with use of strobe lights, and I did it in one shot: this is not a composite image:-) More about how I did so on the blog article I've mentioned above.

One more example of how gradient can change the appearance of the glassware:

I've got this shot, same composition of a vodka and martini glass on a white:

And gradient background:

What a dramatic change!
Less light sources were used, setup is simpler, but the result speaks by itself. (more about this shot, is on the blog: Shooting glassware on white background)

Few more examples of the gradient backlight filling:

Water splash, I've got id during our first online masterclass :

And on this business portrait I've done several years ago, large spot behind the model created that desired look:

Hope it was interesting. Would be glad to hear feedback:-)

Alex

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