Shadows are one of the necessary factors that make photos more soulful. A professional photographer or some viewer understand the important subtle details that can create the product photos you need. Adding shadows to product images is one of the greatest examples what help you can do to achieve great results. So, why is the shadows important?. How many shadows are photographers or designers use?.
Next step we will present the values or the important of adding shadows to make best product images.
When we take a product photography, we need to appreciate truely the value of detailes what make perfect product. Adding shadows to product images is an excellent example of what you can research and learn. When we add the shadow in product photograph, this will create a powerhouse effect. That’s a reason why would we say that?. Simply, shadows can obscure a beautiful product and make product photography look unprofessional. However, we should know the difference of shadows on a product and shadows cast by a product. Product image editing lets you use shadows to your advantage. There are three types of shadow that you can refer and learn:
- – Natural shadows
- – Reflection shadows
- – Drop shadows
Each types have the outstanding advantages what build the success of product photographs. Below is some guides that you can learn about each of them.
Natural Shadows
Nothing will look more realistic than your product’s real shadow, it is called Natural shadow. When we take natural shadow during the shooting process is almost always best, but we has not to be confirmed that all things is easy if we have never do it. The shape of your product and the challenge of lighting it properly may prevent you from capturing a perfect natural shadow, but one can still be added in post-production.
The best way to create natural looking shadows is to use a light source while shooting the product. Make sure that the light source, whether daylight or artificial, is positioned to the side of your subject. This factor enables it to cast the shadow at an angle from your product and give it a more three dimensional look. You should combine natural light with a white background, it will help you make the natural shadow look nice
To understand more about natural shadows, then here’s some tips what help you learn how to add the natural shadow.
- Open your photo what you’re preparing in Photoshop, then you need to create a new layer with the white fill-in background, which is underneath the product image layer. Choosing a white area around the image to mask out your product from its background. Don’t forget to refine the edges so it establish smooth transitions.
- Select the areas under the toe and behind the heel to create a curved layer mask. Feather the curved mask
- You should use the adjustment or the curve tool to create curves layer mask. This way make the simulation shadow even more effective.
- Carefully brush out areas of your shadow layer manually to achieve the desired look. To achieve translucency, you may need to focus on certain areas over others. This make it look more realistic.
- Finally, tweak your images layer mask by reducing its opacity a little so it doesn’t look so harsh against your shadow. This helps your product images to soften the created shadows against the real ones.
How To Apply Reflection Shadows
Reflection shadows are great ideas to make your product look nice if was photographed on a reflective surface. It can make your product images more visually appealing and create a sense of environment, so they don’t look like they’re floating in space. It’s particularly effective with products what is combined with bright lights and reflective surfaces. Jewelry and sunglasses is good examples for combination.
However, to creat perfect reflection shadows and to know how to manage light to eliminate reflections are not simple. Light spots can also be a problem.
If you want to know more about reflection shadows , here are some basic steps for you:
- You need to create a new layer and fill it by using a white background.
- Then you move your newly created white layer to the bottom of your layer stack.
- You should create 2 product layers by duplicating the product layer
- Create a tight selection around your product, and then efine your selection’s edges to make it less harsh.
- Rotate your duplicate product layer 180 degrees with different angles, then you need to create two products between your two layers: one right side up and one upside down.
- Align the bottom of your product together, which will make the upside down product looks like a reflection of the other pair.
- Then adding a mask to the upside down images layer with the gradient tool
- Add a mask to the upside down sunglasses layer and use the gradient tool until you get the desired look. You’ll want the opaque portion to be nearest to the eye frames of the glasses that are right-side-up. This will help to create a perfect natural reflection to get away from your subject
- You have your sides and top brushed out around the reflected images’ base. You also need to continue to brush out or add your reflection to make your photos look natural
- Have the layers flattened.
How To Apply Drop Shadows
Drop shadows like natural shadow or reflection shadow help the impression of sunlight coming from above. The usage of drop shadows is popular and effective with a wide variety of products. Below is some useful ways about adding drop shadow for your photograph.
You need to choice the white background of your chair image by using selection tool. then, you can refine the edge of your selection by smoothing out your transition.
- Make a layer mask on your image layer and invert your selection, so you will just see photograph and no background.
- Make a new layer, fill with white, and placing it as the background layer behind the image layer.
- Adjust your chair to center it and allow for room for your shadowing. Have anything else in the background masked out.
- You can duplicate this image layer with your new mask selection.
- Have your bottom image layer with mask, transformed through vertical flipping. It should now look upside down.
- Transforming and turning your product photos to make the back angles line up to its matching one.
- Using your gradient tool, you’ll begin tapering the angles from more distinctive to less visible. You can continue with it to find the right opacity and gradient.
- Using your brush to tweak out your mask and brush out all of the other angles and needless items in your frame, other than that one angle.
- Play with the opacity and brushing out to make it seem more natural..
- You should duplicate this layer before moving it to your other back angle of your photos
- Using your straight selection tool to create a diamond shape under your chair between the angles’ points..
- Lots of feathering along the edge of your product will create a nice gradient. Brushing in some of your sides to allow for a nice fall off under your photos
- Make a slim V-shaped selection on your front two angles, and then refine the edge to begin feathering your selection
- You can create a curves layer and darken it so it looks like a shadow. This should be done for both legs at the front.
- Flatten your layers and create your new file and save.
As you can see, shadows in product photos is a useful and convenient tool. After learning how to apply shadow in product photos with many different ways, how do you feel about it?. Which one is right for you? This depends on your product and your photography setup. We hope that you will choose the most effective types to make your perfect product photos.