Product Photography: Alchemy Candles

May 18, 2020

I did some product photography last month for Alchemy Candles, of Molalla, Oregon. This was a great photography job to have during quarantine because I was able to create all the photos from my home studio. It was also really enjoyable to photograph such stunning candles!

The Background on the Background

I swear, the hardest thing about product photography is deciding on the background for the photo. Many people agree that a neutral background is a good place to start, but even that is subjective. Pure white, off-white, fashion-gray, dark-gray, colored, textured, glossy surface, reflection, no reflection, minimal shadow, hard shadow? All of these elements are decisions that must be made. I try to make as many of these decisions as possible before ever taking out my camera. I communicated with Alchemy Candles beforehand on various background options and made sure I understood the photo vibe they were going for before the candles arrived at my doorstep.

I ended up finding some really cool off-white seamless paper that was a great neutral background, while providing a little character and warmth that a normal white seamless catalog photo can sometimes lack. This background color is very calm, which plays backup nicely with the vibrant candles. Alchemy Candles conveyed that they wanted a bit of mood and drama in the product photos to match their new website look. Many times I try to minimize shadows in product photography, but this time I decided to use a hard shadow to give the photos a bit more drama and interest.

Lighting Setup

Once the background is picked out and I have a general idea on the look of the photo, it’s time to play with light! I really enjoy the methodical process of product photography. I like how the subjects don’t get bored with my endless lighting adjustments. Well, maybe they do, but they never say anything.

After creating the individual product photos that were requested, I thought it would be a good idea to take a few group photos for extra photo options. It was also a good time to document my lighting setup to be able to match this look in the future. Here's one of my group photos I did at the end of this session with the same lighting setup as the individual photos:

Now I’ll walk through what’s actually going on with the lighting with a slightly different arrangement of the candles:

• The first photo above is just the top light, which is a reflective umbrella lit by a hot shoe flash, positioned directly overhead.

• The second photo above is just the main light , which is a hot shoe flash, right against a diffuser to soften the light just a bit. It is positioned camera left on a makeshift light stand, which I’ll explain below.

• The third photo above is a spot light, which is a hot shoe flash with a grid attachment. This provides just a little pop of light in the middle of the frame. It is positioned on axis and slightly above the camera.

• The fourth photo is an example of all three lights firing at once.

Behind the Scenes

Here are a few photos to show you my actual lighting setup, so you get an idea how things are positioned. I always find it funny how messy a behind the scenes photo looks like compared to the actual product photo!

The setup is a bit homely, but it worked great. I am particularly proud of improvising a light stand out of a music stand. If you look at the third photo above, you’ll see the main light is gaff-taped to a music stand and positioned right against my 5 in 1 diffuser (I always run out of light stands when doing product photography). Photography is about problem solving and compromises. I also think photographers in general are a strange group of people who are actually PROUD of jury-rigged setups like these. We seem to channel a bit of MacGyver when working.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed creating new visuals for an Oregon-based company with such beautiful products. I’m always grateful for the work, but I am especially grateful for photography work during the pandemic. Most types of photography are out of commission during the lock down, but thankfully product photography is still an option.

Go check out Alchemy Candles!

-Chris