Casting shadows in your product photography

I’m a big fan of casting shadows to add depth into your scene. Casting shadows can really change the vibe of your image, turning it from bright and cheerful to moody and mysterious, and who doesn’t love to be a little moody sometimes!

To cast shadows you’ll need to make the light small in relation to your scene which means placing the light far away, make sure the light is strong (powerful enough to still reach your scene from a distance). You’ll also need to use ‘hard light’ meaning you don’t diffuse the light by placing any fabric or filters in front of it, allowing it to be a direct stream of light onto your scene. The easiest entry point to casting shadows would be to work with direct natural light from the sun.

You can use ALL types of objects to cast shadows. Below I’ve listed some of my favourites.

Tip *Sometimes you get great results from combining one or more of the below objects from the list below.

Position

Before we start with the list of objects to cast shadows with, first a quick note on positioning your lights and shadow casting objects. In order to get crisp shadows you need to make sure your light source is strong, undiffused and positioned far away from your shadow casting object. The closer the light source is, the less shadow it will cast (as light will just wrap around objects). To get sharp shadows, move your light far away from the scene and the objects which are casting the shadows.

If you are just starting out with shadow casting, the easiest light source to use is the sun. Full direct sunlight casts great shadows - after all, you can’t get a light source that is further away than the sun!

FOAM CORE

Foam core is one of the most diverse shadow casting props because you can transform it into just about anything. Typically I’ve cut foam core into the shape of a warehouse style window frame, but you can cut all sorts of objects and shapes to cast shadows with.

SHUTTERS AND BLINDS

Shutters and blinds also make great shadow casting props, The good news is that you can easily find these cheap online in places such as Facebook marketplace or Gumtree. Thickness and spacing of the blinds is going to create different effects on your image. So you might want to experiment with a few different types of blind.

FOLIAGE

Foliage is a great shadow casting prop. There are so many different types of foliage which you could use. Generally speaking you want to try to avoid big solid leaves which are going to make a big portion of your image dark. But you also want to avoid delicate stems (like baby's breath) which may cast such a thin shadow that it simply isn't noticeable in the image. If recognisable, the type of plant you choose may also add a story of your image (For example: a palm leaf is very recognisable and usually symbolises summer vibes) so consider this when selecting your foliage.

You can pick up leaves on the cheap by simply foraging in nature. However if you want to invest in some long term shadow casting props you can also buy artificial leaves online or in shops such as spotlight.

Thin materials (such as LACE and fly screen)

One of my recent favourite shadow casting props is lace curtains. The light finds its way through the transparent areas and creates beautiful delicate patterns in your frame. You don’t have to use lace, you could try an array of different thin fabrics. Fly screen also creates a beautiful delicate texture shadow in your image. This type of shadow casting is subtle but beautiful.

Random objects

The beauty of shadow casting props is that you will not actually see them in the frame so you can use whatever ugly object you come across. So do an inventory of your house and collect up and armful of objects to try casting shadows with. These might be as random as connect four, or a colander from the kitchen. You are looking for objects which have interesting form and not too much solid surface area. Think interesting patterns and objects with holes, slits or cut out shapes.

Well, there you have it! I hope this has inspired you to cast some shadows in your images. If you do, please come on over and join us in the photography for makers facebook group and share your images. I’d love to see what you are making!