Sunlit Window Hair Products Shoot

In this product photography class, Karl sets out to create a warm, summery atmosphere to showcase some luxurious Kérastase hair products. As he does so, he demonstrates a variety of lighting and styling techniques that will help you enhance your own images.

Once he has set up the pastel-coloured background, Karl experiments with introducing props – specifically, some acrylic rods, which he ultimately decides are too distracting to be part of the final composition.

Next, Karl begins crafting his lighting setup. You’ll see him using softboxes, scrims, projection attachments, gobos and more, plus an array of DIY reflectors and flags. The goal is to create perfect gradients on the metallic product lids while also achieving a lovely warm glow through the products themselves.

In a satisfying instance of on-the-fly problem-solving, Karl identifies the cause of a troublesome shadow and comes up with a simple but effective solution.

You’ll also discover why he cuts a hole through a big piece of foam board and chops up a piece of plain white paper!

As Karl works hard to get all the shots he needs to create a stunning final image, you’ll increase your knowledge and expertise by watching a professional pursue perfection.

In this class:

  • Lighting techniques for product photography
  • Using projection attachments and gobos
  • How to use a scrim in photography
  • Softbox lighting techniques
  • Using mirrors and other reflectors
  • Capturing multiple images for compositing

To see Karl bring it all together in Photoshop, watch Sunlit Window Hair Products | Post-Production.

If you enjoy this class, you might also like to check out Sunlit Shadows Cosmetics Shoot.

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

© Karl Taylor

Comments

  2. Hi Karl, I was wondering if we can paint with mat spray paint instead of using classic tin of paint ?

    1. Hi Alexis, the boards in this shot were already the colour they are, they were acrylic boards in a colour. You can spray paint any board but it would be hard to achieve a uniform finish compared to painting with a roller like we do in some of our other classes.

    1. Hi, any plastic supplier or sign service type company. I don’t know the sizes I’m afraid as I don’t have those pieces anymore

      1. Hi Karl, thanks for sharing this great video, it has so much valuable information. You can spot the size of the acrylic sheets at min 6:26 at their back side when you’re setting up the scenario. It seems they’re 1x1m with 3mm. Cheers

        1. Hi Stephan, thank you. Yes I think you are right they were 3mm and the size sounds about right, they were matt acrylic though from Barkston Plastics

  5. garystasiuk

    Karl, what are those two walls and table top material? Painted boards or an acrylic.. looks matte. i don’t see a texture in the videos. I’ve not used pastel plastics before.

  6. Great and on trend tutorial. Wondering though how come the soft box isnt casting shadows? Is it the size of Scrum? Also is there an optimal gradient on the product. Just so that we have something to start from.

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