You explain very well and make it clear that you don't necessarily need very expensive equipment to take professional photos, you just need the correct use of light!
Everyone always explains light using studio lighting equipment and that kind of drives me crazy because unless you're a pro, you probably don't have a lot of that. I love how you described light quality using "free" light. This was excellent!
This was absolutely perfect thank you so much! Ive just spent the last 2 days trying to absorb as much information as possible to make my own product photography set up at home and this video was the best that I have seen. So helpful and precise!
Thank you, Mandy! I just ordered my replica surfaces yesterday and am so excited to start working with them. I do jewelry photography and struggle with lighting endlessly. Your descriptions are easily understood, and your videos are perfect in small digestible sizes. Seriously, I could watch them all day. Thank you!!!
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much. My house only has East and West facing windows and I always thought I had terrible lighting for photos. Now I see there's so much potential! I just needed to learn how to use it!!
I learned so much just from spending 8 minutes watching this video. You explain lighting in ways that are easy for an amateur like me to understand. Thank you so much! I will definitely be checking out more of your videos!
This video was so helpful!! I’m new to the photog world but Mandy’s tips and tricks, along with her AMAZING realistic photo backdrops, have taken me leaps and bounds further in my new skillset and passion. So grateful to you and RS for upping my photography game!! Thank you!!!!!!
Really surprised this doesn’t have more views. It is super clear and easy to follow. I love the overview of the steps. I need to go buy the board stand ;)
Hi! Apologies for my super late reply. I'm so happy you found this video helpful and really appreciate you commenting - that'll help it get more views ;)
Omg....I needed this for my soul. I do product photography. Candles, soaps scrubs etc. I have the shiplap and marble. Let me tell you these surfaces took my online presence to a whole new level!! With these new tips in this video it's gonna be the cherry on top. I had one goal with the surfaces. I wanted my products to look so clean and high end that a stranger who does not no me or my products would purchase some from my social media post. After my second Instagram post using replica surfaces it happened, I got a purchase from a stranger!!! I was screaming it worked!!! It worked!!! Thank you Mandy for making these!!!!
@@Model2MoM82 That's really smart! Let me know too if you have any ideas you'd like to see in the next videos. Right now I'm thinking about creating a video about how I approach Lightroom editing, but let me know if you have other ideas!
Thank you so much for this lovely informative video. I am shifting to a new place which has north facing window .. wondering will that be good for food photography
Wow, amazing and easy understand video. You speak so clearly. I wish you have a class on Skillshare or something so we can just learn from you in one class. I have learn more from you in short 8 mins than in any other videos on RU-vid.
That is so so nice of you to say Janice! That is exactly what I was going for when I filmed it. I'll keep releasing videos on RU-vid (definitely consider subscribing!) but will also give Skillshare a look too. Thanks again!
Do you have any recommendations on soft boxes? I have 4 and a light ring and I really wish I went with just one or two better quality ones. I see you use the octagon one..
Thank you! So clear and to the point. Can I ask, how would you brighten the whites of a background in flatly with affecting the exposure of the product?
Thanks so much for watching! In the Lightroom app, you can brighten your whites in the "Light" section without increasing the overall exposure. However, if your subject is also white, you may need to create a mask to avoid overexposing it. 😊
This was really helpful! I do have one question though: what time of day is best for getting true white colors? I have a north facing window that I take my photos next to, but my white balance and colors are always off (despite using auto white balance and custom white balance). I think I’ve tried every single window in the house with no luck! I so badly want to bite the bullet and buy a few surfaces, but feel I need to tackle this white balance issue first!
Hi Gabby! I have found that late in the day is when I see the white balance to be most thrown off. I often tackle this with some quick edits in Adobe Lightroom by reducing the blues/purples and increasing exposure. It's truly incredible what a little editing can do for your photos. My next video is about my approach to Lightroom editing, so I'd subscribe to make sure you don't miss that one!
Omg Mandy I seriously need you to come to my house for a day. You are awesome. I have so many of your surfaces and love them all. I am a full time reseller but I have been struggling big time with lighting in my house.. I do see in the video though the lighting you are getting in this room is amazing I do not really get great light in my house.. I have 4 older limostudio soft boxes and a light ring but I use an iPhone.. Do you think bec I am not using a camera is hurting me??? and is it possible for you to do a video on iPhone vs. camera. And maybe some reasonable product photography camera options?? Wouldn’t be such a bad idea to invest just do not have the 1000 budget. Lol
Hi Christine! Thank you so so much for your kind words. 🤗 I'd definitely go to the spot in your home where you get the most light and test throughout the day to see when it's best. If it still isn't bright enough, then you may want to invest in artificial lighting. I just made a video about this and you can find that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YvMDKKT4N0A.html
You don't need a DSLR camera for great photos, but it does help as there are settings (like ISO) that help you in low light environments that just aren't available on iPhones. Another option that you always have is editing your photos with software like Adobe Lightroom. It is truly amazing what software like this can do to punch up photos. I am writing up my approach to Lightroom this week and will have a RU-vid video about that coming out in the next couple of weeks!
Replica Surfaces Thank you! I do use Adobe Lightroom bulk editing which is a life save!! With the white background surface I do have a lot of blue in the photo if I take it outside which I do often! Not sure how to fix it..
Hi there! Loved your video it has very good information for people who don't have equipment and want to use natural light. However, I've been reviewing my notes and I have a question. Distant light sources create hard shadows. Close light sources create light shadows. But if you put for example a flashlight close to the object wouldn't it create hard shadows And the daylight that is far away wouldn't create light shadows like you said so? Thanks again!!
A flashlight is a very small light source, so when it is placed near the subject or scene, it will create a more direct light on the subject aka hard shadows. But when you pull the flashlight away, the light is softer and diffused, but significantly darker because the original light source is so small to begin with. Now, let’s take a window for example. You’d expect direct sunlight streaming in from a large window to create soft shadows, but on bright, cloudless days, you’re going to get hard shadows without diffusion because direct sunlight is still direct light no matter how close or far away it is. Diffusion is the key to soft shadows, a white sheet, or sheer white curtains allow the light to spread evenly across the whole window. Spreading the light out across a large area rather than allowing it to directly shine on the subject is how soft shadows are achieved. I hope that info helps!
@@replicasurfaces Thank you so much! Now I understand every point perfectly Keep going and bring us good videos as you have been doing Btw you have a beautiful smile 😄 Have a good day
For sure, I'm planning to make more styling videos in the new year! In the meantime did you have a chance to check out my Compositions video - I think you'll get some great styling tips from it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-znOT1ILoImY.html
What if you have really bad natural lighting and want to use artificial? What do you recommend for artificial lighting, as well as the type of bulb to get? There are so many different kinds of lights, I'm so confused!
What a coincidence, I have an artificial lighting video coming out soon! I'll give more details in it, but basically I think a continuous soft box is your best bet. If you want a link to the one I like, click the link above for my artificial lighting blog post - the info in it is similar to what I'll be talking about in my video
Hi Fitra, apologies for my super late reply! The connectors are Replica Stands - they're custom-fit to hold any two Replica Surfaces in the L-shape you see in the video. You can get them at replicasurfaces.com and they actually come free when you use the bundle tool to order two or more Surfaces. Hope that helps!
