Product

The object is the subject, and nothing else in the frame is allowed to compete with it. Every decision serves how it looks and what it seems to be made of.

Surface is what sells. A viewer decides whether something is expensive from the way light behaves on it, long before they read a single word of copy.

The object sits on a named surface against a named background, lit so its edges and its material read. A large soft source shows shape, and a hard source shows texture and scratches.

Reflective and matte objects need opposite treatment. Glass and polished metal are lit by what is placed around them to reflect, and fabric or paper is lit directly.

Use it for anything being sold, for a hero frame at the top of a page, and for the detail shots that follow it.

Move to a lifestyle frame when scale or use is the question. A product shot shows what a thing is, and a hand in frame shows how big it is and what it is for.

An insert shows an object to deliver a fact the story needs. A product shot shows an object so it will be wanted.

An extreme close-up is a size and works well as a second product frame, where a product shot proper usually keeps the whole object in view.

The object arrives floating on a grey gradient with no surface under it. Name the surface, the background and the distance between them.

The second failure is flat light that kills the material. Say what kind of source it is and where it comes from, such as a large soft source from the upper left with a reflector opposite.