Measured, aimed and placed
Work in the unit that suits your reference: watts, lumens, lux at a distance, candela or exposure value. Switching units converts the number without changing the light, and an illuminance readout shows what reaches the subject. Normalize keeps total power constant while you change a light’s size, so making a softbox bigger softens it rather than brightening it.
Position, aim and rotate each light, or give it a target part and let it re-aim whenever the light or the product moves. A viewport overlay on the selected light puts power, colour and size where you are looking.
Example: a black kettle on a black sweep
Place two tall strip-boxes behind and to either side for rim highlights that trace the silhouette, a large octabox overhead for a soft top reflection, and a gridded spot with barn doors to pick out the embossed logo without spilling onto the body. Hide the fixtures from the camera but keep them in reflections.
A practical workflow
- Add the fixture that matches the reflection you need.
- Aim it at the product or lock it to a target.
- Shape the spill with barn doors, grids and diffusion.
- Set colour temperature and power in the unit you prefer.
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