One of the most important images with respect to cosmetics and skincare clients is about swatches. what is a swatch image and how important it is for the client ( brand ) - A swatch is a colour showcase on skin/surface to give a visual sense to the viewer on actual application, instead of seeing it in isolation To get the perfect swatch image, one needs to understand few important elements about light to surface relationship and color. There can only be 2 types of surfaces - Matte and gloss There are only 2 types of Light fall - soft and hard. The idea of lighting will always revolve around these 4 elements, as a photographer it is our job to identify which lighting will work on what kind of surface without hampering the color of the product. here are some swatch images Created with multiple lighting setups to highlight Different elements of the swatches.
These are some of the images created with different lighting for different surfaces, the swatch with texture is highlighted with a hard light source and the ones which are softer like lotion or cream is lit with softer light to get that smoothness out on the camera. Hope this helps, do share in the comments which topics would you want me to write about? happy to share.
should we make swatches directly on background or use the transparent sheets ?