Notes from the studio
What we learn on set, written down so we stop relearning it. Lighting, gear and the small rooms where it all happens.
Why I still shoot products on a 100-megapixel body
A big sensor is not about printing billboards. It is about cropping freely, keeping real texture and fewer reshoots.
Read the note
One light, three positions: a cheat sheet for glass and metal
Glass and polished metal reflect the room, not the light. These are the three places I put a single softbox, and what each one does.
Setting up a product studio in a 300-square-foot room
A product studio does not need to be big. It needs a dark ceiling, a deep table and room to walk around one light.
White on white: keeping the edge when everything is pale
Pale products on pale backgrounds vanish unless you separate them with tone. Half a stop is usually enough.
Shadows are half the product
A shadow tells you where a thing sits, how heavy it is and what time of day it is. Removing it is the quickest way to make a product look cheap.
A whole tabletop set for under two hundred dollars
Paper, foam board, a few clamps and one second-hand light. The shopping list we give anyone who asks how to start.
Have a product that deserves a second look? Let’s photograph it together.
Write to hello@leaninphoto.studio or call (503) 555-0174. We reply within two working days.
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