What is Lifestyle Photography?

Lifestyle product photography is a powerful way to showcase cosmetics in a real-world context, helping potential customers envision how the products will look and feel. The aesthetic blend of advertising product photography with storytelling creates a visual narrative that resonates with consumers. I was approached by award-winning French luxury beauty brand ByTerry to create a series of compelling advertising still life photography and slow motion videos for social media. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how i achieved a successful campaign.

1. Understand The Brand and Audience

Before diving into the photography process, it’s crucial to understand the brand’s identity and the target audience. Are you aiming for a luxurious, high-end feel, or is your brand more about natural and organic beauty? Knowing this will inform your styling, props and lighting style. Typically you will be presented with a breif or moodboard prior to a shoot and after some additional research into the brands current imagery and competitors campaigns you should be familiar with the direction of the shoot.

2. Choosing the Right Props and Backgrounds

The setting of your photoshoot should complement the brand’s identity and the product’s usage. For example, using a lifestyle setting where the product might be used will help tell a story. Inspiration can also come from the ingredients used within the product or certain characteristics such as water resistance.

3. Styling 

The props can enhance the story you’re telling but should not overshadow the product. For cosmetics, think about complementary items or product gifting. Using brushes, mirrors and additional products from the same brand or collection will also keep your client very happy! Additional elements that reflect the ingredients or how the product will be used is also a great way to tell a story (e.g., cherry fruits or summer vibes)

4. Lighting Techniques

Lighting can make or break your photography. For cosmetics, it’s important to highlight the product’s texture and colour accurately. It’s important to make every part of the product look premium which includes any metallic or reflective elements, this can be done with mirrors and different cards to reflect diffuse and control the light. All the shots created for this campaign are multiple shots combined together to create the final image. 

Tips:

• Soft Lighting: Use diffused light to avoid harsh shadows and highlight the product’s features.

• Reflectors: Utilise reflective mirrors and card to bounce light and fill in shadows, ensuring even illumination.

5. Post-Processing

Editing your photos is a large part of the final look of high end advertsing image, it will enhance their visual appeal and ensure consistency across your campaign. Use software like Photoshop, for retouching, colour correction and for adding final touches. For comping images tougher and other advanced retouching will really elevate the final image 

5. Additional video content

Extra video content used to be considered an "add-on" to a shoot. However, with the increasing prominence of moving images in social feeds, it's important to offer something special. As a still life photographer, you can leverage your skills to create visually captivating video content. It doesn't have to be complicated, but it must be engaging. Check out a few of the clips I've created below.

Conclusion

Lifestyle product photography for cosmetics is an art that combines technical skill with creativity. By understanding your brand, choosing the right props, mastering lighting and focusing on composition and post-processing you can create stunning visuals that captivate your audience and elevate the photography. 

If you have product or brand that would benefit from great lifestyle and cosmetic photography get in contact and lets start your next project together.