The Client and Their Brief
Rock Box Toys came to us looking for product photography for a range of bespoke toy packaging. The client himself is a collector, so he understood how passionate people can be about the characters they collect — and how important it is to see exactly what they’re buying.
For the client, investing in great imagery was a no-brainer. The photography needed to show the packaging clearly, while also making the boxes look like quality products in their own right.
At first glance, photographing a clear plastic box sounds straightforward. In reality, transparent and glossy packaging can be surprisingly difficult to light well. The challenge was to make the boxes look clear while still giving the plastic enough tone and definition to show its thickness and material qualities.
What We Did
We approached the shoot as a lighting exercise as much as a product photography project.
With clear and reflective packaging, finding the right position for the light is key. In practical terms, that meant physically moving the lights around the packaging, checking the reflections and adjusting the position until we had the direct reflection we wanted. The position that worked for one shot wasn’t necessarily right for the next, so there was plenty of moving, checking, adjusting and shooting.
The challenge was to keep the front of the boxes as clear as possible, particularly around the characters and artwork, while still giving the plastic enough tone to show that it was substantial rather than disappearing against the background.
We also introduced controlled highlights along the sides of the boxes. These were carefully positioned to avoid distracting from the characters and artwork, while still revealing the glossy nature of the plastic and giving the packaging a stronger sense of shape.
Negative light played an important part too. Using black flags close to the packaging gave the reflective plastic something dark to reflect, helping us create definition and clarity in the edges of the boxes. At the same time, the products still needed plenty of light to maintain a clean, commercial feel. Getting that balance right is what stops reflective packaging from looking either flat or amateur.
As with many product shoots, the photography was only part of the process. Retouching helped us refine the final images, remove distractions and bring everything together into a consistent set of photographs.
The World of Collectibles
Pop Vinyl-style figures have become a huge part of popular culture. Film, TV and comic-book characters are transformed into highly stylised figures that people collect because they love the characters and the worlds they come from.
For collectors, the packaging is part of that experience. They want to see the figure, the box and the details before they buy. Good packaging photography therefore needs to do more than simply show that a product exists — it needs to give the customer confidence in what they’re getting.
We learnt a fair bit about pop culture trends that day too.
How It Looks
The Results
The finished images give Rock Box Toys a clean and professional library of packaging photography, showing the boxes clearly while retaining the gloss, thickness and material qualities of the plastic.
The project is a good example of why seemingly simple product photography can require plenty of thought. Clear packaging doesn’t give you many places to hide — every reflection, edge and highlight has to work.
Looking for product or packaging photography?
Whether you have a straightforward packshot requirement or a product that needs a more creative approach, we can help with the full production — from planning and lighting through to photography, retouching and delivery.
Talk to DE Studios about your next product photography project.
