Lighting Setup for Product Photography & E-commerce Videos

In e-commerce, the right lighting can make the difference between a product that sells and one that goes unnoticed. Whether capturing a single hero image for an online store or producing short videos for social media and marketplaces, lighting directly affects how professional, appealing, and true-to-life your products appear. Understanding how to set up lighting for product shoot ensures your images and videos highlight texture, color, and detail accurately, helping your products stand out and build customer trust.

The Core Logic Behind Lighting for Product Shoot

Successful lighting for product shoot starts with one principle: clarity before creativity. Unlike portrait or cinematic lighting, product lighting must prioritize accurate shape, texture, and color reproduction. Customers rely entirely on visual information to make purchasing decisions, so lighting should remove uncertainty rather than add drama.

For e-commerce images and videos, this logic usually translates into three requirements:

• Consistent brightness across the product surface
• Controlled highlights that reveal material quality
• Clean shadows that define form without distraction

This is where continuous lighting for photography becomes essential. Unlike flash, continuous lights allow creators to see exactly how light interacts with the product in real time. Adjustments to angle, distance, or modifiers are immediate, making workflows faster and more predictable—especially for teams producing high volumes of SKUs.

Zhiyun G200 and G300 are designed for this type of environment. As high-output continuous lights, they provide stable illumination suitable for both still photography and video, helping maintain visual consistency across catalogs and campaigns.

Achieving Soft Light for Product Photography Without Overcomplicating the Setup

Soft light for product photography is not about weak light—it is about controlled diffusion. Soft light reduces harsh shadows, minimizes unwanted reflections, and creates a more premium visual feel, especially for reflective or textured products like cosmetics, electronics, or packaging.

The softness of light depends on two factors:

1. Light source size relative to the product

2. Distance between light and subject

Using a powerful light like the G200 or G300 gives you flexibility. Because of their output headroom, you can pair them with softboxes, diffusion domes, or reflectors without sacrificing exposure. This is critical in tabletop setups, where space is limited but light quality must remain high.

For small to mid-sized products:

1. A G200 with a softbox positioned at a 45-degree angle delivers even, natural highlights
2. For larger products or scenes requiring more depth, the G300 provides stronger output, maintaining softness even with larger modifiers.

Soft light also plays a key role in e-commerce videos. When shooting rotating products or short lifestyle clips, soft continuous light ensures smooth transitions and consistent exposure across frames.

Tabletop Product Lighting That Scales From One SKU to Hundreds

Tabletop product lighting is the foundation of most e-commerce studios. It must be compact, repeatable, and easy to adjust as product sizes change. The biggest mistake brands make is building a setup that only works for one product type.

A scalable tabletop setup typically includes:

• One key light for shape and exposure
• One fill or reflector to control contrast
• Optional background or rim light for separation

This is where the compact design and Bowens-mount compatibility of G200 and G300 become practical advantages. You can start with a minimal setup and expand as your catalog grows—without replacing your core light.

For example:

• A single G200 handles flat lays, small accessories, and packaging.
• Adding a second G200 or upgrading to a G300 allows background lighting, rim lighting, or faster shooting cycles.

Because these lights are continuous, switching between stills and video does not require changing equipment—an important efficiency gain for small teams.

Single-Light vs Multi-Light Continuous Lighting for Photography

When planning continuous lighting for photography, many sellers ask whether one light is enough. The answer depends on production goals, not just budget.

1. Single-Light Setup

Best for:

• Startups
• Amazon listings
• Minimalist product styles

A single G200 paired with diffusion and reflectors can produce professional results for most small products. This setup emphasizes speed, simplicity, and cost efficiency.

2. Two-Light Setup

Best for:

• Brand websites
• Premium product launches
• Video + photo workflows

Combining a G200 as fill with a G300 as key light gives greater control over contrast and background separation. This is especially useful for darker products or glossy surfaces where shape definition matters.

3. Multi-Light Expansion

As your business scales, adding lights allows:

• Consistent lighting across multiple shooting stations
• Dedicated background illumination
• Creative angles for short-form e-commerce videos

Because G200 and G300 belong to the same lighting ecosystem, expansion remains straightforward and cost-effective.

Why G200 and G300 Offer Long-Term Value for Product Creators

From a business perspective, lighting is not just an expense—it is infrastructure. The value of G200 and G300 lies in how long they remain useful as production needs evolve.

Key strengths aligned with e-commerce use:

• High-output continuous lighting suitable for photo and video
• Compact form factor for tabletop and small studio spaces
• Modifier compatibility for shaping soft or directional light
• Expandable setups without changing systems

For sellers producing content weekly—or daily—reliability and workflow efficiency matter more than theoretical specs. These lights are built to handle repeated use, long shooting sessions, and changing creative demands.

Recommended Lighting Combinations for Different Business Sizes

Solo Sellers & Small Shops

• 1× G200
• Softbox + reflector
• Ideal for product listings and short videos

Growing Brands

• 1× G300 + 1× G200
• Softbox + background light
• Balanced solution for catalog and marketing content

Established E-commerce Teams

• Multiple G300 units
• Dedicated key, fill, and background lighting
• Efficient multi-angle shooting workflows

ECommon Mistakes in Lighting for Product Shoot and How to Avoid Them

Even with good equipment, results suffer if fundamentals are ignored. Common issues include:

• Over-lighting the product, causing loss of texture
• Hard light without diffusion, leading to harsh reflections
• Inconsistent lighting between shots, reducing brand trust
• Underpowered lights, forcing high ISO or slow workflows

Using appropriately powerful continuous lights like G200 and G300 helps prevent these problems, especially when paired with proper modifiers and consistent positioning.

Final Thoughts

Great product lighting does not need to be complicated—but it does need to be intentional. By understanding the logic behind lighting for product shoot, applying soft light for product photography, and building scalable tabletop product lighting, sellers can create visuals that truly support sales.

With Zhiyun G200 and G300, you are not just choosing lights—you are choosing a system that grows with your business, supports both photography and video, and delivers consistent results across platforms.