10 Ways To Use the C5R Mini LED Panel Light for Product Photography

Professional product photography is the commercial form of still-life photography. Learning how to style products, set up lighting, and composite different exposures takes time. In this blog, we’ll explore different ways to enhance your product photography with the mini LED panel light from Godox - KNOWLED C5R. 

Understanding the Godox KNOWLED C5R LED Panel Light 

The Godox C5R LED panel light is a lightweight and portable lighting tool, allowing for a wide range of lighting effects. Its magnetic design makes it easy to attach to various surfaces, and wireless control via a dedicated app enables convenient adjustments of brightness and dynamic lighting effects. It is a powerful tool for enhancing product photography, portraits, interviews, and other projects. 

10 Different Ways to Use C5R Mini LED Panel Light 

1. Direct Lighting for Highlighting Texture 

If you’re aiming to emphasise the texture of the product, direct lighting is the best choice. This method works particularly well for products with intricate patterns or unique surface details. Let’s say you’re photographing a leather handbag, for example.

Position the C5R mini LED light at a 45-degree angle to the handbag, slightly above and to the side. Placing the C5R at a 45-degree angle ensures that the light doesn’t hit the surface directly, which can flatten textures, but rather skims across it to reveal the details more vividly. By adjusting different angles and distances, you can effectively capture the unique textures and surface details of your products. It creates compelling and engaging product photographs that entice your audience. 

2. Soft Diffused Lighting for Smooth Surfaces 

In other ways, integrating the C5R with a diffuser is a valuable technique, especially when photographing products that have glossy or smooth surfaces. It helps you achieve soft and even lighting that minimises harsh shadows and reflections on such products. When the light passes through the diffuser, it scatters in multiple directions, creating a broader, more even illumination, which is particularly beneficial. To maintain the true colours of products, set the C5R LED panel at a white balance or the “daylight” preset. This ensures that the C5R doesn’t introduce unwanted colour shifts and maintains the natural beauty of products.

3. Backlighting for Transparency and Glow

When it comes to transparent or semi-transparent products, such as beverages or cosmetics, backlighting can be a powerful approach because it accentuates the liquid in a visually striking manner.

The Godox C5R LED mini light offers a wide range of colours, from warm to cool white, and also customisable RGB colours. This is especially advantageous for adding a subtle glow or specific colour accents to your products. For example, with its small and lightweight design, the C5R LED light is easily placed behind products, slightly below, and angled upward. This method results in the light passing through the product, highlighting its contours and adding a captivating halo effect around the edges. Whether you’re showcasing cosmetics, or other translucent products, this technique can help elevate your product to a new level of aesthetic appeal. 

Wanting to upgrade your beauty brand photography? Find out more here: How to Start Shooting Quality Photos for your Beauty Cosmetics Brand.

4. Side Lighting for Dimension 

In contrast, side lighting can be an effective approach when you need to emphasise depth and create a sense of dimension. To create effective side lighting, position the Godox C5R mini LED at a 90-degree angle relative to the product, adding a sense of volume and dimension to the product and thus making it appear more lifelike and engaging. Moreover, you can combine it with the Godox app to ensure it matches your design brightness and colour temperature. This control is crucial when using side lighting because it allows you to fine-tune the intensity of the light. 

| Related article: How to Shoot Product Photography in 360°.

5. Three-point Lighting Positions for High-Quality Highlights

On the other hand, the three-point lighting setup is a classic approach if you want to ensure well-defined illumination while accentuating the product’s features.

To ensure the products look their best, position one Godox C5R as the main light source, placing it in front of and slightly above the product. While utilising a second C5R as a fill light, positioning it on the opposite side of the main light source. This helps maintain the details in the darker areas of the product, ensuring that nothing is lost in the shadows. Another C5R LED panel is a backlight or rim light, placed behind the product. It creates a separation between subjects and backgrounds, which not only helps to define the subject but also adds a sense of depth and dimension.

This combination ensures that its result is perfect for highlighting products, ensuring they are the focal point of your product photography. 

6. Gradient Lighting for Dramatic Effects

Creating dramatic effects in product photography can turn a simple product into a work of art. The Godox C5R, with its versatile features, is an excellent tool for achieving striking and dramatic effects using gradient lighting. Through its magnetic design, the Godox C5R LED panel can be attached to various surfaces, allowing flexibility in creating gradient lighting. You’ll need to place the C5R slightly above and to the side, aiming it directly at the product. This angle and positioning will create shadows and highlights that contribute to the gradient effect. Besides that, set one side of the C5R panel light to a cooler colour temperature and the other side to a warmer colour temperature. And also, adjust the brightness to create a subtle transition from one end to the other.

7. Overhead Lighting for Flatlay Shots

Flat-lay product photography is a popular style for showcasing products, particularly in e-commerce, food photography, and lifestyle imagery. Overhead lighting, provided by the Godox C5R LED panel, offers a versatile solution for this purpose. To achieve this, arrange the products on a clean and neutral surface, such as a white table or backdrop. While positioning the Godox C5R panel light directly overhead of the flat lay arrangement at a sufficient height and angled downward. This technique is perfect for capturing products in a clean, well-lit and visually appealing flat-lay composition. 

|Similar blog: Flat Lay Photography Tips for Shooting Clothing. 

8. Accent Lighting for Details 

If you want to capture the smallest of details in your subject, accent lighting is the perfect technique. For accent lighting, place products on a stable and clean surface to minimise distractions and reflections. Depending on the angle you want to achieve, place C5R at the angle you want to highlight the details. 

Key Takeaway

The Godox C5R empowers you to create professional and visually engaging product photographs that emphasise different aspects of your products. The C5R’s compact size and portability make it an ideal lighting tool for flat-lay setups, while its magnetic mount can attach to various surfaces. Moreover, the Godox Light app allows you to control its brightness, colour temperatures and dynamic lighting effects wirelessly. Whether you want to highlight texture, achieve dramatic effects, or capture intricate details, the Godox C5R mini panel offers the versatility and flexibility to bring your product photography to the next level. 

Next chapter: On-Camera LED Light Comparison: Godox C5R vs Aputure MC

EssentialPhoto is an Official Godox Partner and trusted UK Distributor, stocking the widest range of Godox kit in the UK. We offer up to a 2 Year Warranty* across our stock and Customer Support and after-sales repair at our British store.