At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to attend a commercial product workshop led by the esteemed commercial photographer Sophie Traynor.  Traynor is known for her expertise in beauty, fashion, food and product photography, working with brands such as Adidas, Cath Kidston and Primark. 

The workshop commenced with Sophie introducing her practice to those who didn’t know her. Then introduced us to how she would start a shoot, setting up a Capture One session, using the date (year, month, day), then brand or product name. This naming convention is the same process she uses for every shoot, ensuring that the work is organised by timeline, not brand name, making it easy for herself when coming back to edit or invoicing shoots. Sophie then began shooting a pair of heels that a fellow student supplied, explaining she was using a Canon R5 with a 24 - 70 mm lens to shoot with, using the settings 1/125, F8 and ISO 100. 

As Sophie explained, she starts all of her shoots with a single bare bulb light, positioning it above the product with the modelling bulb on. Setting the to power 7, to understand what the direction of light was casting on the scene. She continued to adjust the composition, camera settings, and lighting direction, demonstrating how even subtle changes could transform the shot. Sophie then added in another light onto the other side of the product, experimenting with gels and further lighting powers in order to create a visually successful image.  Sophie showed us how both reflectors and blockers could be used to impact such a scene. 

Watching this process unfold emphasized the power of lighting, shaping the overall reading of an image. 

In her next demonstration, Sophie invited a student volunteer to model for her, applying a similar approach to this setup. This setup involved a white reflector board, a beauty dish, and a softbox light, showcasing how the same principles of light manipulation apply across different subjects.  Using colour gels in a similar process to the product shot creates some interest in the scene.  The transformation between lighting positions once again demonstrated how a well-thought-out lighting setup can highlight features, enhance textures, and elevate the overall aesthetic of an image.

Her experimentation with lighting styles and composition truly complemented the aesthetic of the subject in a way that felt both intentional and visually compelling.

After the two workshops were held, Sophie gave us some time to ask any questions we may have had about her creative process, retouching or the professional field as a whole. At this time, I wasn’t best versed in how to professionally go about retouching a product shot, so I decided to ask Sophie how she would start to go about editing the shot she produced in the workshop. She began to explain that during the shoot, she would mess around with the highlights, adding clarity and structure to the image in Capture One (shooting software), ensuring enhanced detail, sharpness, and color accuracy. Then, dragging the final selected image into Adobe Photoshop to use her preset actions and curve layers to quickly alter the image’s brightness, contrast, and color balance, allowing for consistent tonal corrections,  saving time and ensuring consistency. Traynor also went on to mention never to use any tool in Photoshop at 100% opacity due to this leading to an unnatural edit, using lower opacities and flow will allow for more subtle adjustments. Giving the final image a more natural, polished result. 

Using all this information gathered during the workshop, Sophie allowed us the time and space to work on the techniques she highlighted. A group of us final years decided to use the two L’Oréal Lipsticks that I unsuccessfully shot that morning to experiment with Sophie’s photographic process. 

Beginning with setting up the capture folder in the same way, this is a process I still use to this day. Positioning a single bare bulb light above the chosen products, which we similarly angled to what Sophie explained to us before. Understanding that as we decided on the position of the Phase One camera, we would change the position of products too, to ensure brand visibility. Then, we experimented with different coloured gels, undsertanding that a single one didn’t add as much interest to the scene as wanted, resulting in us using three differing colours. Linking to the brand’s aesthetic, the addition of a reflector, as told by Sophie, would bounce more light back into the scene, ensuring that the brand information was visible. 

Throughout the  workshop, Sophie’s approachable demeanor and willingness to share her knowledge fostered an environment conducive to learning and creativity. Her passion for photography was evident, inspiring us to push the boundaries of our work. To conclude, participating in my first commercially led workshop was an invaluable experience which provided new knowledge of practical skills and valuable insights into the nuances of post-production. 

Finally, here is the final retouched image using Traynor’s process as inspiration. 

All information and images above – credited to Sophie Traynor https://www.sophietraynor.com/