How do you tell the story of an inanimate object?
At this stage in their journey, students at Light & Life Academy have already learnt how to light different surfaces, control reflections, and handle the technical complexities and aesthetic aspects of product photography. The next step is understanding how to move beyond — and begin creating images that communicate a brand’s personality.
In conceptual product photography, the question isn’t just how to shoot an object, but why — and for whom. What is the mood of the image? Who is the target audience? What kind of visual language will appeal to them? Is the brand vibrant and youthful, or refined and minimal? Popular and accessible, or positioned as high-end luxury?
These answers shape everything in the frame — from the styling and colour palette to the mood, lensing, lighting, and choice of props. Every detail becomes a deliberate tool to build a story that resonates with the brand’s audience.
The module began with a workshop and demo by Neha Gharat, a stylist and creative director with experience across food, product, and lifestyle photography.
She introduced students to the importance of styling a frame — from selecting props and balancing objects to using textures and colour to shape mood.
Following the demo, students were asked to choose a product, build a concept around it, and plan their shoots accordingly — styling, lighting, and framing with the end user in mind.
The session was designed to simulate a real-world scenario, where the client is the primary stakeholder and every image is built to answer a brief.
Here are some images created by the students during this session.
“So, we just finished our conceptual product photography session. We had the demo and workshop a few days ago on product styling and have been shooting since. It’s been a very different experience.
Previously, even when we tried to focus on styling and aesthetics, product shoots often came down to how we were lighting the subject. But after the workshop — and especially after getting the perspective of a stylist — we began to see more ways to work toward achieving the client’s objective.
It was also incredibly valuable to get feedback from Anu ma’am. With her background in advertising and marketing, she brings a client-centric mindset — something we need to develop as photographers working on commercial projects.
This session not only gave us a closer look at what to expect in the real world, but also served as a soft initiation into the kinds of processes we’re likely to encounter.”
– Bhaskar Narayan, Batch 24 student
