Foam board

What it does

White returns light into shadow-side labels and cheeks. Black shapes glossy reflections into designed dark bands on packaging.

When to use it

Product tables, window fill, beginner studios, food side fill.

Placement basics

Product: cards close to front face of box, camera sees reflection move as card moves. Portrait: white board opposite window at chest height.

Distance & power

Inches matter on glossy product — not feet. Portrait white board can be 30–80cm from subject.

Practice on set

1. Product with key only; note flat reflection.
2. Add black cards until dark bands appear.
3. Add white fill card opposite for label read.

Pairs well with

• 

  Softbox

  A softbox is the default directional soft modifier — rectangular or square diffusion in front of flash with controlled spill compared to umbrellas.

• 

  Window / sun

  Window light and sun are the original large soft sources — free, directional, and highly dependent on time of day, sky, and what you place opposite the shadow side.

• 

  Stripbox

  Stripboxes are tall, narrow soft sources — perfect for edge lines on faces, bottles, and packaging.