The Project:
Skincare product photography for Everlucid's three-serum launch collection
I photographed Everlucid's three-serum skincare line for their brand launch. The brand focuses on skin barrier health through clean, science-backed formulations. Their visual identity draws inspiration from atmospheric sky states, with sunrise, rain, and cloud motifs. Each serum ties to a specific mood. My task was to create product photography that captured this ethereal quality while keeping the imagery clean and precise enough for e-commerce.
The project centered on their Rain, Sunshine, and Cloud serums. Each needed distinct atmospheric character while maintaining visual consistency across the collection. Everlucid's branding relies heavily on gradient backgrounds that evoke natural light conditions. The photography needed to support both their online store and broader marketing use.
The Challenge:
Creating photographic gradients and representing texture without product formulas
Working from Vancouver, I approached this as a technical exercise in gradient control and texture representation. The brand's visual direction was clear. They wanted gradients created in-camera rather than added in post-production. This meant building lighting setups that could produce smooth color transitions photographically. The second challenge involved representing serum textures without access to the actual product formulas. I had bottles to photograph but needed to find ways to suggest viscosity, slip, and hydration visually.
The Execution:
In-camera gradient construction and atmospheric color treatment
For the gradient backgrounds, I used a combination of gelled lighting, diffusion materials, and controlled light falloff. Each serum got its own color palette. Soft blues and grays for Rain, warm peachy tones for Sunshine, and cooler purples for Cloud. The goal was smooth transitions that felt atmospheric rather than digital. I positioned lights at specific distances and angles to create even washes across seamless paper. Diffusion scrims softened the transitions further. The setup needed to be repeatable so each serum would have consistent treatment while expressing its own mood.
Creating the gradients photographically took time but delivered a dimensional quality that would be difficult to replicate in post-production. The light interacts with the bottles naturally, creating reflections and refractions that anchor the product in its environment. This approach also meant the color relationships between background and packaging remained cohesive. When you composite gradients later, you often fight mismatched lighting cues. Building it in-camera kept everything consistent.
Texture work and tactile communication
For texture representation, I worked with materials that could suggest serum properties without misrepresenting the product. Water droplets, subtle condensation effects, and controlled gloss on surfaces helped communicate hydration and slip. I photographed these elements with shallow depth of field and selective highlighting to emphasize tactile qualities. The texture work needed to read as premium and clean. No heavy-handed styling that would contradict the brand's scientific positioning.
Product rendering and label clarity
Product rendering focused on label clarity and consistent lighting. I used soft, even illumination to minimize harsh reflections on the bottles while keeping typography sharp. The packaging needed to read cleanly across all three serums. Controlled reflections added dimension without obscuring brand information. Each bottle was shot straight-on and at angles that showed form while maintaining legibility.
The lighting setup for clean product shots differed from the gradient campaign images. For product page views, I prioritized neutral backgrounds and consistent whites. The bottles needed to look identical in terms of lighting quality even though they appeared in different contexts. Sometimes floating in atmospheric gradients, sometimes on simple white. This required separate lighting configurations but consistent color management across both approaches.
The Outcome:
Multi-use product photography with atmospheric differentiation
I delivered product photos designed for multiple uses. The collection includes gradient-backed campaign images for each serum, clean product views suitable for online store pages, and texture-focused detail shots. Each serum has its own atmospheric treatment while the overall collection maintains visual unity. The images work across different formats and cropping needs.
The gradient approach gives Everlucid a distinctive look in skincare product photography. Most brands either go fully clinical with stark white backgrounds or lean heavily stylized with excessive props and lifestyle elements. This middle path, atmospheric but controlled, emotional but precise, fits their positioning around gentle, barrier-focused skincare. The in-camera technique also means the imagery has depth and dimension that holds up across different sizes and uses.
Texture elements add another layer without the product formulas themselves appearing in the shots. The visual suggestions of hydration, smoothness, and absorption support the brand's ingredient story. These details help communicate product benefits in a way that feels credible rather than exaggerated.
Application:
Balancing clinical credibility with emotional appeal in beauty photography
For beauty brands evaluating skincare product photography, the challenge often sits between clinical credibility and emotional appeal. Product bottles alone can feel cold. Over-styled shots risk undermining scientific positioning. Everlucid's approach threads that line by using natural atmospheric references, weather, light conditions, sky states, as the styling language. It creates mood without artifice.
As a Vancouver product photographer, I work with beauty and skincare brands that need distinctive product photography with consistent execution across multiple SKUs. If you're launching a line that needs this kind of approach, reach out to discuss your project.
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