Journal
Lighting a product that does not exist yet
Studio lighting principles translated into a virtual set — and the three rigs we reuse most.
Theo Lind
6 min
A virtual studio has no gravity, no budget for extra lights and no physical limits on softbox size. That freedom is exactly why product renders so often look wrong.
Start from a real rig
We light every product from a physical studio setup first — key, fill, rim and a large overhead scrim — then break the rules deliberately rather than by accident.
The three rigs we reuse most
A long strip light for anodised edges, a dome for soft-touch surfaces and a hard rim for anything with a glowing element. Between them they cover nine out of ten launches.
The goal is not realism for its own sake. It is light that tells the buyer what the surface feels like.
Launch strategy
Why your pre-order page should launch before your prototype does
Hardware teams wait for samples to start marketing. The ones that win start the day the CAD freezes.
6 min
Production
The CMF swatch is your most important render reference
Colour, material and finish decide whether a render reads as real. Here is how we brief them.
5 min
Studio
Inside a 30-day launch: from STEP file to hero film
A week-by-week look at how a Tesel launch film is planned, approved and rendered.
8 min