I nearly didn’t take these photos below, because the setup felt almost too simple to be worth giving a go.

Coffee has always called me from a photographic point of view (not so much the drinking part, although I do drink it sometimes). I just find it so pretty! I’ve had the same jar of coffee beans in my prop/spice collection for years, and I’ve always wanted to photograph it.

So, I started shooting. I realized I just needed a type of light that would make it inviting and memorable, and I had my photoshoot to explore that.

For these photos, I used an umbrella with soft, diffused light, held super close to the beans, creating a dramatic yet soft light that made them look incredibly rich, warm, and almost touchable.

It’s so easy to think better images come from adding lights, more elements, a more complex scenario.

But the images that stay with me are rarely overly complex. Instead, they do that because they have a clear direction.

I’m still catching myself overcomplicating things sometimes. But moments like this remind me that simplicity isn’t a limitation.

I try to see lighting less as a tool and more as something that shapes emotion. Which may sound bizarre, but it’s actually really easy to forget that when we see all the complicated setups on social media.

And I think that’s where a lot of us get stuck.

We start believing that better photos come from doing more… instead of seeing more.

And honestly, learning how to create that kind of depth and mood with artificial light took me a long time to really understand. Not just technically, but creatively.

It’s also exactly what I’ve been pouring into my Advanced Artificial Light Workshop over the past weeks.

If you’re someone who wants to move beyond just “setting up lights” and actually start shaping how your images feel, when it comes to complex setups, I’ve opened up the waitlist below (you'll be automatically added).