Product Photography Tips
THE BASICS
OVERVIEW
The average person is bombarded with images at every moment of every day. Advertising images are all around us and as such, you can’t just expect that your product will sell itself without a little bit of help. Product photography can help to share a story with your audience.
MOOD BOARD
Before even thinking to photograph your product, take some time to look through brands that you love and the way they shoot their products. What are some elements you love about the way they photograph their items? What lighting do they look to use? What angles are they using? Mood boarding is one of the simplest ways to understand what works and what doesn’t by learning from others. It is extremely beneficial to understand the different elements that come into play in making a product look its best.
CONSIDER YOUR LIGHTING
The most visually appealing images usually resonate with readers as they have great lighting that draws you into their story. The lighting sets the tone for the ambiance you want to achieve through your image.
Keep in mind, product photography can use either natural or artificial lighting to take the image to the next level. To decide between which will work best for your photo shoot, consider the item you’re photographing, the platform you want to sell it on, your audience, and the message you want to convey. Artificial lighting is more easily controlled and adapted to your needs, while natural lighting requires extra effort to work properly as fewer elements are under your control.
THE RULE OF THIRDS
The rule of thirds originated from artists looking to better position their composition. It breaks down your canvas or image into nine separate segments. In order to properly position your image, your goal is to place your product along the lines and ideally where two lines intersect as that’s where your eyes are most naturally drawn to.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Don’t overcomplicate your image. Some of the most stunning product photography is kept extremely simple. Think Apple products—white background, incredible lighting, and your product. If you’re looking to have a light background, don’t just place your item on a table against any light wall as this will lead to wall imperfections, poor lighting being visible, and inconsistencies between multiple shots. Control your image by using a white backdrop. You can purchase these easily online and they are one of the easiest ways to get consistent backgrounds. Don’t get carried away with props either as they can distract from your product. Always think back to your goal for the image and your product.
EDIT LIGHTLY
While you should strive to capture a high-quality photograph from the beginning editing should not be relied upon to make your image polished, the final touches on your photograph can be what takes your image to a professional level. Editing should be kept to a minimum to avoid having the final result looking overproduced or artificial. Be especially mindful off keeping the color and texture of the product as accurate as possible—don’t over saturate or over contrast your image—because you need to make sure your product still looks like the item a customer will receive.
EXPERIMENT
Play around with angles, lighting, and backgrounds. You learn through experimenting and understanding why certain elements work over others. Although sometimes it can take a bit more time while experimenting, you’re learning for the long run and it will pay off in dividends once you have a solid foundation.