- BIDBI
- 1st December 2020
So, you’ve got some new products in stock and you need to photograph them so you can share them all with your eagerly awaiting customers and put them on your website. If you budget doesn’t allow for a photography session with a professional, then the next option is to take them yourself.
Here are our top tips for taking product photos yourself.
Occasion
First of all you need to think about where you will be using your photos, are they for your website? For social media? Or for advertisement? This is very important to establish as it will help you make decisions further down the line when it comes to deciding on other aspects of your photo shoot.
Background
If you are taking product shots for your website then a white background is always a good choice, it will work well with your lighting and as long as your product isn’t white it will make all the colours on your product easier to see. If you don’t fancy a white background, then try to find a colour that compliments your product and makes it easy to see.
If you decide to take your photos outside or in a real-life environment, then ensure that the background is appropriate for your products and brand. For example, if you own an urban clothing line, it may not be on brand to take your photos in the countryside, or if you are targeting an audience that doesn’t drink alcohol, ensure there are no wine bottles in the background!
If it isn’t necessarily obvious how your product looks or functions on its own, props can also play a big part in your product photography. They can help show how a product works, how it should be worn, its capacity, or they can just be there to accessorise the product and make for a more fun image.
Lighting
Lighting in photography is very important, it can change the mood of an image, if it is bright or shadowed. In product photography the goal should be to show your product off. This is done with good lighting that brightens your product so you can see it all. If you are using artificial lights, you should aim your light from above in front of your product and the side, this will help to reduce shadows and poor lighting on any one side of the product.
If you are shooting your products outside then the weather will affect the mood, (if it’s sunny your photos will be warmer, and if it’s cloudy the photos will be cooler) it is best to take your photos just after midday so the sun is high in the sky, and make sure the light is in front of your product to avoid a silhouette effect.
Products
This is a simple step, but before starting photography your products should be clean, have the creases removed, you are shooting them to show them at their best for sale, so make every attempt to show them looking lovely. In theory, marks and creases can be edited out later, however, why give yourself more work later on when you can take a good picture to begin with?
Equipment
To take a good quality product image which can be used on your website you will need a few things. Firstly, a camera - your camera doesn’t have to be top of the range, but it will make your life a lot easier if you can adjust focus and alter your shutter speed for different lighting. A minimum of about 12 mega pixels will be a clear enough quality.
In addition to your camera, a tripod or something that will hold your camera still is very useful, this allow for consistency throughout your photos so once you have your lighting and background set up you don’t have to move your camera. Another piece of equipment you will need for product photography is editing software. This will enable you to make any adjustments to the photo you took, such as removing marks you didn’t notice, cropping and colour altering if the colour shows up differently on screen.
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