Tips on taking better photos of your products

I have been feeling a bit lost, a bit detached from this little old blog recently.

There have been a few meltdowns, yes there have. I don't know what to blame it on, maybe alot has been going on but I'll get to that in another post.

Today I wanted to share with you some product photography tips.  

I was asked to teach a workshop the other day at the Thornbury Women's Neighbourhood House about blogging and product photography, if you are interested let me know and I will post the blogging tips as well.

Light

Use natural light, an overcast day is perfect

Shoot in the morning or late afternoon, you want soft diffuse light, not direct sun which causes shadows and bright spots

If working inside, shoot near a window, you may need a tripod or use a light box

Focus

Make sure your product is in focus and avoid any motion blur

A tripod is a must in low light situations

Framing

Think about the composition of your product in the camera

Move around and try to see your product in different angles

Make sure your camera is at the right distance from your product to avoid odd perspective and distortion

Style

Show your style by using props and different backgrounds

Don’t overdo it though as the product is the focus and you don’t want to distract the viewer by using out of place props or bright patterned backgrounds

Natural Environment

Show how the product is used, people want to see how a bag looks on someone’s shoulder or how earrings look on someone’s ears

Product Details

Show your products fine details by taking some close ups

Make sure you also have photos of the whole product for your viewer 

Variety

Don’t be afraid to change things around when photographing, change backgrounds and props regularly

Vertical & Horizontal

Take both vertical and horizontal photos of your products as you may later need to use your images for labels, business cards etc

Camera Settings

Make sure you get your camera settings correct so your photos aren’t overexposed or underexposed

Turn off your flash and set your white balance, i.e. low light, shade, cloud setting

Set your ISO* as low as possible and use your tripod

A lower ISO equals sharper photos 

Use the self timer to prevent any camera shake from pressing the shutter

Check your camera’s LCD screen after each photo and adjust things as they are needed

*ISO (equivalent) speed on a digital camera gives an indication of the sensitivity of the image sensor

Post Editing

Always edit your photos even if it’s just to adjust your levels

Use editing software or free online editing sites such as picnik.com

• Crop
• Adjust levels
• Adjust saturation
• Colour correction
• Sharpening
• Remove any dust or marks
• Any other post editing

Styling Your Photos

• Get inspiration from magazines, websites, blogs but do not copy other peoples images
• Put your unique style into the shoot by thinking about your product
• What is it? It’s qualities, its use, the process in which it was made, inspiration behind making it
• Your product needs to be enhanced not lost in a mismatch of backgrounds and props
• Try to tell the viewer a story of your product within the photograph

I really hope you found this useful, I'd love for you to let me know.

Happy sunshiney day friends ♥
✗ ♡