Product photography is a booming, lucrative industry with an ever-growing demand. To break into this industry, you’ll need an eye for composition and the technical know-how to take beautiful, quality images.
Here are seven tips for product photography beginners:
1. Select the best lens for the job
Selecting the right photography equipment for the right product is extremely important to be successful as a product photographer. However, arguably the most important piece of equipment is your lens. Mid-zoom, fast lenses work best universally for a wide range of subjects. As you gain experience and begin to bring in more business, you may also want to invest in more specialized lenses.
2. Set up a beautiful backdrop
It won’t matter how great your lens is if the background of your photograph is cluttered and unprofessional. Investing in a good, neutral backdrop will give you flexibility and will increase the quality of your photographs, while making sure the product is the center of focus. Most products photograph beautifully on a neutral backdrop, but as you gain experience and begin to make money, you can invest in several more to highlight a larger variety of products.
3. Invest in lighting
Good light is the magic ingredient in taking high quality photographs. Investing in a box light, an umbrella light, or a quality flash and flash diffuser will take your photos to the next level. Having the correct lighting tools will wash your product in even, white light and help you avoid harsh shadows or loss of product detail.
4. Find your angle
Product photography is all about highlighting, you guessed it, the product. You’re creating a two-dimensional version of an object to help consumers make purchasing decisions. Finding the correct angle is essential to show the product as it would appear in real life. Taking photos from above, below, in front of, behind, and from the side of the product will ensure that you accurately represent it to the customer.
5. Create an engaging image
Photographs have immense power to make people feel a certain way about the subject matter. A great product photo will induce an emotional response in the consumer who’s viewing it, and will make the product more memorable. Product photographs that make an emotional impression and fall in line with a good branding strategy are more likely to encourage a purchase.
6. Take several shots
In today’s world, digital cameras and SD cards make it possible to take hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs at a time. It’s wise to take lots of shots from a variety of angles to ensure that you’ve got several worth publishing. If you’re investing time and money in creating beautiful product images, don’t risk capturing too few shots.
7. Use a tripod
The human hand can only hold a camera still at 1/125 of a second or faster, and it can only hold a camera for so long. Setting your camera up on a tripod is the best way to capture a clean, sharp, detailed shot every time. A tripod also gives you the freedom to shoot at lower speeds or higher F-stops to give your images more variety.
