A Beginner’s Guide to Product Photography – Print Peppermint

If you need to sell it, you need to show it.

It has been an age-old tradition to visit stores, view a favorable item, and purchase it if we feel convinced. In that “convincing” factor, there is more to it than the product itself. This includes the salesperson, the store’s environment, the price, etc.

Your product photo doesn’t have to include just the product. You can create an entire scenery using multiple props and items.

These items do not necessarily have to resemble your product. If you’re capturing the picture of orange-colored sneakers, you can keep actual oranges in the photo background to provide a light-hearted, organic feel.

Creating a composition is the ultimate goal. Different elements can be used to create a suitable composition and, thus, scenery. Or you could make a simple, minimalistic scenery with little to no background elements. Let your own persona flourish as there are no rules here!

Reflections are an important aspect of photography that cannot be overlooked. It can break or make a picture.

Since the advent of fast-shutter cameras, freeze-frame photography has been a trending phenomenon. A rabbit hop frozen in time, a speeding jet stopped in the picture – are all examples of freezing the frame. It’s also known as stop motion photography.

Freeze-frames have a distinct place in product photography. One popular example is a sprite bottle being dropped into a waterbody, creating splatters. Capturing this movement without any form of blurriness is essentially freezing the frame completely. Such a shot invokes a sense of refreshment and wonder, instilling the brand target and persona.

Stop motion photography doesn’t necessarily have to be taken for branding. But you can just do them because they look cool!

Flat lay photography is a quick and cost-effective way of capturing unique product images. Almost all product niches can be presented through this method.

If you want to take it up a notch, you could try taking pictures from all sides. Certain eCommerce platforms allow 360-degree rotation of a product. Whether it be for manual rotation or automatic rotation, 360-degree photos will enhance your store’s image.

Not all products may benefit from 360-degree photos. A glass mug may not have anything new to show from each angle. Thus, think wisely of which products to take fully rotatable pictures of.

If you’d like to highlight the colors of your product, you can do so in several ways. Firstly, you can add props of the same color to put emphasis. Or, you could do the opposite and add a contrasting color.

Whichever you choose, do not infuse the picture with too many colors. Complementary colors are a no-no, but even a variety of contrasting colors can kill the focus of the main product.

Another way to highlight the color is by using lighting to focus on those colors or rotating the product to show them more. Of course, post-production must be used to calibrate and polish these highlighted colors.

Smoke bombs have always been popular for cultural events. Did you know that they are popular with product photography too?

You can induce dramatic effects to your product with either a smoke generator or a bomb. Additionally, you can use the freeze-frame technique to create a “moving” feel with smoke. Make sure the color of the smoke suits your product.

Let’s say your product is a box. A box can be opened, closed, and completely taken apart. For all these variations, take pictures. Never let your consumer remain in doubt as to how to product functions.

Even if your product has no functional variational, it may have color variations. Include all of the colors in your product showcase. Leave no variation behind, and you’ll gradually see the results through consumer trustworthiness.

Location is important for product photos. If you’re shooting inside a studio, it may not matter. But not all product photos happen inside a studio. Some shots look better when taken on natural grass, sand, and concrete.

Whichever location you choose, make sure that it suits your product and the purpose. For example, you can place a boot on a muddy pile to emphasize durability. But that muddy pile has to be aesthetic as well as dirty. Sure, you can modify it to look better, but there are certain things you won’t be able to control, like distant objects in the background. Thus, pick your place wisely.

Mobile cameras are inexpensive and easy but have a lot of limitations. However, it’s not true that you always need a DSLR for product images. Most low-budget or even medium-budget eCommerce stores start their businesses with mobile photography. Here are certain things to give your mobile photography an upper edge.

Clip-on lenses are rising in popularity. These lenses can be used to take macro shots and higher resolution shots with mobile cameras that aren’t so advanced. You can certainly use them for capturing your product photos.

Safeguard your camera lens at all times. Mobile cameras get scratched easily, degrading their usability. Keeping a lens protector on it will ensure that only the protector gets scratched and can be replaced anytime if needed.

DSLR cameras are certainly better. And you can use these tips to make them even better.

Lighting is one of the overlooked intricacies of eCommerce photography. After all, the saying does go – Lights. Camera. Action!

Inadequate lighting will always result in a gloomy image. Professional photographers can use the darkness to create dramatic shots. But for beginners, we always recommend starting by capturing standard, well-lit images.

The general rule is to use 3-4 lights. A key light to focus on the product, a fill light to fill the space, a background light to illuminate the background, and extra light to fill any dark areas.

So many lights may be troublesome for a smaller studio space and budget, thus you can use another technique – bounce cards.

Reflectors, otherwise known as bounce cards, can be used to reflect right in areas where there is little light. Using multiple light sources may not be feasible for everyone. Additionally, it also results in a blown-out image.

Bounce cards do the work of spreading out the light without any harshness or electricity cost!

A good tripod will give you great photos. A great tripod will give you excellent ones. Most high-end tripods offer full adjustability without compromising sturdiness.

Backdrops are a quick and easy solution. Paired with good lighting, a backdrop will get the job done – it has been for most eCommerce businesses.

But using backgrounds is a completely new ball game. You need to have a good experience with photography in order to pull it off. Product photos with backgrounds capture a sense of originality that generic product photos don’t. However, this entirely depends on your eCommerce platform. Some platforms only allow white backdrops. So do ensure the specifications of your platform before shooting.

Here are some mistakes that many of us commit in this niche.

It’s good to be creative, but don’t let that create distracting compositions. Taking photos of eye-wear on a car hood may not make any sense, thus contradict each other. Instead, pair your eye-wear products with a complementary background like a tabletop.

Sometimes provoking the audience is good. But for product photography, it’s best to not create distracting themes unless it is a specific target of your marketing campaign.

Camera settings are nothing to take for granted. Aperture, ISO, Shutter Speed are all crucial camera parameters that directly influence a photo.

Beginners can learn by practicing, but relying solely on practice is a mistake. You can always take crash courses on photography to understand what the different camera settings do and thus make your practice photography sessions more worthwhile.

Sometimes reflections cannot be mitigated no matter what you do. It’s okay if that happens, but don’t leave them in! Always remove the reflections through post-production. Always. Unless, of course, the image containing reflections looks better (which is highly unlikely!).

If you’re planning to pursue photography or an eCommerce business, you can’t save. You must invest every penny you have in building your infrastructure. But it’s not always possible to keep a good budget. In the beginning, purchasing one professional light seems to burn a hole in your pocket. But without good lenses, you cannot shoot good images. What do you do?

Standard lenses, macro lenses, and prime lenses are best suited for product photos.

Without image editing, viewers will simply scroll as the product photo will not look professional.

It has varying rates depending on the number of products and hours. It usually starts from $30 per hour or $70 per product. More or less, depending on the number of angles and variations you want in your product images.

Beginner photographers typically charge $20 per hour, but it varies from location to location.

Phew! That was a lot to take in, but once you do, you’ll be amazed by what you give out. Product photography is simply by no means, but it gets simpler with practice. Utilize this resource to make the best of your eCommerce journey!

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