Product photography is crucial for businesses as it produces images that serve as brand ambassadors, representing the brand through various marketing channels. It provides information, inspires trust, and generates desire. Online retailers, especially for newer products, can make or break sales with their product photos. Individual and creatively conceived photos can set products apart from traditional e-commerce competition. With the right equipment and preparation, anyone can create unique product photos. We’ve compiled a list of the most important tips for taking professional-quality photos yourself.
How can you differentiate your product from the competition?
In our guide on product photography, we will discuss how images can impact an online retailer’s sales and what factors to consider during the conception and composition phases of a shoot. Separating yourself from the crowd with unique ideas is critical in this process. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the Google Shopping page. Manufacturer-provided stock photos are all too common in this area and do little to pique customers’ interest. Unique and eye-catching photos distinguish you from the competition and encourage customers to return to your website.
What is the equipment you need?
It’s no surprise that your camera is the most important tool for product photography. Mid-range cameras frequently provide more than enough storage space for high-quality images. The most important aspect is that you, the photographer, understand what you’re doing. Here are some pieces of equipment you need:
- Shooting Table
Small- to medium-sized products are best photographed on a shooting table. These contribute to the creation of environments in which products can be illuminated evenly and without many shadows. A white, or if possible, translucent, background or an infinity cove (for free-form selection) provides additional benefits.
- Flash
Using a flash, photos take only a fraction of a second to capture, compared to 5–10 seconds for natural light. When you shoot dozens or hundreds of products, you save a significant amount of time for the shoot. It is a useful resource for determining optimal lighting. Using the flash is especially useful when shooting in low-light environments because it allows you to adjust the source of light easily.
- Tripods
Using a tripod will help you avoid dealing with unfocused, blurry photos. Having one is especially important for prolonged exposure times. Tripods also allow you to capture multiple shots from the same position.
- Softboxes or light tents
Softboxes and light tents are useful tools for illuminating surfaces and achieving soft, shadow-free lighting. A light tent reduces your control over light direction and quality because it diffuses light from all sides. A softbox provides more control because you can change its size, shape, angle, and distance to create various effects and moods.
- Reflectors and brighteners
With reflectors and brighteners, you can illuminate specific areas of an object. This useful resource eliminates the need for additional light sources because reflectors can direct light where it is needed.
What should the camera setting be?
Knowing how to use the proper settings may be more important than the camera’s quality. When dealing with photo exposure, there are four key factors to consider: aperture value, exposure time, ISO value, and white balance.
- Value Of Aperture
Among other things, the aperture allows you to control the depth of field. This function is especially important for Amazon Product Photography Montreal. The fundamental rule for the value of the aperture is that when it is smaller, it indicates a larger aperture opening, resulting in a blurry background. On the other hand, larger values indicate a smaller aperture opening, resulting in a focused background.
- Duration of exposure
This is where the duration of exposure, or how long the aperture remains open, is adjusted. Many cameras have good automatic settings (manually adjusting the aperture necessitates trying out numerous settings). Too little exposure time causes underexposure, while too much exposure time causes overexposure.
- ISO
ISO values indicate how light-sensitive the camera’s image sensor is. When working in low-light conditions, it is best to use a high ISO setting. Given the generally excellent lighting of Product Photography Montreal objects, this setting is less important for this task. The value should be kept as low as possible. This helps to ensure that quality is not compromised.
- White Balance
Before taking the first photo, you should adjust the white balance. This setting influences the colour temperature. White balancing allows white to be depicted accurately without a blue or yellow cast appearing in the photograph. Modern digital cameras have automatic white balance, but experienced photographers should be able to adjust these settings manually.
What kind of lighting is ideal for product photography?
Products can only truly look clear when cast in the proper lighting. Many hobby photographers prefer shooting in natural light. Most experts, however, recommend using artificial lighting for product photography. Regardless of when you want to shoot photos for your online store, such lighting conditions are easier to control and reproduce. Using the previously mentioned equipment and settings, we can create the ideal lighting environment.
What Should Be Your Final Step?
Before you upload the photos to your website, there is one last step: editing. Digitally optimizing photos is not easy, but with a little practice, even beginners with photo software can do wonders with their product photos. Photoshop is the most popular software on the market, but many low-cost Photoshop alternatives are ideal for beginners. To add finishing touches, adjust picture detail, orientation, and perspective; optimize colour and brightness; adjust contrast settings; and retouch smaller elements.
Final Words
Following the advice provided above can help you achieve your goal of mastering professional product photography Montreal. Just remember that putting your product in the spotlight requires a well-thought-out concept. It can be beneficial to seek out inspiration ahead of time. Take a look at what other online retailers are doing with high-quality photos, or use Google’s image search to generate ideas. If you’re concerned about the cost of equipment, renting is always a viable option.
