Investing in a well-designed online store is crucial for capturing customers’ attention and retaining their interest. Great product photography is a key strategy for achieving this. The best e-commerce websites have great products, showcasing their quality and value and establishing transparency. By investing in these elements, you can create a memorable and engaging online experience for your customers.
Although you can hire a professional product photography expert, in this blog post, we’ll go over product photography styles, tips, and tools so you can get that perfect shot for your DIY photography.
What Are the Various Types of Product Photography Shots?
This list outlines six common types of product shots, their usage, and timing, emphasizing the importance of understanding and effectively capturing them for a consistent look or tasteful blend.
- Group Shots
Group shots are a popular method for showcasing various products and are often used in product kits and collections. They offer a comprehensive view of the brand, making them ideal for social media posts and advertisements.
- Scale Shots
Online shopping can be challenging due to misleading product photos. Scale shots can help customers visualize products by comparing them to everyday items, boosting their confidence in online purchases.
- Packaging Shots
Packaging is crucial for customers, as they expect a consistent shopping experience from start to finish, from website browsing to purchase and product delivery. Inadequate presentation can significantly impact customers’ perceptions of a product.
- Individual Shots
The individual shot is one of the most common types of product photos, with only one object in the frame. These are frequently used in product catalogues, banner images, and product pages to highlight individual products apart from the entire collection.
- Lifestyle shots
Lifestyle shots are photography techniques that showcase products in action, telling their story, and demonstrating their everyday use. They are useful for supplementing individual product shots on product pages, social media, emails, and ads, as they draw the eye and make products feel more personal.
- Detailed Shots
Detail shots are essential for capturing small intricacies in products like jewellery, requiring close-up shots. These shots require specific lighting and camera settings, like a macro lens, to capture the delicate details that traditional photos may not capture.
What product photography tips should you follow?
We’ve highlighted some helpful tips for constructing your DIY, at-home product photography studio.
- Create your background.
Choosing the right background is crucial for capturing perfect shots and post-production editing. White or light backdrops help remove unwanted objects and retouch photos. Low-cost options like shooting tents and light tents can achieve the desired effect without spending much.
- Set Your Product
To showcase your product, ensure the angle, lighting, and position are perfect. Place your product in front of a backdrop, centred, and on a stable surface. For jewellery Photography Montreal, use a bust for better display. Adjust for labels or special designs for more precise centering.
- Adjust the lighting.
Adjusting lighting is crucial for capturing quality product photos. Despite time-consuming adjustments, good lighting can significantly impact the final image. There are two main light sources: natural light and artificial light, which can be used for product photography.
- Make use of a tripod.
To achieve a sharp, crisp photo of your product, set your camera to a low aperture and slow shutter speed. This ensures the image’s sharpness, but it may be difficult to hold still with your hands, so a tripod is essential to avoid blurry photos.
- Choose the best camera.
Selecting the right camera is crucial for successful product photography. Smartphone technology has advanced significantly, making iPhones a good choice. To enhance photos, use a backdrop or experiment with lighting to create the perfect shot.
- Consistency in photography
Maintain a consistent style across all images by creating a technical style guide and template, including key elements like colour palette, saturation, focal length, shadows, composition, location, context, and consistency.
What Are the Product Photography Tools to Get You Started?
Now that you understand how to make an eye-catching product image, it’s time to gather the necessary tools. Although you can spend a lot of money on high-quality photography equipment, if you’re just starting, here are a few things to get you started.
- Light tent.
As previously stated, you’ll need a backdrop, such as a light tent (aka lightbox), which you can make yourself out of a plastic storage container and a white cloth or paper.
- Tripod.
Setting your camera on a tripod will allow you to capture consistently clear and focused product images. Fortunately, you can get them on Amazon for a reasonable price, and they will last you for several years.
- Software for photo editing
You’ll need access to an imaging editing tool as the final step in your product photography process. Fortunately, there are several free options available, including Adobe Photoshop, Pixlr, Canva, Fotor, Snapseed, and others.
- Table for shooting.
To display your products during a photoshoot, you’ll need a stable and sturdy surface. This can be a table, a chair, or a shooting table sweep if desired, which is used by professional product photographers.
- Lighting for the studio.
Unless your photo studio gets a lot of natural light, you’ll need to invest in some decent studio lights, preferably two softbox light setups. To achieve the desired results, these will help diffuse harsh lighting and adjust for shadows.
- Grip for Mobile
If you’re using a camera, it probably already has a screwhole in the bottom that connects to the top of a tripod. If you’re shooting with an iPhone, you’ll need a mobile grip to grip the smartphone and screw it into your tripod.
Finishing Up
Despite using the above tools and tips, creating consistent, high-quality product photos does not happen overnight, so some trial and error can be expected to achieve the desired results. However, once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll be able to use your Ecommerce Photography Montreal to create not only beautiful product photos but also a visually compelling brand and a successful business.
Impression Photography offers expert service or assistance for those who find DIY product photography tedious or lack time. We are a Montreal-based team of skilled photographers who have completed various projects, including Amazon Product Photography, and work for other major platforms to ensure creative and authentic photographs, contributing to the success of businesses selling products.
