How To Improve Your Product Photography

Plan Your Shoot

Planning is one of the most important parts of product photography, and the most easily forgotten. Without a plan it will take you longer to capture the images, and you may not capture everything you need. Having a thorough plan is one of the simplest ways you can improve your product photography.

During the planning process you’ll need to consider; where the images are going, what their purpose is, and how long they will be visible for.

Each social media platform has its own image specifications, as do most online selling websites. It’s important to consider what the dimensions of your final image will be before pressing the trigger. If you’re going to be using the images in a variety of places, you may need to photograph from a range of close and wide angles.

If the purpose of your images is to sell a particular aspect of a product, it’s important that you show that. However, if the purpose is to raise your brand awareness you may be looking to photograph a group of products together. Whatever your purpose is, having it clearly written out will help you stay focused during the session.

Some products sell quickly, without being restocked. If this is the case for some of your products, adding them to an image with well stocked products could send a mixed message to your customers – resulting in the loss of trust.

Photographing Your Products

After the planning process, you’ll need to find a suitable time and day to hold your product photography shoot. Always allow yourself an hour more than you think you’ll need. If you feel rushed, the images will suffer.

Be consistent in your lighting and backgrounds. It’s worth spending some time getting your lighting right. Decide whether you’re going to use studio/artificial light, or daylight. Make sure whatever set up you decide on, you’ll be able to recreate for your next product photography session.

When it’s perfect, you can swap out your products easily without having to change anything. Using a tripod is a good way to ensure your camera stays in exactly the same place for each product and angle.

If you’re new to product photography, keep your session simple. Choose a plain backdrop, and don’t use too many props. Making the image busy will take the focus away from your product. If you do choose to use props, make sure they’re in keeping with your brand, or brand colours.

Remember, variety is your friend. In the world of digital photography it’s possible to capture hundreds of photographs all within a few minutes. While we don’t recommend quite that many, having 3-4 shots of each product will give you a lot of options later on. Capturing the product from different angles, in its packaging and with other items from the same product range will also increase the options you have when choosing images for social media or your online shop.

Finally, we always suggest keeping every image until your final edits are complete and backed up. An image that doesn’t look good on your camera may come into a whole new lease of life when uploaded to your computer.

At Fat Cats Photography we create beautiful product images to help you tell your brand story. We help to support and grow businesses – and profits – by making your products look their best. If you have any questions we’d love to hear from you. Just get in touch.