此文是天津包裝設計公司關于設計公司如果推廣和營銷企業的分享，天津包裝設計公司旨在想讓更多的設計公司提高設計業務能力！

注：配圖為UCI設計公司作品

天津包裝設計公司轉發原文直譯：

你知道嗎，人們能記住80%他們看到的東西，而只能記住20%他們讀到的東西。形象的力量是不容忽視的，如果你沒有在你的電子商務網站上展示你的產品的優秀圖片，你可能會錯過一些重要的銷售機會。

事實是，你的東西看起來越好，賣得就越多。那么，你為什么不更認真地對待攝影呢？

問題是，為你的電子商務業務創作高質量的內容，尤其是產品照片，并不像在公園散步那么簡單。對于許多擁有優秀產品和創意但不知道如何設計和展示它們的企業來說，將優秀的攝影和視覺品牌整合在一起是很困難的。

如果你在尋求幫助，我可以從我十年的攝影和設計經驗中給你一些驚人的視覺品牌和產品攝影建議！如果你的產品照片沒有達到你想要的效果，本指南將幫助你了解如何拍攝讓顧客點擊購買的照片，包括照明、拍攝、編輯等方面的技巧。

無論你是在廚房里用智能手機抓拍照片，還是用各種花哨的東西拍攝照片，你都可以學到推廣業務所需的技能！在這篇文章中，你將學到你需要的一切來創造高質量的產品攝影，在你知道它之前…哦，太棒了！你會成為職業選手的！我們來看看吧！

為什么產品攝影很重要

你的產品的感知價值和品牌的可信度通常是根據你的視覺內容的質量來判斷的。這意味著擁有高質量、美麗的產品攝影可以大大有助于推動你的業務銷售。

想想你上一次在網上購物，偶然看到一張不好的產品照片。

也許圖像很暗或者沒有對準焦點。也許你不知道產品實際上有多大，或者你不確定它實際上是什么顏色。也許照片上的東西太多了，以至于你不知道實際上賣的是什么東西。

很有可能，你沒買那件東西。

不像在精品店或百貨商店購物，當你在網上瀏覽時，你不能拿起產品。摸不到，拿在手里或者用手指感受不到質感。你所擁有的只是作為你購買決定基礎的照片。

作為購物者，這可能會讓人害怕，所以你的工作就是用精彩的照片和描述讓他們放松。

然而，不是每個人都能負擔得起專業攝影工作室、模特和設備——尤其是當他們剛剛起步的時候DIY。產品攝影提供了一個很好的選擇，只要你知道合適的工具和技術，拍攝引人注目的產品照片是輕而易舉的。

產品照片的類型

在說具體種類的產品照片之前，先說一下產品攝影的基本功能。

如上所述，為了進行購買，顧客希望對他們購買的東西有信心。展示產品方方面面的產品照片有助于購物者做出自信、明智的購買決定。以下是一張優秀的產品照片可以完成的幾件事：

它吸引眼球，讓他們想購買或點擊你的產品

它清晰明了，傳達了產品的重要信息

它有代表你的品牌的目的、情感聯系和風格化

這有助于他們想象在個人生活中擁有和/或使用該產品會是什么樣子。

不同的照片風格可以傳達各種不同的產品信息。通過在你的電子商務店面中混合和搭配以下照片類型，你會讓購物者對你的產品有一個全面的了解…這意味著更多的銷售！

1.工作室

工作室拍攝是你的電子商務產品攝影的"肉"。這些是你的產品在普通背景上的照片，有充足的光線來突出顯示，讓你的顧客能很容易地看到你的產品。

攝影棚拍攝是向潛在顧客展示你所賣東西的一種明亮、干凈和簡單的方式。清晰、明亮和簡潔才是真正吸引顧客的地方，尤其是當他們在看縮略圖的時候。

白色或純色背景有助于突出產品的質感、深度和細節。然而，你的背景不必總是灰色和白色，關鍵是簡單100 .人類學e一貫涉獵色彩和簡單的背景來展示他們的服裝和產品。

將上面的照片（在攝影棚照明下拍攝的)與下面的照片進行比較。在下面的圖片中，這個想法很好，但是產品在背景中消失了。綠色耳環在綠葉的映襯下很難看到，明亮的背景會將你的視線從產品上移開。

同樣地，紙杯蛋糕衫也迷失在干草、青草和南瓜的紋理中。最重要的是，襯衫折疊的方式，很難說出這是什么產品。是毛巾嗎？毛巾？一件襯衫？

像這些糟糕的例子一樣，通常有一些簡單的工作室照片來展示你的產品本身是很好的，這樣客戶就可以"看到"它。清晰的照片有助于對顧客將收到的郵件設定一個現實的預期。像這樣的照片將大大減少你的回報和交流，因為你對你的客戶很清楚。

接下來，如果你想嘗試有趣的背景和造型，讓我們來學習生活照片。

2.生活方式

生活方式照片有助于激發顧客購買，讓他們覺得他們"需要"在自己的個人生活中擁有該產品。我稱之為產品攝影的"史蒂夫歐文",因為你是在產品的自然棲息地展示你的產品——它們的使用/外觀。

這種靈感風格的照片是拼趣等社交平臺如此成功的原因。你用一種視覺上吸引人的方式來擺放產品，以幫助顧客從你的商店購買。對于生活照來說，精心設計你的造型是很重要的——我們將在后面的章節中討論。

以下是一些企業可以與其他產品攝影圖片搭配的生活方式照片的例子。

因此，當我們看這些例子時，很容易想象在未來的假期、即將到來的季節或特定日期穿著這些服裝、健身手表或配飾會是什么樣子。

配套的比薩餅襯衫可以啟發一位母親為她和她的女兒買一件襯衫，在即將到來的派對上穿。一個懷孕的母親會毫不費力地想象自己穿著這件嬰兒撞衫。任何未來的新娘都很容易想象自己穿著這件"夫人"泳衣去度蜜月！

如果造型對你來說很難，你可以采取更簡單的方式來拍攝生活產品。簡單的定義可以是，你有一件模特穿過或使用的產品。這至少有助于顧客看到產品是如何穿戴的，它們是如何合身的，它們是如何適合人體的，等等。取決于你賣的是什么，簡單實際上可以更好！

生活方式照片有助于潛在顧客想象產品在他們自己生活中的樣子。一旦他們想象自己穿著或使用你的產品，就很難對購買說"不"。

如果你想在銷售帶有生活方式照片的產品時走得更遠，試著將物品配對以鼓勵更多的購買。

這里有一個簡單的例子：

這種方法可以幫助那些不擅長搭配衣服的人看到你的衣服、包包和耳環是如何完美搭配的。這樣，他們可能會購買你照片中的所有產品，而不是單獨購買產品，這樣他們就可以獲得你照片中看到的相同"外觀"。

不幸的是，上面的莫德布沒有在同一個頁面上一起展示他們的物品，以便于團購，但你可以設計你的電子商務網站，在你的生活方式產品攝影中展示穿著的物品！

3.比例細節

這將是一個更有幫助的產品攝影類型，你會把它放在你的電子商務網站上。產品的比例照片是一種視覺傳達產品尺寸的照片。

因為顧客不能像在實體店那樣拿起并看到你的商品，所以像這樣的照片可以讓顧客放心，產品會是他們所期望的。這同樣有助于退貨和換貨，從而幫你省錢！

例如，上面，凱特斯派德有這些古怪的火烈鳥耳環。看著工作室的照片，它們是蓬松的粉紅色絨毛球，可能會占據你的臉。光看影樓照片并不能幫助顧客想象產品的尺寸和"佩戴“，凱特分享了一張比例照片，讓潛在顧客了解這些耳環戴在人身上的實際樣子。

在您的產品照片中顯示比例有助于讓您的客戶放松。這個花瓶能裝一朵花還是一整束花？戒指上鑲嵌的寶石是否完全征服了手？如果顧客不得不質疑產品的尺寸、形狀或磨損程度，他們就不太可能購買。

現在，并不是每個產品都需要一張展示各個方面和維度的照片。細節照片是突出產品特征的特寫照片。

例如，這個EtnoDesignottoman pouf展示了偉大的生活方式產品攝影、比例和細節。

該公司將厚圓椅墊放置在家庭環境中，同時通過將厚圓椅墊放置在壁爐、小椅子和沙發附近，為觀眾提供了一種生活方式的感覺，并顯示了有意義的尺度。

EtnoDesign通過展示面料的近距離產品照片，進一步向顧客保證產品質量。在這張照片中，顧客可以很快看出厚圓椅墊被一種編織的、高質量的針織品所覆蓋，而不僅僅是印花圖案。這可以幫助他們合理化和理解上市價格，因為這是一個更高質量的產品。這就是分享細節和規模如此重要的原因！

4.組

集體照很簡單。你所要做的就是把一些產品組合在一起。

團體照特別適合記錄多件出售的產品，如定制襯衫、炊具、碗或銀器等。您還可以使用集團產品攝影來展示您提供購買的不同顏色、飾面或材料的變化。

在上面的照片中，RAVAREdesign展示了他們所有堆疊的蘋果手機外殼，然后從不同角度展示了每種顏色變化的單獨工作室照片。像這樣，你也可以創建分組照片，在一張照片中分享大量信息！

額外獎勵：真實性質量保證

人們渴望"幕后"和"過程"的產品攝影和內容。我們生活在一個人們質疑很多的世界，所以通過你的產品攝影來創造一種真實感總是一個好主意。

一張真實的照片可以真正強調一件特定物品的工藝水平，并分享公司在創造物品時所采取的質量。這些類型的照片對于在社交媒體上推廣你的業務也很方便。

這方面的一個例子是杰西，她畫手工家居裝飾。

她在她的網站和社交媒體頁面上做得很好，分享了高質量、風格化和獨特的產品攝影，真正觸及到了她的觀眾。她所有的照片都讓你感受到她用畫筆"手工制作"的品質，她沾滿顏料的雙手和她對細節的關注。

如果我是一個尋找可愛的手繪壁畫的顧客，我肯定會相信她的專業知識，因為她的照片讓我放松！

另一個利用產品攝影來產生"真實性"感的例子是一個用愛手鐲照片制作的項目。除了他們的規模和工作室圖片之外，用愛制造的項目分享他們的產品的情感真實的照片。

分享與這些手鐲相關的社區有助于激發顧客購買和支持這些人的欲望。通過查看產品來自哪里，客戶可能會有更強烈的欲望從你這里購買，而不是從中國得到一個便宜的手鐲…人們想知道他們的產品來自哪里！

您也可以通過分享過程照片、幕后圖像以及在您的網站上用其他內容補充這些照片，來為您的客戶創造一種真實感。

總的來說，結合幾種照片類型是利用產品攝影贏得潛在客戶的最佳方式之一。高質量的產品攝影推動銷售，所以你需要確保盡可能多地利用機會展示你的產品！

選擇您的相機和設備

現在你已經了解了產品攝影類型，讓我們來談談如何拍攝它們，并深入了解相機的細節和技巧！

不確定用什么器材拍出最好的照片？沒關系。在這一部分，我們將介紹你應該知道的關于相機和其他配件的所有基本知識，這些都有助于提升你的產品照片。

即使你買不起高端相機，你仍然可以拍攝出漂亮、高質量和一致的產品照片，這將大大增加你的電子商務業務。讓我們來看看你將會看到的相機類型，以及你可以添加到相機裝備中的許多很酷的東西！

數碼相機

在科技商店你會看到幾種選擇：緊湊型、無反光鏡和DSLR .它們都有各自的優缺點，但最終我發現這都歸結于用戶偏好、可用性、質量控制、創造力和價格點。

小型的，緊湊的

緊湊型相機或更廣為人知的"傻瓜相機"有很多不同的選擇，從全自動到有限的手動。

緊湊型相機比高端相機（如單反相機和無反光鏡相機)更受歡迎，因此對于預算緊張的電子商務企業主來說，這是一個很好的選擇。

與智能手機相機相比，緊湊型相機便攜且易于使用，具有更多自動模式和內置設置（稱為"預設")。學習起來會有些困難，因為許多預設會讓你無法進行相機計算，但小型相機是初學者在購買更昂貴的相機之前熟悉相機并進行練習的好方法。

具有至少1000萬像素和微距設置的緊湊型相機是捕捉具有基本深度的高質量詳細圖像的好方法。這些照片可以下載到基本的照片編輯器或相機自帶的相機橋程序中。

緊湊型相機的唯一缺點是，你的手動設置和照片操作選項非常有限。即使相機的能力受到你的光圈的限制（模糊背景照片處理，我們將在本文后面討論),你仍然可以用小型相機拍攝一些像樣的產品照片。

說實話，緊湊型相機上的閃光燈是緊湊型相機唯一真正糟糕的功能，因為它們離鏡頭太近了。這可能會嚴重影響您的圖像質量。當閃光燈在鏡頭旁邊時，它平行于鏡頭向前照射光線，這使得白光洗出出現在你的照片中。

幸運的是，正如街炮在這張照片中看到的那樣，擴散閃光燈光源確實可以軟化出現在您產品上的閃光燈。

擴散你的閃光燈減少了刺目的光線和產品攝影沖洗。正如下面這些照片和視頻教程所示，有很多方法可以柔化你的緊湊型相機閃光燈：

請記住，在照片編輯應用程序中修復曝光不足比修復曝光過度更容易——你很少能修復曝光過度——所以寧可選擇曝光不足。相信我！

緊湊型相機我建議：

松下TZ100/SZ100

佳能PowerShot G7 X馬克2號

富士X100F

松下LX100

索尼RX10 III

徠卡Q

雖然緊湊型相機有很多預設，自動操作，并且價格合理，但它們確實有很多限制，真正限制了你的產品攝影能力，所以讓我們來看看下一步：無反光鏡相機。

無鏡子的

像緊湊型相機一樣，無反光鏡相機不使用鏡子來捕捉圖像，實際上允許光傳播并直接擊中圖像傳感器。然后圖像出現在后屏幕或電子取景器上(EVF).

因為這些相機不需要棱鏡或鏡子來工作，所以這款相機體積小，重量輕。這款相機是緊湊型相機的升級版，原因是它們比帶鏡頭選項的緊湊型相機（類似于DSLR)擁有更多的手動功能。

對于初學者來說，這些相機沒有DSLR相機那么復雜，所以如果你正在尋找一個好的"中間選擇",無反光鏡相機可能適合你！

我建議使用無反光鏡相機：

富士膠片X-A5

松下Lumix DMC-GX85

索尼阿爾法a5100

佳能EOS M100

富士十. M1

奧林巴斯E-PL7

松下GF7

三星NX3000

現在，讓我們轉到最佳選擇，也就是攝影之王，單反相機。

DSLR

數碼單鏡頭反光(DSLR)相機具有可互換鏡頭和最大手動設置功能。我的意思是，圣丹斯電影節的一些電影獲獎者就是用這些相機拍攝的！印象相當深刻！

用DSLR相機拍照時，光線穿過鏡頭到達鏡子，鏡子將圖像反射到取景器中，這樣你就可以預覽照片了。當你按下按鈕拍照時，鏡子向上翻轉，快門打開，光線照射到傳感器上，捕捉圖像。

很酷吧。

數碼單反需要很長的學習時間，尤其是當你將設置從自動改為手動時。你需要花時間學習攝影的科學和數學。

相機鏡頭和配件的手動控制和選項非常大，可以在許多不同的情況下輕松使用這些相機，包括在弱光下。與緊湊型或無反光鏡相機相比，這些相機的圖像傳感器更大，可以吸收更多的光，并允許更高的像素密度，通常可以產生更清晰、更高質量的圖像。

你買一個DSLR機身，然后添加不同的鏡頭，這也將為你的相機機身帶來新的功能。鏡片才是真正的投資。

DSLR的缺點是，鏡頭和建立你的相機"家庭"是昂貴的。數碼單反相機可能會變得相當昂貴，你將需要致力于DSLR制造商，因為這是真正的投資和配件是不可互換的。我建議關注的兩個主要DSLR制造商是佳能和尼康，他們是DSLR相機界充滿活力的雙雄"國王"。

現在是DSLR相機最大的爭論：我選擇哪一個？

很多人問我他們應該投資哪種DSLR模式，老實說，我的第一條建議是關注你的個人偏好！去店里拿兩個型號，佳能和尼康，看看哪個手感更好，更人性化。

兩者都是很棒的選擇，但最大的決定因素之一是你覺得什么最舒服。不要一開始就看規格，拿幾個相機就好了。每個品牌都有自己的風格

engths and weaknesses, but they are both fantastic options. Just know that once you pick one or the other it’s an investment moving forward.

Also, keep in mind if you’re buying your first DSLR, it may make sense to buy it as a kit, which generally includes the camera body along with an 18-55mm lens. Often referred to as a ‘kit’ lens, this covers a pretty broad zoom range, perfect for almost every photo setting you will find yourself in!

From there, you can build your lens “family” to get the effects and capabilities that you want.

Canon

Canon EOS Rebel T7i / Canon EOS 800D Canon EOS Rebel T6i / Canon EOS 750D Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / Canon EOS 200D Canon EOS Rebel T5i / Canon EOS 700D Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS 6D Mark II Canon EOS 80D

Nikon

Nikon D3300 Nikon D5600 Nikon D3400 Nikon D500 Nikon D7500 Nikon D850 Nikon D5

If you want something a bit different, look at Sony cameras or Olympus, particularly the?Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III.

Can You Shoot with an iPhone?

People ask my opinion on iPhone photography and all I can say is, it has come a long way! iPhones have a lot of quality photography components that can make your product photography pretty dang amazing.

I mean look at this photo comparison of a Nikon & IPhone shooting this dress shoe:

If the two photos weren’t labeled, you probably would have thought they came from the same place, eh? So, if you are on a tight budget, on the go or wondering if iPhone product photography is here to stay, let’s take a look at some of these points and tips for successful iPhone photography.

To start, Holly Castro created an awesome tutorial on some of the things I will discuss below:

As seen in her video, a lot of the same principles of studio photography you use with real cameras will apply. Make sure you are focusing on proper lighting, backgrounds and a lot of the same principles and your iphone camera will do the rest.

Some of the features you will want to dabble with include:

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Camera Specs The iPhone 8 has a single 12-megapixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture. The iPhone 8 Plus has dual 12-megapixel cameras. The wide angle will have an aperture of f/1.8, while the telephoto will have f/2.8. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus both have optical image stabilization, or OIS, which helps reduce motion blur due to camera shake. The iPhone 8 Plus has a feature called “Portrait Lighting,” which is designed to digitally simulate various lighting conditions for portraiture work. It also allows for strong aperture to be used in portrait mode which will give depth to your photos. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus can both shoot 4K video at up to 60 FPS, and slow-motion video at up to 1080p and 240 FPS. iPhone X Camera Specs The iPhone X has nearly the same camera specs as the iPhone 8 Plus, with a dual 12-megapixel setup, f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures. Note the iPhone X’s telephoto lens opens a bit wider than that of the iPhone 8 Plus. The iPhone X has dual optical image stabilization, resulting in even less motion blur. The iPhone X enables Portrait Mode with selfies, allowing for a blur effect that improves self-portraits. The iPhone X’s 5.8-inch “Super Retina” OLED display should serve as a bigger and more vibrant viewfinder and frame for your photos and videos.

Your iPhone camera modes will typically be:

Grid:?This allows the rule of thirds to come to life as a grid system appears on your iphone camera live screen to help you position items creatively. Live Exposure: This allows you to read your camera’s auto exposure settings as the camera adjusts it. It is good to take note of your exposure settings just in case you need to change them later. HDR Quality: It is very important that you set your image quality to High so that your smartphone can help you create the best images possible. Lighting: If you have a newer iPhone, there are tons of lighting options to choose from in portrait mode including: natural light, studio light, contour light, stage and stage light mono. How to Creatively Use Your iPhone

If you still arent sold on using your iPhone for your product photography there are fun stories like?Street artist?and photographer?Philippe Echaroux? who used his Iphone, a flashlight, plastic straw and a Big Mac Box to create luxury lighting for his photo project.

The results were incredible. So, since this kickstarts the discussion, here are a few ways you can hack at making quality product photography using your Iphone.

Use Panoramic Creatively

A lot of the time people only use panoramic from side to side but you can also use it going vertically. Start with the arrow pointing downward and snap a shot vertically with all the elements you want not getting cut off!

Use Burst

If you want to take a series of photos in quick succession, just hold down on the shutter and it’ll rapidly take one photo after another until you let go

Use Focus

To make sure your pics are actually properly sharp and focused, just tap whatever part of the screen is your main subject. Also handy if you want to take some up-close pics close to the lens with a blurry background.

Use the Grid System

Go to Settings and scroll down to Photos & Camera and turn on ‘Grid’. That way, you can line up your shot properly. We’ll get into the specifics of how to make the most of this grid in a bit.

Creative Texture and Lighting

Lighting created with the iPhone light can be really interesting. The video below used sequins, disco balls and other textures to add an effect to their iPhone photos.

Accessories and Editing Tools

Like cameras, the iPhone also comes with multiple lens, accessory and editing software options!

Believe it or not, you can use external lenses with your smartphone and having them on hand is a good idea to make it through tough lighting and focusing situations. Macro lenses are particularly important when it comes to iPhone product photography, Apple’s camera settings have very low zoom capabilities.

Here are a few great lenses that can be used on smartphones:

$20-$100 Photojojo iPhone & Android lenses $70 Olloclip iPhone 4-in-1 Lens $10-$80 Moment iPhone & Android lenses

If you are looking for other accessories like editing software or external lights take a look at these items:

$2 iPhone Camera+ Free Adobe Photoshop Express? $9 Photoshop Touch GLOWME 2.0 LED Ring Light Joby GorillaPod 1K Kit Square Jellyfish Metal Spring Tripod Mount

Obviously, you’ll get the best results from using a DSLR camera, but whether you go with an iPhone, a compact camera, a mirrorless camera or a DSLR, there are ways to get decent results. All you need is the right accessories and techniques!

Camera Accessories

There are a lot of fun accessories you can make at home or purchase for your camera! Let’s take a look at some of the camera accessories you can use for successful product photography.

Lenses

Lenses will be the main thing you will want to invest in once you purchase a mirrorless or DSLR camera. ?Honestly, the lens is the camera’s most important component because the lens determines the quality of the image.

Camera lenses can help you get a crisp, close-up shot of your product. There are a few basic lenses you should know:

Standard: A standard lens is one with a mid-range focal length, typically around 50mm. They have an angle of view which is roughly the same as the angle that the human eye can comfortably view. Macro:?A macro lens is one designed especially for close-up photography. Telephoto:?A telephoto lens has a long focal length and provides a high level of magnification, allowing you to photograph subjects at a moderate to far distance. They tend to be bigger and heavier than other types of lens, so depending on which one you get, it might be a lifting exercise while you use it! Wide Angle:?A wide angle lens is one with a short focal length. They provide an angle of view beyond that of a standard lens, allowing them to capture more of the scene in a single shot. An extreme example of this would be fisheye lenses.

BONUS: Often, if you see a lens you see a bunch of random numbers and letters on the top rim of the lens. To the new photographer, this might be some photo mumbo jumbo but here’s what they mean and what they are good for:

ken0@166.com

I would also suggest renting certain lenses so you can test out which ones you would like to invest in. Lenses are expensive but they are the key to getting the photography results you want—especially when it comes to depth of field and lighting abilities—so they are worth it.

Test out, try out and you will know which ones are best for your product photography needs.

Tripods & Monopods

Do you struggle with keeping a steady hand? There are breathing techniques for that as you take a photo, but to make your life easier, purchase a tripod or monopod!

Tripods and monopods ensure capturing a steady shot and they are usable for all camera types! Tripods have three extendable legs that can be adjusted for your needs. Monopods are basically a stabilization stick that you attach to your camera bottom. I enjoy monopods as they allow more movement from the photographer but tripods give more stability for the camera.

Moose Winanas makes a great video explaining tripods and which one you should take a look at!

Tripods and monopods make studio product photography a breeze as all you need to do is set up the products and then click without worrying about blurry images or movement on your part as the photographer.

BONUS ACCESSORY: Photography Harness

I love love, love my camera harness. Whether you have one camera or two, wearing a harness makes photography much easier and takes the pressure off your shoulders and neck. Harnesses come in single or double based off of your needs.

When I shot weddings, in the beginner years, I was constantly switching my camera bodies out of my camera bag. Wearing a harness let me wear both cameras, on my body, so I could easily hold and switch uses. Like me, this will be a game changer for you photographing your lifestyle or studio product photography!

Getting to Know Your Camera: Camera Basics

First of all, I always tell people, no amount of reading tips or tricks will make you a better photographer, but practice and experimenting will. I never had professional training with photography but I went out and taught myself the basics and built my skills from year to year as I practiced, worked and improved my skills through reading, asking questions and getting out there!

If you feel discouraged because your photos do not look like the beautiful catalog photos of your competition, chin up, buttercup!

To prove that, below is an example of how much you can improve with practice!

This was my first fashion shoot in college where I bought my first DSLR Sony camera, starting from a not so great place. Compare that to my recent shoots photographing for boutiques, fashion companies, social influencers and other small businesses now:

BEFORE

NOW

Like me, you too can develop your product photography skills!

Understanding how your camera works will help you get the best shot of your product. While you may not use all these settings and modes if you’re using a point-and-shoot camera or a smartphone, understanding the basic principals of photography will help you take better photos. Let’s take a look!

The Photo Exposure Triangle

Don’t worry, this isn’t a geometry lesson. I hate math as much as you do! Ha!

The photo exposure triangle is a simple way to explain the exposure calculations of a photograph: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. All of these need to be in proper balance to achieve the look you would like. These exposure elements not only affect exposure, but also control the overall look of the image. You will need to master these three things well to truly understand how to make a quality product photo.

1. Aperture

The aperture is the opening of your camera where the light reaches your camera’s image sensor. The bigger or wider the aperture, the more light comes into your camera.

Aperture is measured by ?F/#, better known as F stops. Numerically, the smaller the F/#, the larger the opening you are creating for light to come in is. But, the larger the aperture, the smaller depth of field you will see.

Here are some helpful illustrations and photo examples for you to see:

As you see in the flower photo, the smaller the number of F stop the more light and blur—aka depth of field—you will have in your photo.

BONUS TIP: I find when photographing people, you do not want the aperture higher or lower than the number of people in the photo. You will quickly find that the “blurriness” will affect the focus on the people, so make sure that the number is in balance.

Shutter Speed

Shutter deals with time. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second and it describes the speed/length of time the shutter of your camera is open while you take a picture. When you shoot, it’s usually the click noise your camera makes when you click the camera taking button.

Short or fast shutter speed (like 1/1000 of a second) allow less time for light to pass through your lens, whereas longer shutter speed (like 1/250 of a second) creates a longer exposure, hich may be useful in low light situations.

Be aware that using a longer shutter speed, while it allows more light into your camera, it also lets terrible blurring happen! Since your camera is staying open longer, it needs more stability from you to secure the light well. So, when expecting low light situations that require longer shutter speeds, make sure you are stabilizing yourself well or use a tripod.

The cool thing about shutter speed is that it really manipulates your photo to have?more sharpness, blur or make it as manipulated as you intend! In this photo, you see that a slower shutter speed blurs objects in motion and faster shutter speeds allow for crisp snapshots.

Shutter speed is popular with nature photographers manipulating waterfalls and other moving objects in nature. This is not something you really need to worry about with studio product photography, but you might need to understand this when it comes to shooting models in Lifestyle shots.

ISO

ISO determines the light sensitivity of your camera. A low ISO means your camera is less sensitive to light, requiring more light for a decent exposure. A high ISO makes your camera more sensitive to light. ISO also affects the level of “grain” you will have in your photos which means it has more or less texture.

ISOs for digital cameras typically range from 200 to 1600. When shooting outdoors in the full sun, use a low ISO. When shooting indoors with less light set your ISO higher to capture more light.

Camera Modes

Depending on the tpye of camera you have, there will be camera modes to learn. Below are some of the basic camera modes you will encounter and as you get more advanced camera modes will control exposure.

Manual mode is a beast, so if you are a beginner, I suggest you start with automated and build up to more manual modes as you become more confident with your camera. Refer to your camera manual to determine how modes are labeled if needs be.

Fully automated or automatic: Your camera makes all the decisions, determining the best exposure. This is also a mode where you might see your instant flash pop up to make up for darkness based off of this mode’s calculations. Program: Your camera selects the shutter and aperture, but allows you to set the ISO, white balance, and choose whether you want to use the flash. Shutter priority: Allows you to select the shutter speed while your camera calculates the rest. Aperture priority: Allows you to set the aperture while your camera calculates the rest. Manual: Gives you full control to adjust to your particular subject and lighting conditions. This is more advanced and will really require you to practice and experience it to fully understand. Macro mode: This mode creates a detailed blurred background and in-focus foreground objects. This mode is ideal for photographing small objects and doing detail product photography shots. Portrait:?Uses a mid-range aperture to highlight a close object in front of a blurry background. Landscape:?Uses a small aperture to yield a deep depth of field. This mode captures far and close objects well. Action/kids: Your camera’s highest ISO and fastest shutter speed captures movement. Night-time: A slow shutter speed and high ISO allows more light in. Burst: Allows you to capture several shots in quick succession with one click of a button. White balance: This setting determines the color balance or temperature in your photos making photos seem more warm with orange/yellow tones or cool with blue/green tones.

There are tons of online articles that you can refer to if trying to understand any of these modes more. Take the time to explore, study and understand these modes because these are the ingredients to a photo’s look!

Understanding Lighting and Backgrounds

On top of understanding your camera modes and basics, you will need to understand the use of lighting and backgrounds, especially when it comes to product photography!

Lighting tools

Good lighting brings your products to life and shows your products in the best light…no pun intended! Lighting is powerful, so take the time to experiment and learn.

Luke Ayers shares a great way to understanding lighting basics and setting up a cheap product photography studio:

Like him, you can learn the best ways to photograph your products on any budget. We will talk more about those tips below, but lets first learn some of the basics, particularly the lighting accessories you will bump into:

Bounce and Reflectors: You can use a bounce card or a reflector to reflect light onto your product. Easy DIY bounce cards can be made from white poster board or a piece of index paper. Weirdly enough, wearing white clothes can also reflect light to your subject.

Softbox: Particularly helpful for lighting larger items and humans, a set of three softbox lights (artificial lights that are diffused by a sheer fabric box) can illuminate your products from the sides and above, which reduces harsh shadows.

Light Box and Tents: For smaller items, a light box (with solid walls) or light tent (with fabric walls) can streamline your process with a consistent backdrop and light source. You can easily create DIY lightboxes and tents at home with fabric and cardboard boxes—compliments of YouTube.

External Light Flash: The small built-in flashes on digital cameras cause harsh shadows and hot spots. An external flash or Speedlight paired with a DSLR or mirrorless camera can help solve this. These attachable light flashes can be bent in different directions to bounce light off of walls and other places which helps to better diffuse camera flash.

Flash Diffusers: A flash diffuser disperses light from the flash, making it less harsh and removing deep shadows. These can be plastic caps, cyclones or could possible be small softbox attachments to the top of your camera. Some of them can also be colored to cancel out indoor light coloring from artificial lighting.

There are also different types of lights you will need to understand as well: fill, main, background and—when necessary—backlight.

Main light is the main light source, typically off-axis from the camera, which is pointed directly at the product (or person). The fill light is a secondary, often lower-intensity light (light placed farther away) on the opposite side of the camera from the key light. Back light is a light placed behind (or behind and above) the subject, to better define the subject from the background.

A photographer might even add a background light, pointed at the backdrop, to draw (shape) light or texture on the background in order to make the subject stand out better, if the background is a part of the desired results.

Light placement is a critical decision a photographer makes after setting up the scene/background.

This is the area of product photography where you have to do hours of trial and error before you can truly master it. So, for those just starting, have patience as you figure out what lighting works best for your product photography needs. If you need some more direction, there are tons of YouTube tutorials that will teach you on all different skill and budget levels!

Don’t have lighting equipment? Sunlight makes for beautiful photos, with a few tricks:

Diffuse the light:?To avoid harsh shadows, use indirect sunlight. If you’re shooting outdoors, wait for a cloudy day. Harsh sunlight can create unwanted shadows (if you are shooting lifestyle photos outside, the best time to shoot is when the sun is coming up and going down as the sun is softer and not as harsh).

When taking photographs indoors using natural light, try positioning your products a few feet from a window, and aim for a time of day when there is a lot of light. If you need to diffuse harsh light, take a white bedsheet to the window and use that to create a softer light.

My only request is, please do not mix natural light and artificial light! The color tones of the lighting will get too messed up. Promise me!

Seamless backdrops

Backgrounds really take you to the next level when it comes to product photography. Lifestyle allows you to be creative with your backgrounds, but studio shots really require simplicity.

My biggest suggestion is purchasing or creating a “sweep” which is a backdrop that is usually a long sheet of paper or wrinkle-free fabric that flows from the wall down to the floor, in a crease-free curve. Fstoppers show what a sweep is clearly in this photo of a cupcake below:

Because there are no wrinkles, wall cracks or textures, the seamless background creates a continuous background that helps products pop. Again, you do not want anything taking away from your products, so using a sweep really makes a difference in quality photography. Fstoppers shows the difference again here:

Although the wall crack isn’t the biggest problem in the world, using a sweep really took the left photo up a notch by getting rid of any distractions that might take your eyes off the product and in this case, the cupcake.

Paper does not require a lot of extra accessories but if you go the cloth route you might need clamps or clips to stretch and tighten fabric as needed.

White is not the only background you can use! Sweeps and backgrounds come in many colors, patterns and texture, but again, you want backgrounds to compliment the products not distract from the products. As you see with this chocolate cupcake, the slight textured brown sweep compliments it quite nicely.

Play around with textures, backgrounds and color! Do not be afraid to do something different, but always remember, less is more.

How to Style and Shoot Your Products

Alrighty…do I still have you attention? Thanks for staying tuned in!

We have covered a lot of camera and photography logistics, but I now want to share with you tips on styling and shooting your products successfully. For many, this is the main struggle: How do I make my products look appealing, hip and cool?

If this is you, do not worry and keep reading. These tips will help you plan and execute a successful product photography shoot as well as helpig you develop a creative mindset you can keep with you moving forward!

Things To Consider Before a Photography Shoot

Whether you’re an experienced photographer looking to streamline your process or a beginner just getting started, the tips here will help you get more from your photos. Follow these best practices to plan a successful shoot.

Shot List: Before you begin, think about what you want to highlight about your products and the best way you can do that. Refer back to the photography shots we talked about and make a list of the shots you’d like to capture in your shoot. This will help you plan the order of your shots and determine which specific equipment you will need for your shoot. No one likes to constantly be switching lenses back and forth, so save yourself some time and plan ahead. Inspiration: Do you research and think about style/purpose! Look in Pinterest, your competition’s sites and see what photos are getting a lot of likes! They are doing something right, so look for the elements the photo has and replicate it—just do it better! Inspiration is never a bad thing and I frequently browse the internet to see what others have done to spruce up my creative juices! Look for items your inspiration pairs with like-products and style as needed. Options! Options! Options! Photo shoots are time consuming and labor intensive, but you can save time and create consistency by photographing multiple items at once. Also, make sure you take lots of photos of objects so you have more photos to work with. Early on, I lear