In this age dominated by social media and ubiquitous advertising, well-executed imagery has become a powerful marketing tool. With technological advancements making devices and other equipment more affordable, any type or size of business can produce professional-grade photos. Here is a guide to professional product photography.
What You’ll Need
Below are the essential equipment and elements you’ll need for a product shoot.
Camera
As alluded to earlier, you don’t need a flagship camera to capture professional-looking photos. As a matter of fact, most top-end smartphones come equipped with dynamic camera features that will more than do the job. They even come with built-in image editors to help bridge limitations.
Alternatively, retailers like Camera World UK offer secondhand cameras and other photography equipment if you’re looking to invest in a more affordable professional camera.
Lighting
Good use of lighting is crucial to producing impactful product photos. While you can use natural lighting, it doesn’t have the versatility of an independent light source. In addition, product shoots take time, making using natural lighting nearly impossible.
If you don’t have access to professional lighting, lamps, flashlights and other light sources, you can work with a bit of creativity. For example, if you need to adjust the harshness of glare and shadows, you can soften the light with white paper and other light materials. Another option to soften light is using reflective insulation foil.
Tripod
A tripod ensures image stability, leveling and consistency. If you don’t have access to one, there are plenty of affordable options online. Not every shot will require a tripod, but if you’ll be taking different types of images, it’s best to have one handy.
Backdrop
Professionals call it a sweep – a solid backdrop that removes distractions like lines between the table and the wall, blemishes and other elements that prevent a break in the image background. You can create a sweep from virtually anything – a sheet of fabric, illustration boards and rolls of paper. If you’re using a table for your product shots, you can attach the sweep to the wall or a chair that allows for photos with a solid background.
Alternatively, you can also fashion a lightbox from a regular cardboard box. Lightboxes allow for more concentrated light play, with diffusers encasing the product from the light sources outside the box.
Photo Editor
As mentioned earlier, your smartphone should have built-in photo editors that can implement minor tweaks to brightness, saturation and other photographic elements. Should you need a more sophisticated image editor, there are several editing software, such as Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom.
Things To Consider
After ensuring you have the essential equipment required for a product shoot, below are the things you need to consider.
Have A Plan
Being on a budget, you should go into the shoot with a clear-cut strategy. This avoids wasting time and helps control costs, particularly if you’ll employ models and production help. Your plan needs to include the following:
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Brand Identity: Images are a great way to communicate your brand identity to your target customers. What does your brand represent, and what emotions resonate with your target audience? Pondering these will help you identify the shots you’re aiming for, what colour schemes to use and what other elements can help you achieve your images’ overall vibe.
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Product Benefits: Depending on your products, you need to identify the crucial product elements and features you need to highlight in your shots. For example, if you’re selling clothing articles, it’s more effective if you have a model showing how the clothes fit. Watches need tight shots to display their details. Whatever your product is, consider what your customers value and conceptualise the best way to highlight these in your images.
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Image Purposes: Being on a budget means you need to repurpose the images and use them on different platforms. For example, while the primary purpose might be your product pages, you also need the photos to be versatile enough for social media use.
Having the above considerations set will allow you to course through the rest of the process more seamlessly.
Create A Shot List
A shot list contains all the individual images you’re looking to take. This includes comprehensive details on angles, composition, arrangement and other photographic elements. The considerations listed above will figure prominently in your shot list. For example, shots for product pages need to show detail and product benefits, while lifestyle shots reflect more of your brand identity. In addition, you need to indicate your intended use for each specific image. This gives the photographer a better idea of how to approach each shot.
Consider Videos
If there’s something more powerful than photos in today’s visually-inclined world, it’s videos. As such, it’s also best to shoot videos while you have the production staff on hand. Videos don’t need Apple-level cinematography and editing, as you can also use more unpolished videos for Reels and other social media content.
Final Words
When it comes to product photography, having the resources certainly helps. But with technological advancements becoming increasingly accessible, from equipment to editing software, creativity can trump technical limitations. If you have a vision and the commitment to see a product shoot through, you can achieve what you set out to do.
