According to stats from Google, product images help 50% of online shoppers decide what to buy.
When you shoot product photos, you aren’t just creating a beautiful image. You’re creating a shoppable image. Your final photos can be the determining factor in whether someone buys or doesn’t buy a product.
Therefore it’s very important to take photos of products in a way that makes them pop, shows the shopper what they need to see, and tells a story. The best product photography makes the product come alive and transforms it into something irresistible. But how do you achieve this? If you don’t know what you’re doing, your product photos can easily come out looking flat, bland, and unattractive.
Keep reading to discover how to take the best photos of your products.
Get Your Lighting Right
One of the first big tips for product photography is getting your lighting right. If you don’t have professional studio lighting, set up your shot in front of a large well-lit window. If the sun is coming directly through the window, place a diffuser or a thin white sheet in front of it to break up the light. To reflect sunlight back onto the shadowed side of the product you’re shooting, you can stand up a reflector or a white piece of card to face the window.
Include Different Types of Shots
When shooting product photos, make sure you get multiple types of shots. Including:
- Detailed shots that illustrate key features or elements
- Branded product shots that you can showcase on your social channels or website
- Lifestyle shots that portray the product being used in an aspirational setting
For detail shots, take photos on a simple background so that all emphasis is on the product. For easy branded shots, you can still take photos on a simple background but incorporate visual storytelling elements. Flat lays are great for these kinds of shots. Lifestyle shots take a little bit more preparation and involve more moving parts, such as models and interior or exterior backgrounds.
Adjust Your Focal Length to Create “Bokeh”
Another hot tip for creating stunning product photography shots is to adjust your focal length to create a “bokeh” effect. If you’re wondering “what is product photography bokeh?” it is the creation of a blurred background.
Not all product photos should have bokeh. However, there are some styles of shots where the best photos will have a sharp focus on the product with a soft blurred background. To achieve this, set your aperture to a fast rate (at least f/2.8) and increase your focal length.
If you don’t have a manual camera—or don’t feel like messing around with the settings, you can achieve this effect in Photoshop. To learn more, click to read how to blur a background in Photoshop for product photos.
Create Consistency
Last but not least try to create a sense of consistency and cohesion throughout your product photos. You can do this in the way you shoot, in the way you edit photos, in the way you style flat lays, etc. Consistency in product photography is very important for brand identity, so pay attention to the type of brand you are shooting for and use this as your North Star.
Did These Product Photography Tips Help?
These simple tips will help you to get started with product photography and create images that draw buyers in. Are you looking for more professional or lifestyle-related tips and hacks? Keep scrolling our blog for more informative content.
