Product Photography at home: Tips and Tricks
Products are one of the most valuable assets of every brand. Visual photography should be good as it becomes the foundation of the judgment of competitors and purchasers.
With the use of proper tools, good lighting, and effective techniques the DIY photo shoot will produce the finest output.
Product Photography Tips and Tricks at Home
What you are going to need:
- A camera
- A tripod (if available)
- Plain backdrop
- Props
Camera
As a beginner, you will not need a high-end DSLR camera such as a full-frame camera system. You can try shooting with basic cameras for beginners, and a perfect prime lens when shooting.
However, when you are out of budget, DSLR cameras are unnecessary, because your mobile phone can be a great alternative to product photography.
You do not have to worry about the raw color of the images, you can adjust it through any editing application. Make sure the image is properly exposed and properly styled.
Tripod
In a low light, you have to set the aperture and shutter speed in your camera manually, because it needs a better lighting. This happens especially when a natural light and even an alternative lights are not available.
You need a tripod as a part of your set up to prevent blurry outputs. When set in a slow shutter, a handheld photography produces blurriness.
You can use flat surfaces such as tables and chairs as your tripod, as long as it is stable.
Plain backdrop
There is a lot of options and alternatives for this. Beginners are able to use plain painted walls, cartolina, wallpapers to add texture, cloth, or even illustration boards. This is to present a cleaner look, produces the image to be more decent, and presentable.
A plain backdrop emphasizes the subject, gives it focus, and details to the entire photography.
In my experience, I used plain pink wall in order to add an emotion to my subject. The product that I once shoot is a scented candle, and the plain background produces a romantic mood to the subject.
Props for Photography
The role of the props is to give texture, add character, and show emotion to the subject. You have to be observant and creative when doing a product shoot. Keep in mind that your products has its own variety make sure that your concept is suitable to the description of your product.
For instance, I have collected props for candles with different scents – I assure that the props that I will use is completely compatible to the specification of each product.
In the image below, I used coffee beans as my props in the scent cafe mocha – this is to emphasize the smell of the product even in just seeing it through picture.
Next, I used printed cutouts of bees, to generally show the scent of honey.
Remember, the visual presentation of the product creates great impression to clients. Observe creativity and enjoy photography.
