SAE Alumni Association Europe

Product photography tips for anybody, anywhere

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By on ..General Topic, .Cross Media, .Film & TV, .Web & Graphics, English, Know How & Gear

Professional product photography is challenging and requires advanced skills. Not everybody will get a change to work in a professional studio and experience the actual process of both taking and editing pictures. Many of you will probably decide to play with product photography at home, which might be an interesting experience. In fact, it is possible to arrange a small low-budget studio and take pretty decent photographs. Here are some tips for those who have the courage to experiment with product photography – start this exciting adventure today!

Text by Joanna Wróblewska
Illustration based on a product photograph by one of the SAE Amsterdam students

Even beginners know the basics for good product photography: using a stable tripod, paying attention to the white balance setting, using a white background or setting the camera to the widest aperture. Of course, there are many other things that a starting photographer should be aware of in order to get satisfying results. If you really want to take product photographs at home, feel free to try these tips.

1. Know your camera
Before you start shooting, take some time to learn about the features of your camera: What options does it offer? How to control it efficiently? Where to find all the necessary functions? If it has a fixed lens, what parameters does it have? Will it work for product photography? If you have a choice of lenses, which one would work best for shooting product pictures?

2. Find the right place
It is important to find a right place for shooting. Remember not to mix natural and artificial light. They have different temperatures and will confuse the camera. It would be the best to arrange a small studio in a dark place with no other sources of light than lamps provided by the photographer. You may want to shoot on a table placed close to the wall, which can provide support for backgrounds and other required gear. Consider working in a room painted white, so you do not get unnecessary reflections from the walls.

3. Use diverse backgrounds
White backdrop is a must, but there are also other backgrounds that could serve you well. Personally, I like to use a black and a gray-gradient backgrounds. The last one works well for photographing jewelry, vases and artworks. Black background is elegant and will probably serve well for photographing small shiny items like watches. If you cannot order professional backdrops, just purchase big sheets of bristol or good quality fabric.

4. Light the backdrop
In simple product photography we often want to achieve an effect of an object floating in space. For that you need to direct one of the lights directly to the backdrop. Lighting the background will make the post-production much easier, not even mentioning an overall better quality of your photographs.

5. Diffuse the light
Product photography often requires a soft, diffused light, so using a tent or soft boxes is recommended. Many stores sell amateur white tents that are perfect for a home studio. Online you can find plenty of tutorials explaining how to make a tent or simple soft boxes.

6. Use reflectors
Simple, small reflectors are reasonably cheep, but you do not need to buy professional ones. Play with pieces of styrofoam and aluminum foil. They should serve you well. Reflecting light and creating interesting lighting situations is essential for product photography.

7. Hang products
To get rid of unnecessary shadows and achieve interesting effects hang your products. By doing so, you will achieve stunning effects and make your pictures look more appealing. Using thin transparent wires might be helpful.

8. Shoot from strange angles
Sometime you just have to shoot from the eye level and there is no choice. But what if you could play and change the perspective? Shoot from strange angles and seek for unique result. Just pay some attention to the look of your product – does the photograph show any distortion? If so, let it go.

9. Simplify the composition
You probably already know, that simple compositions are the best ones. Get rid of all the unnecessary elements: pieces of paper, dust, fingerprints, fragments of cloth being visible here and there. Make the shoot strong and clear, showing only what is truly important.

10. Edit your photographs
Finally, do not be afraid to edit your pictures. As an amateur, it is important to master your photography skills, but some things will be hard to do without professional gear. Software is available out there to help you dealing with smaller and bigger mistakes, so use it well.

Arranging a small product photography studio might be very helpful. If you are a blogger, a digital journalist or a web designer you may consider taking pictures yourself and enjoying the process of editing them and using for your own purposes. Go for it, if you feel like trying – Leonardo da Vinci would do it for sure!

Learn more:
The Ultimate DIY Guide to Beautiful Product Photography
10 Product Photography Tips – video
10 Amazing Photography DIY’s to Help you Cut Costs

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114 Comments

  1. Lauren Woodley on

    I thought it was interesting that you suggested to shoot from strange angles. As you say, when you shoot from strange angles, you will get a unique result, which will give you a more unique look for your product. Overall, when you are able to pay attention to details and bring out the best sides to your product by thinking outside the box while you’re shooting, personally, I think you’ll get much better results and higher success with your photography.. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  3. annie on

    I am a beginner in product photography. I was also doing a lot of research in this topic to make my shoots perfect. I know how it is when you already give a lot of effort for your product photography and still that doesn’t come out perfect. These tips are itself helpful and going to try it also.

    Reply
  4. annie on

    Basically, product photography is a challenging sector. It seems easy but actually hard to get the job done. It take a lot of effort and practice to get the perfect photos. Moreover, the photographer must be in sync with the contractor and has to know what the consumers want to see. Some of the best tips for photographers. Nicely described article.

    Reply
  6. Claude R. Willian on

    Excellent. I became very involved with work. I love photography and I’m starting my photography business and subjects like this are inspiring. Congratulations on the job.

    Claude Willian

    Reply
  9. Appslure on

    Alot of blogs I see these days don’t really provide anything that I’m interested in, but I’m most definitely interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know. Nice! thank you so much! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  15. Zubida on

    Hey! After a long time found this article very interesting.

    Yeah, you have to find the right place to shoot very well. No doubt that, garages work great for shooting for it’s plenty of space and light. If you couldn’t manage a garage still you could shoot by considering any room in your house as a temporary studio.

    Reply
  19. Saket Jain on

    The blog was absolutely fantastic! Lot of great information about product photography which can be helpful in some or the other way. Keep updating the blog, looking forward for more blog tips. I will learn through this and implement in own photography
    All the best

    Reply
  27. Clipping on

    I am very amazed by the information of this blog and I am glad I had a look over the blog. Thank you so much for sharing such great information and get a chance to learn something useful about photography.

    Reply
  28. Tori Raddison on

    It’s so helpful that you said not to mix natural and artificial light when you’re taking pictures. How does the camera get confused by the two different types? I’m trying to learn more about photography before I go on vacation. I want the pictures to look good!

    Reply
  29. markjohnson on

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  40. Hydromax on

    Wow that was strange. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit
    my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways,
    just wanted to say great blog!

    Reply
  42. lauren on

    I think this tips will definitely useful for those who are in photography field or who learn professional product photography. Keep sharing. Regards, Lauren.

    Reply
  43. Bathmate on

    Hello there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading through your posts.

    Reply
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  48. John Gatesby on

    Thank you pan, for excellent guidelines for photography. i have spent so much money on expensive DSLR cameras but still have not got the proficiency. Later, i learned how exposure, light and wide angle control work to give very sharp image.

    Reply
  49. David Arms on

    Best Photography tips and tricks here. Some exceptional knowledge express. Thanks for sharing the great experience.
    We also share some tips

    Reply
  52. Search Pro on

    Excellent blog you’ve got here. It’s hard to find excellent writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate people like you!
    Take care!!

    Reply
  54. Zahyn on

    It’s really great resource. Thanks for sharing this kind of blog. I think it will help me better. Here are great tips and tricks about product photography.
    Thanks

    Reply
  55. John Gatesby on

    I am new to photography and i must say it is very difficult field. Apparently, it seems very easy but the grace and beauty of the pictures come with experience and skills. I found this article very helpful for improvement.

    Reply
  58. Kheya on

    I believe these tips will definitely be useful for those who are in the field of photography or who are learning professional product photography. Very Great post. Priced knowledge. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  59. David Arms on

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    Reply
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  65. Rafi on

    That’s really fantastic to find out these amazing tips. Did you take professional clipping path services to reduce the noises from the products?

    Reply
  68. Damin on

    It’s a very amazing post that you have included here details, I want to share these resources on my social, I’m actually like this photography-related work and love this type of resources, thanks

    Reply
  69. Felix on

    These tips are great. Its easier to use online background remover tools if the product photographs are of good quality.

    Reply
  73. Charlotte Fleet on

    Thank you for all your tips on making photography better. I like how you mentioned that professional gear can be helpful in mastering photography skills. I can imagine that a lot of camera accessories will help simplify the photography and editing processes. I will have to look into that if I ever decide to buy a camera.

    Reply
  79. Tasriful isalm on

    This really amazing not to mention awesome! The whole set of articles and other content with the piece of writing is really effective. Definitely will difinitely make an application some of those tips and hints someday. Through photographs, there is also a
    truthfulness which means unobtrusive that going barefoot actually is further good quality as opposed to actuality

    Reply
  83. Shahjalal (Joy) on

    This is really awesome photography tips I love it very much. Product photography is important for improve your sales double
    Thanks for sharing this kinds of information

    Reply
  92. Terri Williams on

    Though these are the photography tips that may be known to everyone still people don’t remain conscious about that. Especially that study part, people don’t invest much time in knowing the things well rather start photography without thinking much. Thank you for the post indeed.

    Reply
  98. John Smith on

    Awesome post on product photography. I am a professional Graphic Designer and wanna learn about Photography. This article helps me a lot. Thank You.

    Reply
  101. Asifkhan on

    Awesome post on product photography. I am a professional Graphic Designer and wanna learn about Photography. This article helps me a lot. Thank You. Sir g..

    Reply
  102. Jack on

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    it’s really nice and manful. it’s really cool blog. Linking is very useful thing. You have really helped lots of people who visit blog and provide them useful information.

    Reply
  103. Bappy on

    Nice blog! I read this blog carefully and learned many of this from this blog. I think the photoshop beginner can learn a lot of things here. I really appreciate this blog. Thanks for sharing a nice idea.

    Reply
  109. Smith on

    There’s a tendency among some creatives to “wing it” when it comes to shoot planning — and for product photography, that can be disastrous.

    You don’t want to be blindsided by equipment that you need but don’t have, completely run out of time, or forget a shot.

    A little planning with an excel sheet including specs (crop, lighting, desired impact on the viewer, etc.) can save you a bunch of time on-site.

    Reply
  110. Adam Smith on

    Presently Product Photography is the most valuable experience. Customer conversation increase by the product photo. So the best tutorial shares with you. Thanks

    Reply
  111. Smith on

    Your product photography should focus on nothing else but the product. Corners, walls, textures and other background features can take away from the intent of your photograph and be a distraction. For the cleanest background, hang a large white sheet of paper or fabric and let it roll right onto the floor to create a curve instead of a sharp crease at your horizon line. The added bonus to this technique is that in post-production, cutouts and transparent backgrounds are made much easier when the images actual background is a consistent and solid.

    Reply
  112. Piromax on

    When knowledge is not great, then it seems that you know everything. It’s the same with the photographing process. Now everyone has a camera in their phone, and almost everyone considers themselves to be a great photographer. In fact, we still have to learn and learn.

    Reply
  113. Fredrick Parson on

    I agree with you, Joanna. You said right “Professional product photography is challenging and requires advanced skills.”

    Thanks! For writing the useful article.

    Reply

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