The demand for product photography is increasing, thanks to the higher needs from the assortment of genres in the market. Also, the increasing demand is heavily influenced by how much people love shopping online. So, to attract potential buyers, captivating product photos are needed as a good presentation for a brand.
Well, if you want to capture your products in the best way possible, here is the product photography basics that you need to know.
1. The right tool to support your performance
bigcommerce.com
An expensive camera does have many excellent features. But keep in mind that there are many contributing elements when it comes to creating a great photo. That certainly doesn’t depend on the camera alone. Combining light, style, and post-photo processing can also affect your work. If you decide to use a DSLR camera, there are several things that need to be considered.
First, avoid wide angle lenses it can result in distorted images. Second, pay attention to the use of the aperture because it can narrow your view. For good results, select a small aperture instead, such as f8 or f11. Lastly, use the correct color composition as not to alter the original color of your product.
2. Product photography lighting techniques
hostpapa.com
Becoming a pro should start with learning basic photography. When setting the shooting location, find out what type of background and lighting is ideal to best capture your product. A lighting setting for beverage products is surely different from a smartphone.
Besides, the use of a white or black background doesn’t always work well for product photos. For example, a bag will be clearly visible when photographed on a white background. However, such a display is too simple and boring. You need to show how the product is used by someone. In such cases, the effectiveness of the white background does not fit anymore.
3. The practicality of a tripod in a photo session
pencilone.com
Tripod is one of the product photography equipment that you need to have. This tool helps you to support a camera with a fairly heavy weight. Besides, a tripod is also needed for shooting with low shutter speed or long exposure. Without a tripod, the images will look blurry and out of focus.
Other than that, a tripod would be helpful for high-quality Dynamic Range (HDR) shooting. Since HDR requires a bit of a hassle photography technique in the process, of course, you can’t do it without a tripod. If it shifts just a little, your shots become out of focus.
4. Take advantage of natural light in shooting
tracywongphoto.com
Natural light from sunshine can have a fantastic effect on photos if it’s used in the right way. The light itself is divided into two: hard and soft shadow. Hard shadow is made when the size of the light source is smaller than the subject, and vice versa for soft shadow. But keep in mind that using natural light sometimes requires complicated techniques.
5. Get the right angle
brendanryan.ie
Getting the right angle can be a bit tricky, but it’s always doable. First, set focus on the medium telephoto range to capture product features accurately. Then try to shot it from a far position. Why? That’s because capturing products from a short distance can affect how the size of your product looks on images. So, the viewers can have the wrong idea about the size of the products in real life.
Second, narrow the aperture and focuses on all parts of the product. That is very important especially when you have to shot two or more products in one frame. You should narrow the aperture to f/11 or, in some cases, you can further use f/16.
6. Determine the theme of shooting
wedesign.london
Before taking a picture of a product, of course, you need to decide the theme or concept to produce a captivating image. In determining the theme, you are encouraged to pay attention to the basic things such as the color composition, background, and so on.
After that, explore the shooting environment and find the ideal spots. Not only indoors, but you can also do an outdoor shooting. Further, use the existing objects around the location to create aesthetics on your photos.
7. Do the editing process properly
adorama.com
After capturing the product, the job does not end there. You may have some editing to do to further improve your works. Thankfully, there are so many software you can find to help you with photo editing, such as Adobe Photoshop.
Learning product photography can be a bit tricky. However, you can hone your skills with a lot of practices. After all, practice makes perfect.