7 Tips for Taking Gorgeous Pictures of Your Company's Products

If you're looking into taking better product photos for your company, we've got you covered. Here are our top tips for getting gorgeous photos.

There are well over 20 million eCommerce stores set up around the entire world with no sign of stopping anytime soon. For your products to stand out in such a large sea of competitors, you’re going to up your picture-taking game.

Displaying proper pictures of your stock not only entices someone to buy from you but establishes trust as well. Think about it: Would you buy a product if it’s matched up to a blurry, off-center picture?

It just doesn’t look professional. If your photo taking skills aren’t quite up to par, we can help you take gorgeous pictures. Keep reading for a list of basic photography tips.

1. Selecting Your Camera

Many people are under the common misconception that they need an expensive camera in order to take their product pictures. To be honest, you can take quality photos with your smartphone camera if you want to.

As long as your phone can get up to 10 megapixels, you should be good to go. If you don't trust your phone to not take blurry photos, you can invest in a nice camera.

You've got two choices: DSLR and Mirrorless cameras. They both have their own set of specs and pros and cons. No matter which one you go with, both of them can pump out nice-looking pictures.  

2. Setting up Your Studio

Of course, no matter how good your camera is, without a proper studio, your pictures will still come across as a bit amateurish. You don't need to spend a lot of money to create a great, well-lit space for taking product photos.

It's a good idea to set up your photography table near a window. This will allow you to take advantage of natural light. It's the cheapest and easiest lighting you can get for product photography.

If natural lighting isn't something that you have the luxury of, opt for space. You'll need to have enough room to walk around and adjust your lights, tweak backgrounds, and place props.

Now that you have the placement down, it's time to stock up your room with everything you need. Here are a few things that are a must-have.

Product Table

It's hard to take photos of your products if you have nothing to put them on. Pick up a sturdy table that can hold both your items and any backgrounds and props you're using.

Background Materials

Grab a white, neutral background to place your products in front of. Foam, poster board, anything will work as long as it's white.

You'll also have to pick something up to hold your background in place. Clamps and even duct tape should do the trick.

Lights with Clamps and Stands

If you're not using natural light, you'll need to stock up on plenty of artificial light. You can use bulbs you already own or pick up a cheap lighting kit from a photography store.

Some Kind of Camera Stabilizer

No matter how hard you try, there's going to be some shaking going on when you're holding a camera. Instead of holding onto the camera yourself, let a tripod or some other kind of camera stabilizer do it for you.

3. Photograph Your Entire Product

This should go without saying, but not taking a picture of the entire item is a common product photography mistake. Your items should have a large amount of blank space around it.

If you only post a picture of half the product, potential customers will assume that you don't care about details or that you're hiding something.  

4. Getting Your Exposure Right

If your photos have too much of a shadow cast over them, it will be hard for your potential customers to see them. You might have to use several light sources in order to get the exposure right.

Just make sure you don't overdo it. You don't want your product to be washed out by the brightness. Using a lightbox should help you get a perfect balance.

5. Keep Your Sizing Consistent

Every single product image posted on your store's website has to be the same size. If you have some images that are larger than others or vice versa, it throws off the balance of your entire site. It doesn't make for a good browsing experience.

6. Your Product Should be Front and Center

Your product is the focus of the image, so it should be front and center. You're allowed to use props, but remember who the real star is.

Again, you want your website to look somewhat unified, so always take your photos from the same angle as well.

7. Remove the Background

Removing the background from your product before you post it on your site will help give your store a sort of modern look. It also cuts down on any unwanted shadows and makes the photo a little more professional.

Don't worry, you don't need to have Photoshop to do the job. There are many free programs that will serve your purpose.

Once you've removed the background, save it as a PNG image. That's the one filetype that will support it. After you upload the image, it should take on the same color as the rest of your website.

Take Gorgeous Pictures That Will Help Your Products Sell

There are millions of e-commerce stores up and running today. If you don't post gorgeous pictures of your products, you'll lose customers to your competitors.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a lot of fancy equipment to get started. You can create a quality studio with your phone and a few items from the dollar store.

If you're still a little hesitant about taking your pictures, it might be best for you to hire a product photographer. Contact us to tell us all about your project and request pricing information.