How To Take A Good Product Photo

Displaying your products in their best light is no doubt a key facet for eCommerce. And equally, if your photos don’t portray the true likeness of a product, it can cause issues for customers. Here’s our guide on how to take a good product photo.

Tips to take a good product photo

Simple equipment makes a big difference

With some simple equipment you can achieve great product photo results:

For small items, a simple light box offers a plain white background on which to take photos. For larger items, you can use a large sheet of white card on which to sit your product. Bend it against a wall to create a seamless backdrop for your photos.
A good quality smartphone is all you need for product photos. While a decent digital camera will provide the greatest clarity, smartphone technology is quite sufficient.
A light ring to help decrease shadows, without casting too strong a light which may blow out your products.
A tripod and remote control – a simple smartphone tripod and remote shutter control will allow you to take photos without touching the camera and risk shakes and focus issues.
A reflective card – to help bounce light onto the shadow side of your product.
Props – if you wish to take atmospheric shots, you will need complimentary props.

Choose your style to suit your needs

You may wish to take a photo which shows off the product with no distraction and no atmosphere. These shots are great for thumbnail images, or to highlight details of your product.

The other useful style of product photography is atmospheric shots which evoke a feeling or the vibe you wish to convey. These are staged photos like the one on the right above.

See our tips for product composition

Utilise natural light

Natural light, not direct sunlight, is by far your best friend when it comes to product photography. Diffuse natural light will offer the softest and gentlest, and cast the least shadows.

Place your white background on an angle facing the natural light (not straight on, as to cast a shadow with your camera), and use a reflection card to provide light for the shadow side.

Set up your tripod and phone (or camera) and adjust the placement if needed to take advantage of the light. If there is not sufficient light, you may choose to use a light box or light ring.

If using a digital camera, you will want to use a slow shutter speed, which means reducing the aperture (increasing the f-stop number). This will allow you to have all parts of your product in focus and with enough light to show detail. If you wish to create a depth of field (one point in focus, and the rest in soft focus), then use a low f-stop number, and a quicker shutter speed.

Set the scene

If you are creating photos which bring to life your brand and product, and wish to create an aesthetic which will tempt people to use your product; then setting the scene in some shots is a good idea.

Add flowers, a coloured background, or items which reflect the use or an emotion. These shots are good for use on social and your website.

While plain white backgrounds are good for product descriptions and in shops to show the detail.

Easy post-production tools

You should always ensure the light balance and saturation is rich and true, to retain accuracy and appeal. You can use post-production tools such as the native photos app on your phone or Snapseed to ensure the photos look their best. If you are using a digital camera, then Lightroom is a good and easy to use post-production software.

If you wish to remove the background from around your products, online graphics tools such as Canva offer this function in their Pro version. This tool is also exceptional for creating social media promos and posters.

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