此文是天津包装设计公司关于设计公司如果推广和营销企业的分享，天津包装设计公司旨在想让更多的设计公司提高设计业务能力！

注：配图为UCI设计公司作品

天津包装设计公司转发原文直译：

你知道吗，人们能记住80%他们看到的东西，而只能记住20%他们读到的东西。形象的力量是不容忽视的，如果你没有在你的电子商务网站上展示你的产品的优秀图片，你可能会错过一些重要的销售机会。

事实是，你的东西看起来越好，卖得就越多。那么，你为什么不更认真地对待摄影呢？

问题是，为你的电子商务业务创作高质量的内容，尤其是产品照片，并不像在公园散步那么简单。对于许多拥有优秀产品和创意但不知道如何设计和展示它们的企业来说，将优秀的摄影和视觉品牌整合在一起是很困难的。

如果你在寻求帮助，我可以从我十年的摄影和设计经验中给你一些惊人的视觉品牌和产品摄影建议！如果你的产品照片没有达到你想要的效果，本指南将帮助你了解如何拍摄让顾客点击购买的照片，包括照明、拍摄、编辑等方面的技巧。

无论你是在厨房里用智能手机抓拍照片，还是用各种花哨的东西拍摄照片，你都可以学到推广业务所需的技能！在这篇文章中，你将学到你需要的一切来创造高质量的产品摄影，在你知道它之前…哦，太棒了！你会成为职业选手的！我们来看看吧！

为什么产品摄影很重要

你的产品的感知价值和品牌的可信度通常是根据你的视觉内容的质量来判断的。这意味着拥有高质量、美丽的产品摄影可以大大有助于推动你的业务销售。

想想你上一次在网上购物，偶然看到一张不好的产品照片。

也许图像很暗或者没有对准焦点。也许你不知道产品实际上有多大，或者你不确定它实际上是什么颜色。也许照片上的东西太多了，以至于你不知道实际上卖的是什么东西。

很有可能，你没买那件东西。

不像在精品店或百货商店购物，当你在网上浏览时，你不能拿起产品。摸不到，拿在手里或者用手指感受不到质感。你所拥有的只是作为你购买决定基础的照片。

作为购物者，这可能会让人害怕，所以你的工作就是用精彩的照片和描述让他们放松。

然而，不是每个人都能负担得起专业摄影工作室、模特和设备——尤其是当他们刚刚起步的时候DIY。产品摄影提供了一个很好的选择，只要你知道合适的工具和技术，拍摄引人注目的产品照片是轻而易举的。

产品照片的类型

在说具体种类的产品照片之前，先说一下产品摄影的基本功能。

如上所述，为了进行购买，顾客希望对他们购买的东西有信心。展示产品方方面面的产品照片有助于购物者做出自信、明智的购买决定。以下是一张优秀的产品照片可以完成的几件事：

它吸引眼球，让他们想购买或点击你的产品

它清晰明了，传达了产品的重要信息

它有代表你的品牌的目的、情感联系和风格化

这有助于他们想象在个人生活中拥有和/或使用该产品会是什么样子。

不同的照片风格可以传达各种不同的产品信息。通过在你的电子商务店面中混合和搭配以下照片类型，你会让购物者对你的产品有一个全面的了解…这意味着更多的销售！

1.工作室

工作室拍摄是你的电子商务产品摄影的"肉"。这些是你的产品在普通背景上的照片，有充足的光线来突出显示，让你的顾客能很容易地看到你的产品。

摄影棚拍摄是向潜在顾客展示你所卖东西的一种明亮、干净和简单的方式。清晰、明亮和简洁才是真正吸引顾客的地方，尤其是当他们在看缩略图的时候。

白色或纯色背景有助于突出产品的质感、深度和细节。然而，你的背景不必总是灰色和白色，关键是简单100 .人类学e一贯涉猎色彩和简单的背景来展示他们的服装和产品。

将上面的照片（在摄影棚照明下拍摄的)与下面的照片进行比较。在下面的图片中，这个想法很好，但是产品在背景中消失了。绿色耳环在绿叶的映衬下很难看到，明亮的背景会将你的视线从产品上移开。

同样地，纸杯蛋糕衫也迷失在干草、青草和南瓜的纹理中。最重要的是，衬衫折叠的方式，很难说出这是什么产品。是毛巾吗？毛巾？一件衬衫？

像这些糟糕的例子一样，通常有一些简单的工作室照片来展示你的产品本身是很好的，这样客户就可以"看到"它。清晰的照片有助于对顾客将收到的邮件设定一个现实的预期。像这样的照片将大大减少你的回报和交流，因为你对你的客户很清楚。

接下来，如果你想尝试有趣的背景和造型，让我们来学习生活照片。

2.生活方式

生活方式照片有助于激发顾客购买，让他们觉得他们"需要"在自己的个人生活中拥有该产品。我称之为产品摄影的"史蒂夫欧文",因为你是在产品的自然栖息地展示你的产品——它们的使用/外观。

这种灵感风格的照片是拼趣等社交平台如此成功的原因。你用一种视觉上吸引人的方式来摆放产品，以帮助顾客从你的商店购买。对于生活照来说，精心设计你的造型是很重要的——我们将在后面的章节中讨论。

以下是一些企业可以与其他产品摄影图片搭配的生活方式照片的例子。

因此，当我们看这些例子时，很容易想象在未来的假期、即将到来的季节或特定日期穿着这些服装、健身手表或配饰会是什么样子。

配套的比萨饼衬衫可以启发一位母亲为她和她的女儿买一件衬衫，在即将到来的派对上穿。一个怀孕的母亲会毫不费力地想象自己穿着这件婴儿撞衫。任何未来的新娘都很容易想象自己穿着这件"夫人"泳衣去度蜜月！

如果造型对你来说很难，你可以采取更简单的方式来拍摄生活产品。简单的定义可以是，你有一件模特穿过或使用的产品。这至少有助于顾客看到产品是如何穿戴的，它们是如何合身的，它们是如何适合人体的，等等。取决于你卖的是什么，简单实际上可以更好！

生活方式照片有助于潜在顾客想象产品在他们自己生活中的样子。一旦他们想象自己穿着或使用你的产品，就很难对购买说"不"。

如果你想在销售带有生活方式照片的产品时走得更远，试着将物品配对以鼓励更多的购买。

这里有一个简单的例子：

这种方法可以帮助那些不擅长搭配衣服的人看到你的衣服、包包和耳环是如何完美搭配的。这样，他们可能会购买你照片中的所有产品，而不是单独购买产品，这样他们就可以获得你照片中看到的相同"外观"。

不幸的是，上面的莫德布没有在同一个页面上一起展示他们的物品，以便于团购，但你可以设计你的电子商务网站，在你的生活方式产品摄影中展示穿着的物品！

3.比例细节

这将是一个更有帮助的产品摄影类型，你会把它放在你的电子商务网站上。产品的比例照片是一种视觉传达产品尺寸的照片。

因为顾客不能像在实体店那样拿起并看到你的商品，所以像这样的照片可以让顾客放心，产品会是他们所期望的。这同样有助于退货和换货，从而帮你省钱！

例如，上面，凯特斯派德有这些古怪的火烈鸟耳环。看着工作室的照片，它们是蓬松的粉红色绒毛球，可能会占据你的脸。光看影楼照片并不能帮助顾客想象产品的尺寸和"佩戴“，凯特分享了一张比例照片，让潜在顾客了解这些耳环戴在人身上的实际样子。

在您的产品照片中显示比例有助于让您的客户放松。这个花瓶能装一朵花还是一整束花？戒指上镶嵌的宝石是否完全征服了手？如果顾客不得不质疑产品的尺寸、形状或磨损程度，他们就不太可能购买。

现在，并不是每个产品都需要一张展示各个方面和维度的照片。细节照片是突出产品特征的特写照片。

例如，这个EtnoDesignottoman pouf展示了伟大的生活方式产品摄影、比例和细节。

该公司将厚圆椅垫放置在家庭环境中，同时通过将厚圆椅垫放置在壁炉、小椅子和沙发附近，为观众提供了一种生活方式的感觉，并显示了有意义的尺度。

EtnoDesign通过展示面料的近距离产品照片，进一步向顾客保证产品质量。在这张照片中，顾客可以很快看出厚圆椅垫被一种编织的、高质量的针织品所覆盖，而不仅仅是印花图案。这可以帮助他们合理化和理解上市价格，因为这是一个更高质量的产品。这就是分享细节和规模如此重要的原因！

4.组

集体照很简单。你所要做的就是把一些产品组合在一起。

团体照特别适合记录多件出售的产品，如定制衬衫、炊具、碗或银器等。您还可以使用集团产品摄影来展示您提供购买的不同颜色、饰面或材料的变化。

在上面的照片中，RAVAREdesign展示了他们所有堆叠的苹果手机外壳，然后从不同角度展示了每种颜色变化的单独工作室照片。像这样，你也可以创建分组照片，在一张照片中分享大量信息！

额外奖励：真实性质量保证

人们渴望"幕后"和"过程"的产品摄影和内容。我们生活在一个人们质疑很多的世界，所以通过你的产品摄影来创造一种真实感总是一个好主意。

一张真实的照片可以真正强调一件特定物品的工艺水平，并分享公司在创造物品时所采取的质量。这些类型的照片对于在社交媒体上推广你的业务也很方便。

这方面的一个例子是杰西，她画手工家居装饰。

她在她的网站和社交媒体页面上做得很好，分享了高质量、风格化和独特的产品摄影，真正触及到了她的观众。她所有的照片都让你感受到她用画笔"手工制作"的品质，她沾满颜料的双手和她对细节的关注。

如果我是一个寻找可爱的手绘壁画的顾客，我肯定会相信她的专业知识，因为她的照片让我放松！

另一个利用产品摄影来产生"真实性"感的例子是一个用爱手镯照片制作的项目。除了他们的规模和工作室图片之外，用爱制造的项目分享他们的产品的情感真实的照片。

分享与这些手镯相关的社区有助于激发顾客购买和支持这些人的欲望。通过查看产品来自哪里，客户可能会有更强烈的欲望从你这里购买，而不是从中国得到一个便宜的手镯…人们想知道他们的产品来自哪里！

您也可以通过分享过程照片、幕后图像以及在您的网站上用其他内容补充这些照片，来为您的客户创造一种真实感。

总的来说，结合几种照片类型是利用产品摄影赢得潜在客户的最佳方式之一。高质量的产品摄影推动销售，所以你需要确保尽可能多地利用机会展示你的产品！

选择您的相机和设备

现在你已经了解了产品摄影类型，让我们来谈谈如何拍摄它们，并深入了解相机的细节和技巧！

不确定用什么器材拍出最好的照片？没关系。在这一部分，我们将介绍你应该知道的关于相机和其他配件的所有基本知识，这些都有助于提升你的产品照片。

即使你买不起高端相机，你仍然可以拍摄出漂亮、高质量和一致的产品照片，这将大大增加你的电子商务业务。让我们来看看你将会看到的相机类型，以及你可以添加到相机装备中的许多很酷的东西！

数码相机

在科技商店你会看到几种选择：紧凑型、无反光镜和DSLR .它们都有各自的优缺点，但最终我发现这都归结于用户偏好、可用性、质量控制、创造力和价格点。

小型的，紧凑的

紧凑型相机或更广为人知的"傻瓜相机"有很多不同的选择，从全自动到有限的手动。

紧凑型相机比高端相机（如单反相机和无反光镜相机)更受欢迎，因此对于预算紧张的电子商务企业主来说，这是一个很好的选择。

与智能手机相机相比，紧凑型相机便携且易于使用，具有更多自动模式和内置设置（称为"预设")。学习起来会有些困难，因为许多预设会让你无法进行相机计算，但小型相机是初学者在购买更昂贵的相机之前熟悉相机并进行练习的好方法。

具有至少1000万像素和微距设置的紧凑型相机是捕捉具有基本深度的高质量详细图像的好方法。这些照片可以下载到基本的照片编辑器或相机自带的相机桥程序中。

紧凑型相机的唯一缺点是，你的手动设置和照片操作选项非常有限。即使相机的能力受到你的光圈的限制（模糊背景照片处理，我们将在本文后面讨论),你仍然可以用小型相机拍摄一些像样的产品照片。

说实话，紧凑型相机上的闪光灯是紧凑型相机唯一真正糟糕的功能，因为它们离镜头太近了。这可能会严重影响您的图像质量。当闪光灯在镜头旁边时，它平行于镜头向前照射光线，这使得白光洗出出现在你的照片中。

幸运的是，正如街炮在这张照片中看到的那样，扩散闪光灯光源确实可以软化出现在您产品上的闪光灯。

扩散你的闪光灯减少了刺目的光线和产品摄影冲洗。正如下面这些照片和视频教程所示，有很多方法可以柔化你的紧凑型相机闪光灯：

请记住，在照片编辑应用程序中修复曝光不足比修复曝光过度更容易——你很少能修复曝光过度——所以宁可选择曝光不足。相信我！

紧凑型相机我建议：

松下TZ100/SZ100

佳能PowerShot G7 X马克2号

富士X100F

松下LX100

索尼RX10 III

徕卡Q

虽然紧凑型相机有很多预设，自动操作，并且价格合理，但它们确实有很多限制，真正限制了你的产品摄影能力，所以让我们来看看下一步：无反光镜相机。

无镜子的

像紧凑型相机一样，无反光镜相机不使用镜子来捕捉图像，实际上允许光传播并直接击中图像传感器。然后图像出现在后屏幕或电子取景器上(EVF).

因为这些相机不需要棱镜或镜子来工作，所以这款相机体积小，重量轻。这款相机是紧凑型相机的升级版，原因是它们比带镜头选项的紧凑型相机（类似于DSLR)拥有更多的手动功能。

对于初学者来说，这些相机没有DSLR相机那么复杂，所以如果你正在寻找一个好的"中间选择",无反光镜相机可能适合你！

我建议使用无反光镜相机：

富士胶片X-A5

松下Lumix DMC-GX85

索尼阿尔法a5100

佳能EOS M100

富士十. M1

奥林巴斯E-PL7

松下GF7

三星NX3000

现在，让我们转到最佳选择，也就是摄影之王，单反相机。

DSLR

数码单镜头反光(DSLR)相机具有可互换镜头和最大手动设置功能。我的意思是，圣丹斯电影节的一些电影获奖者就是用这些相机拍摄的！印象相当深刻！

用DSLR相机拍照时，光线穿过镜头到达镜子，镜子将图像反射到取景器中，这样你就可以预览照片了。当你按下按钮拍照时，镜子向上翻转，快门打开，光线照射到传感器上，捕捉图像。

很酷吧。

数码单反需要很长的学习时间，尤其是当你将设置从自动改为手动时。你需要花时间学习摄影的科学和数学。

相机镜头和配件的手动控制和选项非常大，可以在许多不同的情况下轻松使用这些相机，包括在弱光下。与紧凑型或无反光镜相机相比，这些相机的图像传感器更大，可以吸收更多的光，并允许更高的像素密度，通常可以产生更清晰、更高质量的图像。

你买一个DSLR机身，然后添加不同的镜头，这也将为你的相机机身带来新的功能。镜片才是真正的投资。

DSLR的缺点是，镜头和建立你的相机"家庭"是昂贵的。数码单反相机可能会变得相当昂贵，你将需要致力于DSLR制造商，因为这是真正的投资和配件是不可互换的。我建议关注的两个主要DSLR制造商是佳能和尼康，他们是DSLR相机界充满活力的双雄"国王"。

现在是DSLR相机最大的争论：我选择哪一个？

很多人问我他们应该投资哪种DSLR模式，老实说，我的第一条建议是关注你的个人偏好！去店里拿两个型号，佳能和尼康，看看哪个手感更好，更人性化。

两者都是很棒的选择，但最大的决定因素之一是你觉得什么最舒服。不要一开始就看规格，拿几个相机就好了。每个品牌都有自己的风格

engths and weaknesses, but they are both fantastic options. Just know that once you pick one or the other it’s an investment moving forward.

Also, keep in mind if you’re buying your first DSLR, it may make sense to buy it as a kit, which generally includes the camera body along with an 18-55mm lens. Often referred to as a ‘kit’ lens, this covers a pretty broad zoom range, perfect for almost every photo setting you will find yourself in!

From there, you can build your lens “family” to get the effects and capabilities that you want.

Canon

Canon EOS Rebel T7i / Canon EOS 800D Canon EOS Rebel T6i / Canon EOS 750D Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / Canon EOS 200D Canon EOS Rebel T5i / Canon EOS 700D Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS 6D Mark II Canon EOS 80D

Nikon

Nikon D3300 Nikon D5600 Nikon D3400 Nikon D500 Nikon D7500 Nikon D850 Nikon D5

If you want something a bit different, look at Sony cameras or Olympus, particularly the?Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III.

Can You Shoot with an iPhone?

People ask my opinion on iPhone photography and all I can say is, it has come a long way! iPhones have a lot of quality photography components that can make your product photography pretty dang amazing.

I mean look at this photo comparison of a Nikon & IPhone shooting this dress shoe:

If the two photos weren’t labeled, you probably would have thought they came from the same place, eh? So, if you are on a tight budget, on the go or wondering if iPhone product photography is here to stay, let’s take a look at some of these points and tips for successful iPhone photography.

To start, Holly Castro created an awesome tutorial on some of the things I will discuss below:

As seen in her video, a lot of the same principles of studio photography you use with real cameras will apply. Make sure you are focusing on proper lighting, backgrounds and a lot of the same principles and your iphone camera will do the rest.

Some of the features you will want to dabble with include:

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Camera Specs The iPhone 8 has a single 12-megapixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture. The iPhone 8 Plus has dual 12-megapixel cameras. The wide angle will have an aperture of f/1.8, while the telephoto will have f/2.8. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus both have optical image stabilization, or OIS, which helps reduce motion blur due to camera shake. The iPhone 8 Plus has a feature called “Portrait Lighting,” which is designed to digitally simulate various lighting conditions for portraiture work. It also allows for strong aperture to be used in portrait mode which will give depth to your photos. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus can both shoot 4K video at up to 60 FPS, and slow-motion video at up to 1080p and 240 FPS. iPhone X Camera Specs The iPhone X has nearly the same camera specs as the iPhone 8 Plus, with a dual 12-megapixel setup, f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures. Note the iPhone X’s telephoto lens opens a bit wider than that of the iPhone 8 Plus. The iPhone X has dual optical image stabilization, resulting in even less motion blur. The iPhone X enables Portrait Mode with selfies, allowing for a blur effect that improves self-portraits. The iPhone X’s 5.8-inch “Super Retina” OLED display should serve as a bigger and more vibrant viewfinder and frame for your photos and videos.

Your iPhone camera modes will typically be:

Grid:?This allows the rule of thirds to come to life as a grid system appears on your iphone camera live screen to help you position items creatively. Live Exposure: This allows you to read your camera’s auto exposure settings as the camera adjusts it. It is good to take note of your exposure settings just in case you need to change them later. HDR Quality: It is very important that you set your image quality to High so that your smartphone can help you create the best images possible. Lighting: If you have a newer iPhone, there are tons of lighting options to choose from in portrait mode including: natural light, studio light, contour light, stage and stage light mono. How to Creatively Use Your iPhone

If you still arent sold on using your iPhone for your product photography there are fun stories like?Street artist?and photographer?Philippe Echaroux? who used his Iphone, a flashlight, plastic straw and a Big Mac Box to create luxury lighting for his photo project.

The results were incredible. So, since this kickstarts the discussion, here are a few ways you can hack at making quality product photography using your Iphone.

Use Panoramic Creatively

A lot of the time people only use panoramic from side to side but you can also use it going vertically. Start with the arrow pointing downward and snap a shot vertically with all the elements you want not getting cut off!

Use Burst

If you want to take a series of photos in quick succession, just hold down on the shutter and it’ll rapidly take one photo after another until you let go

Use Focus

To make sure your pics are actually properly sharp and focused, just tap whatever part of the screen is your main subject. Also handy if you want to take some up-close pics close to the lens with a blurry background.

Use the Grid System

Go to Settings and scroll down to Photos & Camera and turn on ‘Grid’. That way, you can line up your shot properly. We’ll get into the specifics of how to make the most of this grid in a bit.

Creative Texture and Lighting

Lighting created with the iPhone light can be really interesting. The video below used sequins, disco balls and other textures to add an effect to their iPhone photos.

Accessories and Editing Tools

Like cameras, the iPhone also comes with multiple lens, accessory and editing software options!

Believe it or not, you can use external lenses with your smartphone and having them on hand is a good idea to make it through tough lighting and focusing situations. Macro lenses are particularly important when it comes to iPhone product photography, Apple’s camera settings have very low zoom capabilities.

Here are a few great lenses that can be used on smartphones:

$20-$100 Photojojo iPhone & Android lenses $70 Olloclip iPhone 4-in-1 Lens $10-$80 Moment iPhone & Android lenses

If you are looking for other accessories like editing software or external lights take a look at these items:

$2 iPhone Camera+ Free Adobe Photoshop Express? $9 Photoshop Touch GLOWME 2.0 LED Ring Light Joby GorillaPod 1K Kit Square Jellyfish Metal Spring Tripod Mount

Obviously, you’ll get the best results from using a DSLR camera, but whether you go with an iPhone, a compact camera, a mirrorless camera or a DSLR, there are ways to get decent results. All you need is the right accessories and techniques!

Camera Accessories

There are a lot of fun accessories you can make at home or purchase for your camera! Let’s take a look at some of the camera accessories you can use for successful product photography.

Lenses

Lenses will be the main thing you will want to invest in once you purchase a mirrorless or DSLR camera. ?Honestly, the lens is the camera’s most important component because the lens determines the quality of the image.

Camera lenses can help you get a crisp, close-up shot of your product. There are a few basic lenses you should know:

Standard: A standard lens is one with a mid-range focal length, typically around 50mm. They have an angle of view which is roughly the same as the angle that the human eye can comfortably view. Macro:?A macro lens is one designed especially for close-up photography. Telephoto:?A telephoto lens has a long focal length and provides a high level of magnification, allowing you to photograph subjects at a moderate to far distance. They tend to be bigger and heavier than other types of lens, so depending on which one you get, it might be a lifting exercise while you use it! Wide Angle:?A wide angle lens is one with a short focal length. They provide an angle of view beyond that of a standard lens, allowing them to capture more of the scene in a single shot. An extreme example of this would be fisheye lenses.

BONUS: Often, if you see a lens you see a bunch of random numbers and letters on the top rim of the lens. To the new photographer, this might be some photo mumbo jumbo but here’s what they mean and what they are good for:

ken0@166.com

I would also suggest renting certain lenses so you can test out which ones you would like to invest in. Lenses are expensive but they are the key to getting the photography results you want—especially when it comes to depth of field and lighting abilities—so they are worth it.

Test out, try out and you will know which ones are best for your product photography needs.

Tripods & Monopods

Do you struggle with keeping a steady hand? There are breathing techniques for that as you take a photo, but to make your life easier, purchase a tripod or monopod!

Tripods and monopods ensure capturing a steady shot and they are usable for all camera types! Tripods have three extendable legs that can be adjusted for your needs. Monopods are basically a stabilization stick that you attach to your camera bottom. I enjoy monopods as they allow more movement from the photographer but tripods give more stability for the camera.

Moose Winanas makes a great video explaining tripods and which one you should take a look at!

Tripods and monopods make studio product photography a breeze as all you need to do is set up the products and then click without worrying about blurry images or movement on your part as the photographer.

BONUS ACCESSORY: Photography Harness

I love love, love my camera harness. Whether you have one camera or two, wearing a harness makes photography much easier and takes the pressure off your shoulders and neck. Harnesses come in single or double based off of your needs.

When I shot weddings, in the beginner years, I was constantly switching my camera bodies out of my camera bag. Wearing a harness let me wear both cameras, on my body, so I could easily hold and switch uses. Like me, this will be a game changer for you photographing your lifestyle or studio product photography!

Getting to Know Your Camera: Camera Basics

First of all, I always tell people, no amount of reading tips or tricks will make you a better photographer, but practice and experimenting will. I never had professional training with photography but I went out and taught myself the basics and built my skills from year to year as I practiced, worked and improved my skills through reading, asking questions and getting out there!

If you feel discouraged because your photos do not look like the beautiful catalog photos of your competition, chin up, buttercup!

To prove that, below is an example of how much you can improve with practice!

This was my first fashion shoot in college where I bought my first DSLR Sony camera, starting from a not so great place. Compare that to my recent shoots photographing for boutiques, fashion companies, social influencers and other small businesses now:

BEFORE

NOW

Like me, you too can develop your product photography skills!

Understanding how your camera works will help you get the best shot of your product. While you may not use all these settings and modes if you’re using a point-and-shoot camera or a smartphone, understanding the basic principals of photography will help you take better photos. Let’s take a look!

The Photo Exposure Triangle

Don’t worry, this isn’t a geometry lesson. I hate math as much as you do! Ha!

The photo exposure triangle is a simple way to explain the exposure calculations of a photograph: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. All of these need to be in proper balance to achieve the look you would like. These exposure elements not only affect exposure, but also control the overall look of the image. You will need to master these three things well to truly understand how to make a quality product photo.

1. Aperture

The aperture is the opening of your camera where the light reaches your camera’s image sensor. The bigger or wider the aperture, the more light comes into your camera.

Aperture is measured by ?F/#, better known as F stops. Numerically, the smaller the F/#, the larger the opening you are creating for light to come in is. But, the larger the aperture, the smaller depth of field you will see.

Here are some helpful illustrations and photo examples for you to see:

As you see in the flower photo, the smaller the number of F stop the more light and blur—aka depth of field—you will have in your photo.

BONUS TIP: I find when photographing people, you do not want the aperture higher or lower than the number of people in the photo. You will quickly find that the “blurriness” will affect the focus on the people, so make sure that the number is in balance.

Shutter Speed

Shutter deals with time. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second and it describes the speed/length of time the shutter of your camera is open while you take a picture. When you shoot, it’s usually the click noise your camera makes when you click the camera taking button.

Short or fast shutter speed (like 1/1000 of a second) allow less time for light to pass through your lens, whereas longer shutter speed (like 1/250 of a second) creates a longer exposure, hich may be useful in low light situations.

Be aware that using a longer shutter speed, while it allows more light into your camera, it also lets terrible blurring happen! Since your camera is staying open longer, it needs more stability from you to secure the light well. So, when expecting low light situations that require longer shutter speeds, make sure you are stabilizing yourself well or use a tripod.

The cool thing about shutter speed is that it really manipulates your photo to have?more sharpness, blur or make it as manipulated as you intend! In this photo, you see that a slower shutter speed blurs objects in motion and faster shutter speeds allow for crisp snapshots.

Shutter speed is popular with nature photographers manipulating waterfalls and other moving objects in nature. This is not something you really need to worry about with studio product photography, but you might need to understand this when it comes to shooting models in Lifestyle shots.

ISO

ISO determines the light sensitivity of your camera. A low ISO means your camera is less sensitive to light, requiring more light for a decent exposure. A high ISO makes your camera more sensitive to light. ISO also affects the level of “grain” you will have in your photos which means it has more or less texture.

ISOs for digital cameras typically range from 200 to 1600. When shooting outdoors in the full sun, use a low ISO. When shooting indoors with less light set your ISO higher to capture more light.

Camera Modes

Depending on the tpye of camera you have, there will be camera modes to learn. Below are some of the basic camera modes you will encounter and as you get more advanced camera modes will control exposure.

Manual mode is a beast, so if you are a beginner, I suggest you start with automated and build up to more manual modes as you become more confident with your camera. Refer to your camera manual to determine how modes are labeled if needs be.

Fully automated or automatic: Your camera makes all the decisions, determining the best exposure. This is also a mode where you might see your instant flash pop up to make up for darkness based off of this mode’s calculations. Program: Your camera selects the shutter and aperture, but allows you to set the ISO, white balance, and choose whether you want to use the flash. Shutter priority: Allows you to select the shutter speed while your camera calculates the rest. Aperture priority: Allows you to set the aperture while your camera calculates the rest. Manual: Gives you full control to adjust to your particular subject and lighting conditions. This is more advanced and will really require you to practice and experience it to fully understand. Macro mode: This mode creates a detailed blurred background and in-focus foreground objects. This mode is ideal for photographing small objects and doing detail product photography shots. Portrait:?Uses a mid-range aperture to highlight a close object in front of a blurry background. Landscape:?Uses a small aperture to yield a deep depth of field. This mode captures far and close objects well. Action/kids: Your camera’s highest ISO and fastest shutter speed captures movement. Night-time: A slow shutter speed and high ISO allows more light in. Burst: Allows you to capture several shots in quick succession with one click of a button. White balance: This setting determines the color balance or temperature in your photos making photos seem more warm with orange/yellow tones or cool with blue/green tones.

There are tons of online articles that you can refer to if trying to understand any of these modes more. Take the time to explore, study and understand these modes because these are the ingredients to a photo’s look!

Understanding Lighting and Backgrounds

On top of understanding your camera modes and basics, you will need to understand the use of lighting and backgrounds, especially when it comes to product photography!

Lighting tools

Good lighting brings your products to life and shows your products in the best light…no pun intended! Lighting is powerful, so take the time to experiment and learn.

Luke Ayers shares a great way to understanding lighting basics and setting up a cheap product photography studio:

Like him, you can learn the best ways to photograph your products on any budget. We will talk more about those tips below, but lets first learn some of the basics, particularly the lighting accessories you will bump into:

Bounce and Reflectors: You can use a bounce card or a reflector to reflect light onto your product. Easy DIY bounce cards can be made from white poster board or a piece of index paper. Weirdly enough, wearing white clothes can also reflect light to your subject.

Softbox: Particularly helpful for lighting larger items and humans, a set of three softbox lights (artificial lights that are diffused by a sheer fabric box) can illuminate your products from the sides and above, which reduces harsh shadows.

Light Box and Tents: For smaller items, a light box (with solid walls) or light tent (with fabric walls) can streamline your process with a consistent backdrop and light source. You can easily create DIY lightboxes and tents at home with fabric and cardboard boxes—compliments of YouTube.

External Light Flash: The small built-in flashes on digital cameras cause harsh shadows and hot spots. An external flash or Speedlight paired with a DSLR or mirrorless camera can help solve this. These attachable light flashes can be bent in different directions to bounce light off of walls and other places which helps to better diffuse camera flash.

Flash Diffusers: A flash diffuser disperses light from the flash, making it less harsh and removing deep shadows. These can be plastic caps, cyclones or could possible be small softbox attachments to the top of your camera. Some of them can also be colored to cancel out indoor light coloring from artificial lighting.

There are also different types of lights you will need to understand as well: fill, main, background and—when necessary—backlight.

Main light is the main light source, typically off-axis from the camera, which is pointed directly at the product (or person). The fill light is a secondary, often lower-intensity light (light placed farther away) on the opposite side of the camera from the key light. Back light is a light placed behind (or behind and above) the subject, to better define the subject from the background.

A photographer might even add a background light, pointed at the backdrop, to draw (shape) light or texture on the background in order to make the subject stand out better, if the background is a part of the desired results.

Light placement is a critical decision a photographer makes after setting up the scene/background.

This is the area of product photography where you have to do hours of trial and error before you can truly master it. So, for those just starting, have patience as you figure out what lighting works best for your product photography needs. If you need some more direction, there are tons of YouTube tutorials that will teach you on all different skill and budget levels!

Don’t have lighting equipment? Sunlight makes for beautiful photos, with a few tricks:

Diffuse the light:?To avoid harsh shadows, use indirect sunlight. If you’re shooting outdoors, wait for a cloudy day. Harsh sunlight can create unwanted shadows (if you are shooting lifestyle photos outside, the best time to shoot is when the sun is coming up and going down as the sun is softer and not as harsh).

When taking photographs indoors using natural light, try positioning your products a few feet from a window, and aim for a time of day when there is a lot of light. If you need to diffuse harsh light, take a white bedsheet to the window and use that to create a softer light.

My only request is, please do not mix natural light and artificial light! The color tones of the lighting will get too messed up. Promise me!

Seamless backdrops

Backgrounds really take you to the next level when it comes to product photography. Lifestyle allows you to be creative with your backgrounds, but studio shots really require simplicity.

My biggest suggestion is purchasing or creating a “sweep” which is a backdrop that is usually a long sheet of paper or wrinkle-free fabric that flows from the wall down to the floor, in a crease-free curve. Fstoppers show what a sweep is clearly in this photo of a cupcake below:

Because there are no wrinkles, wall cracks or textures, the seamless background creates a continuous background that helps products pop. Again, you do not want anything taking away from your products, so using a sweep really makes a difference in quality photography. Fstoppers shows the difference again here:

Although the wall crack isn’t the biggest problem in the world, using a sweep really took the left photo up a notch by getting rid of any distractions that might take your eyes off the product and in this case, the cupcake.

Paper does not require a lot of extra accessories but if you go the cloth route you might need clamps or clips to stretch and tighten fabric as needed.

White is not the only background you can use! Sweeps and backgrounds come in many colors, patterns and texture, but again, you want backgrounds to compliment the products not distract from the products. As you see with this chocolate cupcake, the slight textured brown sweep compliments it quite nicely.

Play around with textures, backgrounds and color! Do not be afraid to do something different, but always remember, less is more.

How to Style and Shoot Your Products

Alrighty…do I still have you attention? Thanks for staying tuned in!

We have covered a lot of camera and photography logistics, but I now want to share with you tips on styling and shooting your products successfully. For many, this is the main struggle: How do I make my products look appealing, hip and cool?

If this is you, do not worry and keep reading. These tips will help you plan and execute a successful product photography shoot as well as helpig you develop a creative mindset you can keep with you moving forward!

Things To Consider Before a Photography Shoot

Whether you’re an experienced photographer looking to streamline your process or a beginner just getting started, the tips here will help you get more from your photos. Follow these best practices to plan a successful shoot.

Shot List: Before you begin, think about what you want to highlight about your products and the best way you can do that. Refer back to the photography shots we talked about and make a list of the shots you’d like to capture in your shoot. This will help you plan the order of your shots and determine which specific equipment you will need for your shoot. No one likes to constantly be switching lenses back and forth, so save yourself some time and plan ahead. Inspiration: Do you research and think about style/purpose! Look in Pinterest, your competition’s sites and see what photos are getting a lot of likes! They are doing something right, so look for the elements the photo has and replicate it—just do it better! Inspiration is never a bad thing and I frequently browse the internet to see what others have done to spruce up my creative juices! Look for items your inspiration pairs with like-products and style as needed. Options! Options! Options! Photo shoots are time consuming and labor intensive, but you can save time and create consistency by photographing multiple items at once. Also, make sure you take lots of photos of objects so you have more photos to work with. Early on, I lear