I’ve recently been thinking about how to take better photographs of products – i.e. things that you want to sell. I’m suggesting that these suggestions are a bible – but I find bearing these points in mind does lead to better results.
- Keep the Camera Steady – use a tripod or a rest
- Keep lighting soft. avoid the build in flash on the camera and angle lights so that the product is well lit with getting any glare. Sunlight coming in from a window is useful but avoid a bright sun as this will increase the contrast and make a harsh image.
- Make use of post processing software (free examples include Google Picasa or Microsoft live gallery, pricier options include Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop) to enhance the photograph
- Make sure that background your product is resting is plain and is a neutral or complimentary colour to the product
- White or black make good backgrounds colours. Remember to use opposing colours. a dark object should be shot against black. a bright object is best shot against a black background.
- Use a colour scheme generator to work out the complimentary colours for the main colour in the product. a good colour scheme designer is : http://colorschemedesigner.com/
- Use a fill light. what this means have the main (soft) lights on the product. use another light to illuminate to the side or behind the product to give an even or fill light.
- Shoot from as straight onto the product as possible and zoom in close to the product. Zooming in close however does not apply when trying to place the product in context. What is important then is the composition of the whole scene
- Make sure the products best feature is shown off as much as possible in the photograph
- As there will be plenty of light set the ISO number low on the camera
- Adjust the f stop (f-number) to give as much or as little depth as needed – a low number is a high depth of field. higher numbers give medium to little depth of field. I tend to get good results with a low F number
- Remove shadows – adjust the position of the camera, product and lights to remove as much shadow as possible. If shadows to occur – remove later in post processing.
If you have other ideas or suggestions I’d love to hear from you.