No two product photography shoots are ever exactly alike. The challenge of product photography is to customize each shot to the characteristics of the thing being documented, even though the top photographers do establish a unique style that clients are drawn to and can replicate. High-quality, memorable product images are becoming more and more useful to companies as eCommerce expands year after year. They may significantly affect a company’s bottom line and aid in making a product stand out. The good news for aspiring product photographers is that you can convince businesses to hire you by demonstrating the value of your work. Continue reading to get creative product photography ideas that will help you excel in your career.
What is Product Photography?
Product photography, sometimes referred to as e-commerce photography, is exactly what it sounds like pictures that are taken and posted on websites and social media platforms to promote sales of your good or service. Given the popularity of online shopping, consumers now have a wide range of brands and items to choose from in any given category, making compelling product images an essential component of any business operating online.
Ideal Product Photography Lighting
In product photography, there are many items that are very reflective. Glass, bottles, jewelry, and other items are challenging to photograph. Reflective surfaces will annoyingly scatter light. They cast shadows and interfere with your lighting arrangement. You don’t want a reflection of your equipment or lighting to draw attention to itself. Nothing is more unattractive than an exquisite emerald ring with a camera lens reflection in the middle of it. Be mindful of reflections! Prepare to experiment with light placement a hundred different ways until you discover the ideal arrangement. If not, you’ll be in the editing room deleting all those annoying details.
Making sure the colors of your goods are realistic is another concern. Whatever the sort of product photography, precise color rendition is crucial. Many shoppers rely their purchases of things on the colors that your photographs portray. If the item(s) that they receive don’t match up, you don’t want dissatisfied customers. Color calibration on screens varies from person to person. On a laptop, TV, or phone, the colors are different. However, there is still a standard to adhere to. Use only lights that emit a genuine white color, such as bulbs and flashes/strobes. This is generally referred to as a “photography-toned bulb.” There won’t be any color cast in a truly white light. You won’t see hues like the orange of warm light or the blue or green of a fluorescent. More accurate colors will be the end outcome.
Ideal Product Photography Background
The most common alternatives, as well as the typical applications for each backdrop design and color, are listed below. If you would rather digitally edit your product photography backdrop, you may either hire a professional photography studio to take your images or change the background color in post-production.
1. Plain White Background
There’s a reason why 76% of the e-commerce product photographs Pixelz AI modified asked for a background that was completely white. Many websites use plain white as their standard for ecommerce photos even though Amazon mandates it. White backgrounds provide your website with a unified appearance and focus the customer’s attention on the goods.
2. Off-White or Grey Background
Every product may not look best on an entirely white background, especially if the object itself is white. Off-white, light gray, and other colors of white can provide just the right amount of contrast to make the product stand out while keeping the overall design simple, neutral, and product focused. To subtly separate and give dimension to your product photographs, utilize off-white backdrops. Fur, a natural skincare company, employs a white backdrop as its primary color and a flat gray background beneath the items. The “floating effect” that a pure white backdrop produces is eliminated by the addition of gray, and the overall finish nevertheless makes bright objects “pop” against such a neutral setting.
3. Black
For premium items like watches and jewelry, black backgrounds frequently work well because of their dramatic effect. The most crucial factor when utilizing a black backdrop is to ensure that your product stands out clearly from it in order to prevent it from merging in. It might be challenging to photograph black objects on a black backdrop since black absorbs all light whereas white reflects it.
4. Patterns and Geometric Shapes
Use patterns or shapes for your background to give your images some fun and personality. If it’s simpler for you (or if you forgot to plan it at the time of filming), you may either do that during the shoot or afterward. The result might be anything from a subdued marble backdrop to spectacular forms (or a marble pattern duplicated on PVC or another material). The backdrop of a zipper sandwich bag marketing shot for the sustainable home care firm Full Circle is a subtle marble design. The design may just be a PVC sheet, yet it seems like a kitchen counter or dining room table surface.
5. Gradient Backgrounds
There is a subtle shift from one color (or picture) to another on a photographic background with a gradient effect. Multiple-color gradients are also an option. A common option is a gradient that begins in one corner of the image and moves to another color diagonally, as well as a straightforward top-to-bottom or left-to-right transition. You may also move from darker to lighter if you only use one color.
10 Product Photography Ideas
Product photography offers a ton of potential for creativity, and since you’re not photographing real people, you may spend as much time as you like reworking your scenario and experimenting with new ideas. Although some product images include scenes that have been extensively edited, anyone can take remarkable pictures. Below are some product photography Ideas:
1. Create a Pattern
Repeating the product numerous times across the photograph, and establishing a pattern, is an easy method to make a punchy, memorable product shot. This method of product photography is not only easy to set up, but it also looks good and has a beautiful rhythm. This type of image works particularly well on social media since small screens don’t like complex product photographs and this one manages to be both strong and minimalist.
2. Select Props Strategically
Your product images may stand out by using props to enhance the image with fascinating details, colors, and textures. However, they ought to be carefully picked and appropriate for the subject of the photograph. Instead of drawing attention away from the product, they ought to accentuate it. This picture employs fruits and plants as props to evoke summertime, tangy tastes, and Bombay Sapphire gin’s herbal infusion.
3. Use Complementary Colors
You may forego the props and make your product the focal point of the picture for a new strategy. For instance, a straightforward yellow-gold ball can be photographed on a royal purple backdrop to produce a captivating end image. Bold colors from opposing sides of the color wheel are used in complementary pairings. If you enjoy this concept, consider looking at some sports team’s uniforms for color ideas.
4. Make Texture the Focus
The importance of using photos to highlight a product’s distinctive traits has increased as internet purchasing becomes more commonplace. Texture is frequently one of the key selling points when it comes to photographing cosmetics and skincare products. By using an uncommon method of texture photography, this image gives the spectator a tactile impression of the goods.
5. Let Yourself Be Cheeky
When it comes to product photography, humor might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but it can be quite effective. This image doesn’t rely on elaborate prop sets or challenging lighting configurations. Instead, a few traditionally male things are styled in a lovely and whimsical way. The finished image is distinctive, conveys a point, and entices viewers to examine the cosmetics used to create the face more closely.
6. Highlight the Product Features
Finding strategies to showcase a product’s technical characteristics while photographing it will help your product photography look more enticing. It goes beyond the product’s visual features. A quick glance at this photo reveals that the jacket is not only fashionable but also waterproof, making it ideal for energetic people who won’t let a small bit of rain slow them down.
7. Less Can Be More
A whiskey bottle is depicted in this incredibly minimalistic artwork, which is nearly entirely black. It appears as though a concentrated light source has been positioned behind the bottle and is emitting a tiny amount of light to highlight its contour. The product’s Johnnie Walker scotch whisky identity is clearly apparent thanks to the branding and bottle shape. This “less is more” philosophy might highlight the iconic qualities of the brand itself if you’re photographing a product for a well-known company.
8. Change Your Perspective
Sometimes all it takes to make a product appear alluring is a slight shift of viewpoint. Although iced coffee is a rather common and uninteresting commodity, by elevating it and filming it from a little angle, it becomes grand and larger-than-life. A smart technique to develop your eye is to photograph your product from a variety of angles to watch how the final image changes.
9. Collaborate With a Stylist
If you’re a product photographer who also excels at styling products, try experimenting with different setups for your product photographs. If, however, you don’t have the necessary talents, you could want to think about working with a stylist to bolster your portfolio. If you can discover someone with whom you get along, you may routinely refer one another to secure additional engagements.
10. Consider the Client’s Needs
The position of the photograph should guide how you approach each product shot you shoot. For instance, landscape photographs that are intended for website hero images are often longer than those for Instagram stories. Your customer could desire additional space for text, like in this example. You may snap more effective and practical product shots by being aware of these demands.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have provided you with some of the best object photography or product photography ideas that will help you upscale your photography career. Product photography will help you decide and set the scene and mood. If you want to learn about photography there are various courses of which one is the Comprehensive Photography Course offered by AAFT Online.
