Professional Photography Tips for Capturing your Products & Business
Let’s get it straight. Good photos are important. You’ll want them to showcase your hard work and gorgeous product.
Let’s imagine you have a physical product for your business – a card deck, a book, a journal, a workbook, a mug?
When you are selling a product online, the photo is the only thing the purchaser has to access if they are to purchase it. Your photo is like your merchandise on a store shelf. The buyer is gonna want to look it over from every angle, see what they are getting. There even needs to some photos that act like eye candy – so that the buyer can’t resist having it.
There are many pieces that go into a good photograph. You need lighting. You need background. You need a good camera. You need a sense of style and personality.
I’m not a photographer and although I have an eye for beauty I sometimes miss things in the background. I don’t necessarily notice a cord hanging or a wrinkle in the fabric. So I’ve reached out to 3 professionals to share their tips for taking great photos.
Different Shots for Different Folks
Each one of these photographers specializes in a specific category – a dog photographer, an empowering portrait photographer, and a product photographer. You can see that each one of their categories brings a unique responsibility and skill based on their niche needs, however the basic tips for photography remain the same.
Each of these women are passionate about their subjects and that is what makes them shine. Their passion shows through their work and they know their audience.
Meet Rita Earl Blackwell. The Dog Photographer.
She’s often called a life saving photographer because her photos of rescue animals finds them the loving homes they deserve. Dogs adore her which is why she’s able to capture their essence. People love her because of her dedication to saving homeless dogs everyday. It’s top of her list and the love pops out in her work.
Rita’s Photography Tips
1) SUNLIGHT!
Always make sure you’re in or near good light! This is the most important rule for photos. Better to use natural light then flash when possible.
2) DE-CLUTTER
Look around your subject and see if there are no other distractions around. Move if needed.
3)* iPHONE CAMERA
Swipe over to PORTRAIT MODE. This feature allows for a shallow depth of field which means it’s a pretty blurred background!
4) POSITIONING
Hold your camera at eye level! Whether it’s a selfie or a photo of your dog, get down to eye level!
Here are a few of Rita’s photos, that help these little doggies find their homes! She’s saved so many lives and I’m proud to tell you that Rita is my baby sister.
And just for joy *and some happy tears* a video proof of Rita’s good work. Click here to watch short Instagram video of this little boy thanking Santa for his best friend (rescue dog)
and since your mascara is already running, I’ll add this short video to make your heart grow. Click here to watch the short video of this beautiful little chihuahua finding his forever new home.
From little kids to famous actors, Rita Earl Blackwell never rests in her quest to place every rescued puppy in the arms of love.
Meet Anna Visik. The Empowering Portrait Photographer.
She’s all about self love and body liberation and that starts with her mission to help woman heal their relationship with their body. Anna is about helping them feel empowered to live a life they love with authentic confidence. She offers empowering portrait experiences, retreats, coaching and hosts an online community called The Self Love Club.
A photoshoot unlike anything you’ve experienced before because you get to be you – whether boudoir, headshots, lifestyle or goddess. It’s all done to help you see yourself from a different angle while someone (Anna) captures your beauty.
Anna says our culture teaches us to look outside ourselves to feel good about ourselves. And when we see others who seem to have it all together, we feel worse about ourselves. She questions, what if you knew that everyone else also was struggling and was really good a wearing their mask?
When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and seen by others, we realize how heavy the mask is and how freeing just being our imperfect selves can be.
It becomes easier to see how we’ve been programmed with limiting beliefs and how this holds us back from feeling good in our lives.
Anna’s Photography Tips
The best light is usually what I call open shade…and area that is shady but that there is direct light nearby. For example, a covered porch where the porch cover is blocking the light but there’s still sunshine in the front year. In this case, you would face the front yard. Or in a room when it’s sunny outside but the sun is not pouring into the room. In this case, you would face the window.
Switching to video mode instead of photo mode if you don’t need high resolution and especially if you’re in motion or action. Then you can watch the video and do a screen capture of your favorite clip and save that as your photo. To do this on an iPhone, simply watch the video and press pause at your favorite part. Then hold the power and volume up button at the same time to do a screen capture. You can then crop this to crop out the parts of the screen capture that aren’t the image.
There’s a subconscious process that happens when we see an image of someone feeling good about being themselves. This energy is transmitted and evokes an emotion from people who see it. If you notice yourself being self critical, you can take the time to access why and where those messages are coming from. What can you do to connect to your self, your body more?
Meet Amanda Myers. The Product Photographer.
Amanda obviously loves cats too. You’ll find that she may slip in a cat or two near your product just for fun.
Photographing a product is a bit different than photographing a person that can smile back at you, and exude energy that is captured by the camera. Photographing products and items requires you have lighting and backgrounds to capture the details in your product. It’s got to enhance but not compete. Not so easy to do on your own. In product photos you aren’t captured by the charm of the person, so your eyes are all over, noticing every detail. So every detail must be considered with no room for error.
Amandas Photography Tips
It’s all about great lighting. Flashes, Stobes, LED, reflectors, and natural light.
When photographing cats and dogs don’t forget the treats.
Add props. Adding props to product photography can create a lifestyle scene and help show people the size of your product. You can also hold the product in your hand to show size.
Amanda does videos of your product too, which can be tricky to go it alone.
Great photography doesn't end when you shoot the photo. As you can see from all 3 of these examples, it magically lives on, firmly planted in the minds and on the hearts of those who get to experience it.
You can find Amanda here and learn more about her services and how she can help you capture the best versions of your product.
Responses