Videography and Photography 101 for Beginners
Social media pages like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest are often the first source of information that first-time buyers use to learn more about your product. These first impressions are vital decision-makers for your customers and can contribute to the difference between purchasing your products, or a competitor’s.
Showcasing your product in striking visual imagery is essential to growing, maintaining, and connecting with your customers. While developing professional product photography skills can take years to master, there are aspects of photography that can be adapted to any skill level or camera. Whether you shoot on the newest advanced cameras or an iPhone, try these tips to bring new life into your product photos.
Create Your Direction
Before taking photos of your product, make sure the purpose of those photos is clear. Do you have an idea of what you are creating before you go try to execute it? The more you can dream up, the more you will be able to do.
- Compile a list of ideas or a gallery of inspiration on your phone prior to shooting photos.
- Are you a social media user? ‘Save’ ideas that you think are awesome and can take inspiration from.
- Utilize sites like Pinterest for visual ideas and aesthetics.
Put Thoughts into Props
So what props should you use?
Props can be just about anything. You can find props in your own home or try visiting a local craft or thrift store to find something inspiring. They can be incredibly useful when styling your images for specific seasons or holidays. Props help set the scene.
When coming up with ideas for props you can consider things like:
Who is my target audience? (what things might they use on a daily basis?)
What is the season? (summer, winter, holidays)
Where am I taking photos? (park, sports court, kitchen, hiking, plain background)
Do I have a color scheme? (use props that have your brands colors or theme colors)
Try a Flat Lay
A flat lay is a style of image that is of products or items on a flat surface, taken directly from above. This trend is still immensely popular for product photography and can often be an easy way to create a ton of images. It is easiest to take flat lays using a tripod or still camera so that you can quickly change an arrangement of items and continue shooting without grabbing a camera every time.
Show it, Flaunt it!
Show your product in its multitude of uses! Make sure that you have an equal representation of your product in its packaging and in-use. Some things you can try are:
- Create a video of how you can use the product
- Show the product coming out of its packaging, or do an unboxing
- Take a photo of your packages on their way out the door!
Use Natural Light
Great photos are often taken with great lighting. If you do not have to spend hundreds on studio lights to get images you are looking for, go outside to take photos! Often, shooting photography inside with poor lighting can lead to underexposed photos or harsh shadows. These can often contribute to a grainy, blurred looking photo and are hard to edit in post-production.
A great time to take photos and avoided over-exposed images and harsh highlights is when the sun is low on the horizon, or “golden hour”. For an hour before and after sunset, the sun is at a great angle for photography of all kinds. If you are shooting mid-day, overcast skies or shady areas can be useful to consider.
If going outside is not an option, setting up your own mini-studio is an easy DIY project.
Add People
Add a person to the photo to help show how to use the product! Showcasing a human element to photos can give people a different perspective and make your product stand out. Rather than having someone pose ‘with’ the product, have someone pose ‘using’ the product.
Work Your Angles
Do not just move your product or subject, move your body! When choosing images to use, you want to have as many options as possible. Shoot photos from high up, from the bottom, far away and both vertically and horizontally.
When thinking about angles- think about composition. Use the rule of 3. If you imagine a 3 by 3 grid on your camera screen, where does your subject fall? For the best results, place your product in the middle of the grid, or in an interceptive area.
Create a Pattern
You can do this in a variety of ways if your product allows. Keep your product in its packaging or take it out, but arrange them in a way that is a repeating pattern when you snap the photo!
Shoot In Macro
Shooting a photo in macro is essentially shooting it extremely close up. This is a great tool for variety in product shots and can create a neat perspective that is not normally utilized!
Bokeh All Day
bo·keh
/ˌbəo͝okā,bōˌkā/ noun
the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens.
Bokeh is the term photographers use to describe the smoothed background of an image due to focus on the subject. It can add an elegant touch to your photos and can really make products pop when done correctly. To get better bokeh try using a fast aperture (f/2.8 for example), increasing the distance between your subject and the background, or moving closer to the subject.
Bonus Tip: Shoot anywhere, anytime, any day you want. If you can, start bringing your product with you on the go, and utilize moments whenever you can. The need for content will always be there and it is much better to have too many options then nothing to use. Photos can always be recycled and repurposed.
