The Product photography plays a very important role in the world of advertising, understand advertising as the way of publicize a product and generate in the viewer the desire to buy it.
When we talk about product photography, we can include any product: food, jewelry, drinks, clothing, accessories, medicines, etc.
Today I am going to give you all the keys to get a perfect product photography, be it for your own website, for your social networks, for a friend or for a client.
Save this mega guide well because I am going to try to make it very exhaustive and I am sure that at some point it will be useful to you again. And if you want to explore other photographic genres, don’t miss this other guide. With that said, let’s get started 🙂 .
INSIDE THIS ARTICLE… 📖
What is product photography?
product photography It is the visual representation, with a camera, of an object in the most attractive and favorable way possible, generally with a commercial purpose. What product photography pursues is publicize a product for the ultimate purpose of selling or marketing it.
Objectives of product photography
These are the main objectives pursued by product photography:
- Arouse the viewer’s interest in a product.
- Make the viewer feel that they know the product without having to see it.
- Represent an object in an attractive as well as reliable way.
- Make him buy it.
Keep in mind that the higher the quality of the image, the more chances the product has of being sold.
Product and advertising photography
Product photography is oriented, as I have already mentioned, to create an image attractive at the same time that trustworthy of a product with ultimate goal of being sold. It is an important part of advertising photography and on many occasions one cannot be understood without the other.
Advertising photography, however, covers a broader field in which an image of the product itself does not necessarily have to appear. So in that sense, product photography is generally advertising, but advertising doesn’t always have to be the photography of a product.
Now that we have it more defined, let’s go with the team that I recommend.
Recommended camera for product photography
The best camera to get into product photography should have the following characteristics:
- With the possibility of working in RAW format.
- Manual mode.
- With option to exchange objectives.
- Have a good size sensor.
- Live View mode.
Don’t know what is best for you? This is my personalized camera recommendation for you. And in case you want to know more about various models, here is the BdF camera encyclopedia with all the digital cameras you can find on the market.
What is the best lens for product photography?
The best lens or objective for product photography is, from my point of view, a fixed optic that is as bright as possible. For many reasons.
Advantages of a fixed lens for product photography
- They are usually very bright.
- They are much cheaper than zooms with a similar brightness.
- They are well built and more resistant (they have fewer elements than the zoom).
For product photography I recommend focal lengths from 50mm to 100mm, for example:
Advantages of a zoom lens for product photography
- They are more versatile.
- You cover more focal lengths by investing in a single lens.
- If you have the budget to invest in a bright zoom, they can be a good option for product photography.
- You usually buy your camera with a kit lens so, once you have it, try to make the most of yours in the best possible way.
To choose a lens, look at aspects such as brightness, diaphragm blades, minimum focus speed and, of course, your budget. Within this guide you will find all the tips to choose the best lens for your camera (and get it right).
Recommended Accessories
The best accessories for product photography are, mainly:
- A light box: very effective, simple and economical. It will work great for small objects with simple compositions. You can even make your own light box by following these steps.
- A white background: Without a doubt, the white background is one of the most used in product photography.
- A black background: another very recurring background and necessary to have among your accessories.
- A tripod: It must be robust, with few leg sections and an interchangeable head. Take a look at the complete guide to buying a tripod if you are interested in getting one.
- A handheld photometer: is the most precise way to control the exposure of an image.
- At least one continuous light source.
- An external flash.
- A couple of light windows.
- A gray card.
- Polarizing filter to avoid unwanted reflections.
- an acrylic table to generate creative reflections.
- A remote trigger.
- Tables, wood and other supports on which to place your products.
- A portable photo studio It can be very useful if you have already decided that this type of photography is your thing.
Now, these are the recommended accessories, my advice is that you go for it even if you don’t have anything close to the material that I recommend. That is the ideal, but you can get many of these accessories at home by investing very little money. That later you discover that this is the passion of your life, because you will scratch your pocket 😉 .
How to light a product photography?
The lighting is one of the most important aspects of Product photography, and to which you should dedicate more time and learning. Learn to create volume, to avoid reflections, to obtain a good exposure or to create a reaction in the viewer simply by modeling the light.
The first thing you should ask yourself is what result you want to obtain. An image with a lot of contrast? Soft and warm? Flat or deep? What do you want to convey with it? What should your product talk about? Picture it mentally and write down the results you want to achieve. Then use everything in your power to get it.
Let’s see the main characteristics of lighting in order to apply them to product photography.
- natural light It is still a type of lighting to take into account when photographing a product. If you have an environment with good lighting, take advantage of it, this light is very photogenic and does not require investing in too many accessories. The drawback is that it changes momentarily, so you must learn to know it well and be quite fast.
- artificial lighting It allows us to control the light at any time of day, which therefore makes it easier to dedicate all the time we consider necessary to photos.
- Keep in mind that one does not exclude the other, they are perfectly complementary and one can make up for the shortcomings of the other.
- With both types, you must take into account the light quality: this can be soft (large light source relative to the subject) or hard (small light source relative to the subject).
- Soft or diffuse light it is ideal for still lifes, it casts few shadows (for example, the light of a cloudy day).
- hard light It is ideal for highlighting shapes and high contrasts. Sunlight at noon would be, for example, an example of hard light.
- Another characteristic of light that you should know is how light behaves depending on the address from which it is projected onto the object:
- Front light: the light falls directly on the object and generates very flat images with hardly any texture or shadows, while being more descriptive.
- side light: the light is placed on one side of the object, forming an angle of 90º with the camera. The result is an image with high illumination contrast between the illuminated side and the unlit side. Increases textures and volume. To dim the dark side, you can use a reflector.
- Ambient or background light: it is the natural light that surrounds the object. In the studio it is usually imitated by bouncing the light off the ceiling or using an overhead light source.
- Semi-lateral light: light falls at an angle of about 45 degrees. This lighting marks the textures and generates a sensation of depth. It is one of the most used lighting schemes.
- Contour light: It is used at an angle of about 135º and is used to highlight textures, emphasize perspective and outline the object.
- Backlighting: the light comes from behind the subject and therefore in front of the camera. The contrast in this case is extreme between lights and shadows, losing most of the information about the object beyond its shape or silhouette.
- fill light: It is used to fill in the shadows that a light source may cause.
How to do product photography at home?
When we see images as well crafted as product photographs usually are, we can think that neither we nor the material are going to be up to the task.
Nothing is further from reality. Product photography is a great candidate to be worked at home. You do not need large spaces or large investments in accessories to start. In fact, beyond a camera, an object, a tripod and light, you don’t need more.
I leave you with a video that not only shows you how you can photograph a product but also does it with completely homemade lighting and accessories 🙂 .
Having seen the video, I leave you with this article on still life that will surely also help you with your homemade product photography. Oh, and if you need inspiration, be sure to check out this other article with 15 still life images to inspire you.
Product photography with a white background
the white background is one of the most used Product photography. If you want to make a white background really white, you must take several aspects into account:
- Obviously you will need a white background ;).
- Make sure it’s well lit.
- Controls the white balance.
- Work in RAW.
- You have just adjusted the white in the develop.
- Separate the object from the background (so no shadows will be cast on top of the background).
- Open the diaphragm to blur the background if necessary.
the white background It is associated with purity and freshness, which is why it is usually used for food, intensely colored objects, or everyday objects such as personal hygiene products, makeup, technology, etc.
with black background
the black background in product photography it is associated with elegance, luxury, retrospection and exclusivity. It is ideal for watches, transparent products such as spirits, perfumes, glassware and, in general, those objects that we want to give an air of exclusivity.
Now, to get a black background that is really black, you must take into account:
- Move the object away from the background.
- Or bring the lighting closer to the object if you can’t move it away from the background.
- Close the diaphragm.
- Reduce the exposure time to turn off the background.
- Use a low ISO to maintain sharpness.
- Work in RAW.
- You just adjusted the blacks in the render.
Basic settings for product photography
Each image will need its…