Becoming a photographer is no joke and being a professional photographer is not that simple. Amidst the thousands of people with a camera and those aspiring to become a photographer, you need to stand out from them through your work and let the world know of your skill. This by itself is time consuming and intending to make a living out of it is no less than a Herculean task. The struggle is real, bro!
But what makes everything worth it is the final product, which the world sees through our sight. That one moment that adds value to someone’s life or business is what we photographers live for. And if you’re an aspiring photographer willing to make it big as a product photoshoot expert, here’re some practical tips.
Understand lighting
One of the most crucial elements of a good product photoshoot is lighting. Good lighting can project a product beautifully, making it instantly likeable. Today, with the ecommerce dominating our shopping behavior, focus should be more on how the product looks from a customer perspective. Understand that different products require different types of illumination and treatment. You cannot follow the same rules you followed to photograph jewelry on food. Study, experiment, and learn a lot about lighting and natural light and project them beautifully on screen.
Color Psychology
A lot of photographers I know take colors for granted. The importance they give for lighting gets diluted on their efforts in projecting colors. Colors bring out the vibrance of a product and make them look real like as seen through the human eye. Imagine from a customer perspective that you’re planning to buy a shirt from an online store. The photograph of the shirt you see fascinates you and you instantly buy it. It’s only when it arrives that you see the color difference. This works on the psychological level and is a crucial aspect to consider in product photography. Again, understand lighting better and realize how illumination will distort the natural color of the product and shoot accordingly.
The Background
The background of your product silently influences the final outcome of the image. For instance, if you’re photographing gold jewelry, the background you need to choose will have to be a contrasting color that doesn’t dilute the color of gold. Black is a good choice but using background colors like red, blue, or other colors will attract attention towards itself, leaving the gold unfocused by a viewer. Remember that the color of the background has to blend and complement the product.
Learn the Basic Photography Techniques
Sometimes, it all boils down to techniques. Knowing which photography technique to use and when will pave way for a really good product photoshoot. Use appropriate lenses and know which photography mode to deploy for which class of product. Macro lenses are perfect for food, jewelry, and other smaller products which have to be made to appear large. On the other hand, photographing cars and furniture require a different set of lens and technique for maximum appeal.
Don’t be Afraid to Experiment
Sometimes, photographers need to go beyond their call of duty and experiment with their intuition. A photographer’s instincts are miraculous and yield a brilliant picture others would have never visualized. So, during your photoshoot, apart from your client’s briefing, go ahead and experiment a bit. Nobody’s going to say no if it’s good!
So, yeah, these are some of the basic tips for you to start off with as a product
photographer. While this is way different from other classes of photography, you can anyways bring in your experience from others and infuse it wisely. If you have any other tip in mind, share them on the comments below.
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