Your Product Photo Shoots: Different Kinds and Why

Your Product Photo Shoots: Different Kinds and Why

Let’s launch into some tips about photography and photo shoots in particular.

Photography is super important. When you’re photographing your product it’s a really big project and most people kind of fly in by the seat of their pants. It takes a lot of thought and preparation. Typically, when we’re getting into a photo shoot we’re looking at a full day of planning or at least four hours on any product line that’s a pretty large product. Photography is so important.  I see a lot of great photography and not so great photography.

There are lots of questions and distinctions about product photography versus lifestyle shots. Let me share about two forms of photography.

1. Product Photography

2. Lifestyle Shots

We’ll discuss what these two things are and why they function differently, as well as their nuances.

Product photography– this shows the detail of the product, the use of it and the product in its best possible light.

You want to make sure it’s clear and high-resolution images. I see a lot of photography where people have taken their photographs and now they’re trying to apply it to packaging. You need to think through the packaging before doing your photography, because sometimes there’s an extra image you need when you go to do your packaging that you didn’t think about and then you don’t have it.

It can be expensive to go back and redo it. So obviously its important to do the best job,  the first time! Please...know what you need and how to execute the process.

The product photography is all about the product, the interaction with a hand or model.  The lighting needs to be minimized to share the product correctly.  If you’re doing a reflective product you need to use what’s called diffusion material so you can control the glare on the product, but make sure it’s lit well enough that you can understand what it is. These are just a few thing to be aware of, and there are so many more.

It’s really important if you’re going to approach taking on your own photography that you use good lighting. You can get lighting setups for as little as $200 that are professional grade lights. If you come to somebody to do your packaging and your photos aren’t well lit than they won’t be able to deliver good packaging for you or good website shots.

In general, on product photography here’s the shoot list that you would need.

•  One that shows the product looking amazing

• Any special features about it should have their own photograph

If you need a hand in the picture to show its size, a hand model is a good way to go.

• Make sure in whatever picture you’re showing that the product is the focus of the shot.

It’s called product photography because it’s a photograph of the product. It’s not about your model it’s about how well they present the product.

• Always take photographs at high resolutions.

• You want to make sure you don’t have what’s called a horizon line behind the product.

We may want to zoom in, cut a photo and please consider the background. You want to have something that’s easy to work with if we need to crop the photo. You don’t want anything that’s going to compete with your item

Product photography is critical now because the level of expectation that’s coming up for people has increased.

Well, that was a bunch of information for today. Let me cover lifestyle shots in my next entry.

See you then.

CLICK HERE to read Part Two! 

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