How to Master Product Photography on a Small Budget?

Well, what will be the quickest way to save time, when you’re browsing online to gather information for a specific product? That’s a no-brainer. We look for the product images. It’s easy to understand a product by viewing their image than by reading the specifications only.

Product images testify the product quality. They create transparency and trust as they are the windows into your e-commerce store. Images shape the first impressions about the quality and value of the product and the buyers immediately decide whether to browse further or leave the website.

Product photography is more about images that engage and convert your website visitors into buyers. As visuals create a better impression. The good news is that all this can be achieved without wasting time and money.

You need not worry if unable to find professional product photography services. By applying these simple techniques, you can easily master product photography on a small budget. Get polished product images that convey your company’s brand image nicely and entice your customers in buying your products.

Tips to master product photography on a small budget

The website visitors first engage with the image, no matter how much sophisticated the written copy is. The image quality will form the first impression of the product and your brand both.

You should prefer professional product photography if you can afford it, or else, use the below-mentioned tips to master product photography if you’re on a tight budget. Quality visuals are essential for increasing sales and they make the key element of branding.

There are essentially 3 kinds of the e-commerce product photography that’s used in Amazon product photography service –

In the first one, white background is preferred and the images are clean-cut.

The second kind of photography is in-context or lifestyle photos that give an idea about how that product will look in the intended environment. In-context photos give a lot more creative freedom to the photographer.

The last one is the product-only kind of images that are meant to show your product from all the relevant angles. This is used in make-up product photography. These images define your products and their specifications.

1. Setting Up Background and Product

Getting the background right is important. It helps in the editing process. White and light backgrounds are easy to remove while re-touching the images. If you have a tight budget then you can use a shooting table or a light tent. To get the desired results, you need a roll of craft paper to get the white background.

You can create your own lightbox or light tent. A lightbox is box-shaped and has translucent walls. This device distributes the light evenly around the object. To make the lightbox, use a plastic container and remove its lid. Tape white paper to the bottom and the sides of the plastic box. Use artificial lighting to light up the sides of this box or place it near a large window to use natural lighting.

2. Get the Lighting Right

Product photos can be taken in either natural light or in the studio light. Make sure you don’t take pictures in harsh light. Never shoot under direct sunlight. Direct light can create harsh shadows. If you want to shoot in studio lights then you will need two softbox lights set up to manage the shadows right.

3. Use Tripod

Tripod is used for consistency, stability and focus. Use a tripod to keep your camera fixed. So, you don’t get blurry images. If your budget is a restriction then use a pile of books or a stool to keep your camera fixed.

4. Use the Right Camera

Pick the right camera to shoot the images. Your camera is the most essential equipment that you will need for a product photography shoot. The prices of DSLR and point and shoot cameras has dropped. You can even use your smartphone to click the images as long as you get the lighting and the background right.

5. Post-Processing of the Images

To get a polished look it’s important to retouch your product images. Editing can make all the difference. You can use photo editing software that removes most of the flaws automatically.

6. Optimize your Product Images and Increase SEO

Optimize your product images so that they won’t slow down the page load speed. Every second count and can affect your conversion rates. Use free minifying tools to optimize your images and name your images correctly including the right keywords.

7. Required Tools

In the end, a list of required tools and equipment – a shooting table, lightbox, studio light, tripod, smartphone or camera, image editing tools – Canva, Motor, Snapseed, etc.

Conclusion

Product photography is an essential part of advertising, specifically when you’re selling products directly to buyers. Whether it’s done for catalogue, magazine ads, online ads, company websites and brochures, the specific techniques to show products are used to attract the potential buyers.

Product photography rates vary depending upon the skills of the photographer and the techniques applied. A quick online comparison can be conducted to find the best services at fair prices.