How to Take Stunning Photos of Your Physical Products

If you’re selling physical products as a dropshipper, as an affiliate marketer or even as a product manufacturer or designer, then it’s crucial that you understand how to make people really want what you’re selling in order to ship the greatest number of units. Look at it this way: you can be selling the greatest product in the entire world but if you can’t show your audience that this is the case, then they’re not going to know, and they won’t want to order from you! 

So how can you make sure that your products look truly glorious on your site? 

Let’s take a look… 

Get a Good Camera and Lighting 

The first thing to do is to get a good camera and good lighting. This is absolutely essential as it will make your product look much crisper, and it will allow you to create dynamic lighting that casts shadows and generally makes your item look more interesting. If you’re only going to take a photo a couple of times before selling the same products, then you might not want to make this investment. In that case, try to find a camera and lighting set up that you can borrow or even rent. At the very least, your images should be 1080p and you should have enough lighting to create a ‘Rembrandt’ effect where the object is lit from one side. 

Consider the Backdrop 

Another important consideration is your backdrop. Just sitting your product on your dining table with your floral table cloth is not going to look very professional. Fortunately, creating a backdrop is fairly easy and often just involves painting three sides of a cereal carton black. You can also use this method in order to later crop your image using Photoshop or other imaging editing software. 

Another option is to use an area of natural beauty. Placing items in the sun on grass or by streams can look good depending on the item – and this negates the need for lighting. 

One more alternative is to use a model. But if you do this, then make sure you pay attention to detail. A manicure for instance will make a big difference for a woman modelling a ring. Just make sure it’s not too patterned to end up distracting from the product itself! 

Think About Depth and Proportion 

When you’re taking a photo with a single subject, such as a product image, it can sometimes be hard to make that item look interesting or dynamic. The solution is to think about your composition by perhaps altering the angle, or perhaps adding other items that can show proportion. 

Your key aim here is to make the item look tangible so that the buyer can imagine reaching out and touching it. You might also want to pose the item or think about what its ‘best side’ is. 

If you’re taking multiple shots, then you might take multiple angles – but try and avoid seams or other aspects that aren’t so attractive.

Learn how to get your store up and running even if you have no technical skills.