Greatproduct photographyis important, especially in the world of ecommerce. It increases the perceived value of your products and makes your website appear more trustworthy. Fortunately you don’t need a multi-thousand dollar DSLR camera or expensive product photographer to begin reaping the benefits.
That’s why we put together theultimate DIY guide to beautiful product photography, so that you too can learn toshoot and produce high quality pictures that sell.
As a follow-up, we’ve compiled 50+ tools and resources to help you take your own product photos. These include resources on lighting, post-production apps, recommendations of experts, and other valuable resources you need for your home or work studio.
Best yet, most of the product photography equipment we cover, you can pickup on Amazon, or through your favorite online store on relatively low budget, so you can quickly get to shooting products.
Shopify Academy Course: Product Photography
Photographer Jeff Delacruz shares how you can create your own photo studio and take beautiful product photos for less than $50.
Enroll for freeMust haves for the photoshoot
Your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy
We’ve come a long way since the original iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. The latest versions of either phone offer more than enough to take incredible product images and product shots. The models of both phones are likely going to provide over 40+ megapixels which is more than enough to get that perfect product shot.
Foldio2 - Portable Mini Studio
Foldio is unfolding a whole new level of possibilities in DIY product photography. The world’s 1st portable studio (mini studio) comes with a foldable compact design, dual LED light strips, 4 backdrops and many other essential components.
Camera: Nikon D5200
For a camera at a somewhat lower price range, you might consider the Nikon D5200 at $650. BothPC MagandCNETcall this a mid-range SLR of excellent quality.
And if you're a fan of cameras from Canon, consider theCanon EOS T3. It's excellent quality at its price of $450.
Camera: Nikon D610
Jeff Delacruz, the expert who put together our original DIY photography guide,uses this camerabecause it's: “affordable but high-quality,” “second only to the Nikon D800,” and also because its file size is small at 24.3mp. At $1900, this is the Cadillac model of cameras here.
Tamron 90mm 1:1
杰夫recommends these lenses to go with the D610, for its depth of field, for its 1:1 focus, and because it's at a good price.
Ravelli APLT2 Tripod
你需要一个三脚架,一个稳定的形象。杰夫recommends specifically that tripods needn’t be expensive. Here’s a great one for $20. It’s light and extendable.
Joby GorillaPod
Your iPhone needs a stand too, and you can’t go wrong with the GorillaPod. It’s a small tripod that promises to grip smartphones tightly. Its legs are flexible, which means that it can be wrapped along a surface.
ProShot
With a variety of camera settings and options, ProShot allows you to quickly take high-quality photos regardless of your photography experience. Whether you need the perfect close-up or full frame of your latest product ProShot makes you feel like a pro using just your Android.
Switch Pod
Built by well-known internet entrepreneur Pat Flynn, SwitchPod works with any camera, from a phone to a DSLR, and simplifies video making. Switch Pod easily allows you to switch from handheld and tripod mode in literally seconds. Lightweight and compact, it’s a great to travel with!
breffo Spiderpodium
As an alternative to a tripod, you might get a stand like the Spiderpodium. It fits not only on a table, but even on a bike or in the car.
Camera+
Shooting on the iPhone? Camera+ is an app that enhances the capabilities of your phone camera in really powerful ways. You have the ability to change shooting modes, adjust touch exposure, and set up a grid to guide your shots.
Neewer 43 Inch/110 Centimeter Light Reflector 5-in-1
Light reflectors are arguably one of the best bang for your buck items on this list.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a professional photographer, you’ll be amazed at what a few light reflectors can do to the quality of your photos. In just a few minutes, you can completely transform your product shots.
Arqspin
Arqspin is a product that lets you capture 360-degree shots. If you want your customer to view a product at all angles before purchase, for example of a shoe, this is the tool to use. The basic feature is $19.95 a month; you’ll also need to purchase a spinning disk, which ranges from $99.95 to $349.95.
Folding Table
From Jeff: “A standard folding table works best, and a width that’s between 24 and 27 inches is ideal.” We’ve found one here at a cheap price for 24 inches.
Seamless Background Paper
Seamless background paper from Savage is the industry standard, and is used as a simple background for the photos of your products. Use it with a sweep, below.
Sweep
As an alternative to background paper, you can get a sweep. These can be propped up to be used as a support stand. Wrap it with background paper and you’ll get a smooth background without a visible corner or fold.
Mat Board
If you can’t get a sweep, find a thin Mat Board, which are a more easily available alternative. You should still be going for pure white here.
Cyclorama
You might also consider using a cyclorama to create an “infinite curve,” or a horizon line type in the photo.
Gray Card
A gray card is a standard middle gray reference used to produce consistent image exposure and color. Use it as a reference for lighting.
Light Tent
A light tent softens the light and removes reflections when shooting reflective objects.
Homemade Light Box
For those who are really serious about shooting their own products, we’ve included this guide to construct your own light box. With a lightbox, you’re able to better control the lighting.
Want to know how to use all of these products? Then head over toJeff’s guide.
Photo editing after the shoot
Taking the photo is only the first part of producing great photography.Editing it to make it the best it can beis nearly as important. Here are some tools, some super-sophisticated and even somefree photo editing software.
GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program can’t quite do all that Photoshop can do… but it’s free. Download GIMP and you’ll get most of the photo editing features you need.
Pixlr
Pixlr is another online tool, and can also be downloaded to your phone as an app. If you’re shooting people, you can use Pixlr to remove red-eye and whiten teeth.
Credit toWesley Hancock's blog.
Photoshop Express
Want to edit a photo on your phone? Use Photoshop Express – it’s free.
TouchRetouch
TouchRetouch is an app that specifically removes unwanted objects or contents for your photos. Have an unwanted guest in a shot? Is the moon distracting from a night shot? Edit them out. It’s only 99 cents.
Clipping Magic
Clipping Magic is an online tool that lets you remove the background of your product. If you dislike, say, the lighting and the colors behind it, you can remove your product to create a uniform background. It can also be used to refine edges and reduce blur.
Photoshop Elements
You know of Photoshop. It’s the photo editing software that can do all you can ask for and then some. The more lightweight version is called Photoshop Elements 12 and costs $80.A free trial is also available.
Photoshop Lightroom
Lightroom, by Adobe, is a tool for editing photos and organizing them. It’s especially useful for managing large quantities of photos. As an addition to Photoshop, it also organizes and processes large numbers of images.
Want professional help?
Have to turn to a professional? We have a few suggestions.
Products on White Photography
This is Jeff Delacruz’s studio. You can’t go wrong with the guy who wrote theoriginal ultimate guide on DIY photography. Ship your products to Jeff in Chicago and his team will take all the photos you need.
Remove the Background
Remove the Background is service that strips the background of your images (like Clipping Magic, above) at a cheap price. It uses proprietary software and promises 24-hour turnaround at $1.45 per image. If you have a lot of bulk images that need a white background, Remove the Background can be a great service to consider.
Mister Clipping
Mister Clipping has been removing backgrounds since 2005, and provides handmade paths for clipping. Its prices range from $0.95 to $9.95 per image.
Shopify Photography Experts
There are of course hundreds of experts who are able to help you with not just photography, but also design. Many are experienced with helping Shopify merchants.
A few other guides
We’ve suggested the tools to set up a DIY studio, but we haven’t really told you how to use them. So we’ve put together this list of resources as guides to using them.
DIY Photography, from A Better Lemonade Stand
We’ve been focusing heavily on Jeff’s walkthrough of DIY photography, but there are other good walkthroughs as well. Check out this one, from Richard Lazazzera. He didn’t have to spend over $50 getting his studio set up.
tuts+
This guide, which involves string, duct tape, clamps, and coathangers, is more complicated, but the results are beautiful.
Digital Photography School Guide
One last guide for you, from Darren Rowse at the Digital Photography School. It involves very basic materials, like a cardboard box, to create very good photos of products.
CameraShy
If you want a general photography blog, check out CameraShy. Ingrid blogs regularly and offers intro courses on basic photography.
Strobist
The Strobist blog is dedicated to the trickiest part of photography: Lighting. Take a look at its resources on every aspect of controlling your product photography lighting.
Tech Company video tutorials
Are you a video learner? Take a look at this 15-part series focusing on everything from lighting, to editing, to shooting jewelry in particular.
Forrest Tanaka video tutorial
For a more concise video to understand product photography, check out the 17-minute guide by Forrest Tanaka. It features a complete product workflow from planning, lighting, editing, and publishing.
Tabletop Photography
If you’rethe reading type, check out this book by Cyrill Harnischmacher. Its subheadline is: Using Compact Flashes and Low-Cost Tricks to Create Professional-Looking Studio Shots.
The Art and Style of Product Photography
This book is our last recommendation for a resource. The author is a professional photographer whose work has been published in Rolling Stone, Elle, and US Weekly. It’s a quite comprehensive guide.
Product photography is a key part of your business
Product photography is important, and we want you to do it right. It can be tricky, but good photos are crucial to generating sales and putting your best foot forward.
Don’t be a poorly-designed site with badly-lit photos. Move past reading the endless lists of product photography tips, and get great at product photography today.
About The Author
Dan Wangis a Shopify Content Specialist studying economics and philosophy at the University of Rochester. Talk to Dan onTwitter.