>Hello everyone! My name is Maryam and I blog over on Pamplemousse1983. Today I will be talking to you about taking better product photography! This is useful for your Etsy shop, Ebay shop or just to showcase your work on your blog, etc.
A common thing I see in pictures and my biggest pet peeve is taking pictures of your product at night. The lighting will ALWAYS be yellow and will NEVER make your product look good. The colors will be off and it’s not flattering whatsoever.
Another common issue I see is taking a picture with stuff in the background, or items not relevant to your product. If you put a teensy bit of effort in, it will make a world of difference!
These first two images are examples of bad product photography. In the first image there is a cluttered background and even though the background is out of focus it detracts from the subject. Also the picture was taken with the lamp on giving it a yellow cast. The second image takes care of the background but the lamp is still on and there is a yellow cast over the image. Also, since the light is coming from overhead you don’t see as much detail in the subject as you could.
Ok, so the easiest and cheapest solution to the background issue is to buy a plain white posterboard. Set it up with the top half propped up on something so it creates a slope. This will eliminate a horizon line and will put the focus on your subject.
The solution to the second problem is to only take pictures during the day when you get the most daylight in your studio/apartment/home. The best thing to do is the face the posterboard towards a window when taking the picture. Try to use indirect light if possible. If you can only take pictures when the sun is coming through the window full force you can buy some cheap white sheer curtains to diffuse the light.
In this first photo I’ve taken the subject in daylight but the posterboard is on the couch facing away from the light. Note there are not shadows, but the picture is a bit dark and there is not much detail. Some of this can be fixed in post production (photoshop, picnik, etc) but it usually is beneficial to take the best picture you can so you don’t have to mess with it as much later. The second image is our winner. The poster board is facing the window. You can see detail in her dress, hair and boots. The color is accurate and the background is nice and neutral.
Now that you have an image you are happy with, you can do a little editing. I usually use Photoshop but I decided to use an editing program that everyone can have access to. I did the following edits using Picnik which is free.
I adjusted the sharpness up a bit. This literally makes the picture sharper. This is great for detailed items such as jewelry. I also upped the exposure (to make the image brighter) and contrast (to give it more dimension). The last fix I did was to crop the image to put the emphasis more directly on the subject.
Those are the basics! A little effort goes a long way and I hope this little tutorial helps you. Have a great day!
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Thank you so much Maryam for this amazing guest post!!