Want to understand how light works?
/Grab this light guide that explains how photography and light work together. Explained in simple terms.
5 Compelling Reasons to Invest in a Professional Product Photographer for Your Business Success
/I’m sorry to say, but not investing in a professional product photographer isn’t helping you, it’s hindering.
Here are five ways a professional photographer helps you stand out in your product-based business:
1. Expertise: A professional photographer brings skills and experience to capture your products in the best light, ensuring high-quality images.
2. Equipment: Access to professional-grade cameras and equipment results in sharper, more detailed photos that stand out.
3. Creative Direction: Photographers can provide creative insights, suggesting unique approaches to showcase your products effectively.
4. Editing Skills: Professional photographers excel in post-processing, enhancing images to perfection for a polished and attractive look.
5. Consistency: A photographer can maintain a consistent visual style across your product photos, contributing to a unified and recognizable brand image.
Elevate your product business today!
5 Ways to Use Your Product Photos
/You’ve just received your professional product photos from your photographer. Now what? How can you use them? Below is a list of 5 ways you can put them to good use and promote your business.
Website
Publications
Shopify
Social Media
Newsletter
The website is like your cover page as well as a place to display a pretty view of the products you sell. It gives off the “welcome to my business” vibe when you walk into a store for the first time.
Every business should print information about their business. It’s a great way to reach the community that doesn’t know about your website and for the people who don’t have social media. Ways you can do that are; billboards, menus, mailers, magazine ad, and product catalog.
You also need professional product photos on your Shopify website. This is the place people are buying your product. Make them look good so people buy instantly.
59.3 percent of the total global population are on social media. Promoting and sharing product photos on social media is a must. Make sure to branch out to all social media platforms and repurpose your content in each place. (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn)
Email Newsletters are a perfect way to connect with your customers on a personal level and it’s a great way to use your professional product photos.
Professional tip: Add text to your photo with any of the Canva templates to elevate your graphics like I did in this reel.
Fake Pool Product Photo Idea
/It’s not quite summer where I live, but we can dream right?
This shoot was so much fun and really only took a few items to create this fake pool photo.
The light used for this was direct, contrast lighting from the sun. No need to mess with lights inside a studio. Just make sure your shadow isn’t in your shot.
Equipment needed: -backdrop that looks like water -acrylic box -water -spray bottle to mist the product -white poster board to reflect light
Do This When Shooting Indoor Photography
/Shooting indoors can be tricky!
Let me share tips on how to execute it properly, shooting with a DSLR or iPhone/android.
1. Turn off overhead lighting. This helps your photos white balance be more neutral. If the lights were on, your photo would turn out yellow.
2. Move near a window or open door and have your subject face the light. This helps to illuminate your subject nicely.
This seems like an obvious thought, but you’d be surprised to know this is the biggest mistake people make when it comes to properly lighting your scene.
3. Purchase white foamboard at any grocery store. The foamboard can be used as a reflector or fill light. Simply place the board near your subject, with the light bouncing on the board, then onto your subject. The foamboard will also help neutralize your white balance.
There you go! Try it out for yourself and don’t be afraid to move around and try different angles, use different lenses or change your ISO.
Have questions? Comment below and I’d love to talk more with you.
How To Fake A Pool-Beach Look For A Product Shoot
/Planning ideas for a product shoot can be extremely fun and hard at the same time.
The goal is to make sure my clients are 100% satisfied in the end. The professional photographs I provide for them are meant to connect their clientele-present and future, with the products they sell in hopes they become long time customers.
Sometimes the ideas might seem impossible. For example, I don’t live near the beach, or own a pool.
For one of my styled shoots, I wanted the setting to be at the beach or pool. So instead of it stopping my creative process, I made a beach/pool scene and I chose to shoot this outside to give it the high contrast light.
The tools used:
Playsand
Clear acrylic container
blue poster board
water hose
beach props
clients products
white foamboard to reflect light on your subject and cancel out the warm tones from the brick.
tripod
Spray bottle with water to make the sand wet and condensation on products
Tips:
As you are shooting, be aware of your own shadow
Try several angles
Move props around to try different looks
Under-expose (darken) your photo when shooting outside. It’s hard to see the exposure correctly when shooting outside in the bright light.
Shoot with a variety of lenses so you can get different looks
You can shoot these with your DSLR or iPhone. I hope you have fun creating.
If you have questions, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Featured product: Pure and Coco
Behind the Scenes Product Shoot: Pure and Coco
/Behind the scenes product shoot
Today I’m highlighting a product shoot I did with Pure and Coco.
They are a product subscription client, and send me their products from Washington.
For 2021, I will have the honor of doing a shoot for them each month.
I’m excited for each shoot, because they will challenge me to be more creative than the shoot before, which will result in inventive photos for my clients.
Are you a product based business and interested to hear more about how a subscription shoot works?
Bloggers! Use these tips for your next photo shoot with your iPhone
/When you are doing your own photoshoot at home, take note of these four tools to create product photos.
Clamps
Masking tape
Wooden blocks
Dumbbells
