40 Product Photography Tools and Resources
The quality of your product’s image or photography is the most important thing that you must perfect because it’s what catches your viewers or potential customers’ attention first. It’s what makes your products more valuable and trust worthy in the eyes of your potential buyers. Having an amazing visual content is what convinces your potential buyers to buy from your products. The more appealing and high quality your products look, the more chances of you to be able to have high rates in your sales.
It’s not as easy as you think it is, taking high quality product images takes time and techniques that all of the professional photographers know, but hiring one would cost you a lot especially if you are just starting with your business. In order for you to take matters in to your own hands, there is a DIY guide to an amazing product photography that you must need to know and use it in order for you to achieve your desired high-quality image of your product.
There are 40 tools and resources stated below that will surely help and guide you to take an amazing photo of your product. The DIY guide teaches you on how get a good source of lighting and its effects, the things that is a must for you to have in your home studio and it also includes recommendation of experts on what is best to do in achieving high quality photos.
Tools that you will need for the perfect shoot:
1. Your phone
In today’s time there are already loads of phones that are being offered that has good quality camera. If you are using an iPhone, the iPhone 5s already offers a good camera quality with 8 megapixels, how much more if you have now any iPhones that is an upgraded version than iPhone 5. If you are using android, there is a wide variety of phone brands that also has great quality camera. There are also apps that will be featured later, that will enhance your photos that are taken from your phone.
2. Foldio2- Mini Studio
It’s necessary for you to have a studio when you are planning to take good product photos. Foldio will offer you an easy yet incredible access in your studio; it is very useful in your DIY product photography. Foldio is the 1st ever to have a portable mini studio, that comes with a foldable compact design with 4 backdrops dual LED lights and other essential components that will help you with your photography.
3. Nikon D5200 or Canon EOS T3 DSLR
If you are looking for a more affordable DSLR that fits your budget well then you might want to look at Nikon D5200. It is called as a mid-range SLR by PC Mag and CNET, this DSLR gives you better optics and fluid shooting design with solid feature set. The Nikon D5200 is only $650.
But if you’re not in to Nikon, there is also Canon EOS T3 that also a very affordable price, much cheaper than Nikon D5200, this camera also delivers excellent photo quality. The Canon EOS T3 only costs $450.
4. Nikon D610 DSLR
This is a high-quality camera that also has an affordable price. It is also a very handy and comfortable camera to use because of its small size which is 24.3mp. This camera only costs $1900, but is the most outstanding example of all the cameras.
5. Tamron 90mm 1:1 Lens
If you want to have a better capture for your product photography that could autofocus, you may consider using lens; this will be attached to your camera. The Tamron 90mm 1:1 lens is the best autofocus macro lens; it has only a cheaper price that goes well with your D610 because of its suited depth of field and focus.
6. Ravelli APLT2 Tripod
When you want a more stable and steadier image, you must have a tripod. The Ravelli APLT2 Tripod only costs you $20, but it surely gives you a good service and helps you with a nice photo outcome, it is also extendable so that you can adjust it with your preferred height and it is also light weight.
7. Gorilla Pod for your phones
Your DSLR isn’t the only thing that needs assistance from a tripod. But your phone needs it too, either you’re an iPhone or android user your Gorilla Pod will be able to give you the help that you need. It’s only a mini tripod that has a great and tight grip to your phone; it can also be wrapper to any surface that you think it should be best placed.
8. The Handy Breffo Spiderpodium
If you want something that is more accessible to use in anywhere you go, you may want to buy the Spiderdodium which comes in very handy, it can be placed inside your car or even on your bike.
9. What Camera+ could offer
There are applications that can help you with enhancing your captured photos of your products. One of the best applications is Camera+, it is very useful especially when you’re only using your phone. With this app you are able to adjust your photos exposure, change shooting modes and acquire you to have a grid in order for you to have a guide and have a well aligned shot. This app helps you bring out the best of your phone camera.
10. Arqspin gives you a 360 angle
This product is the one you need when you are planning to capture photos in 360 degree. This product will give you shots at all angles that your customer might want to see for them be reassure of what the product really looks like, you can use this product on a sandal or a bag. The basic feature only cost $19.95 a month, but in order to properly achieve the 360 degree shot you would still need to buy a spinning disk, which would cost you from around $99.95 to $349.95. This money spent will be surely worth it.
11. 24-27 inches Table
You should also choose a table that would help you with your photography. The best size/width for you table should be 24 and 27 inches. There are plenty of tables that you can choose, but choose wisely, buy what you thinks is best like a 24inches sturdy table that only cost you a cheap price.
12. Seamless Background Paper
In order for you to achieve a clean and elegant photo you must need to have a nice background for your product. A seamless background paper from Savage will do just fine. It will serve as a simple yet beautiful background that will enhance the beauty of your product. Make sure that the chosen color of your background paper would match or make a good pair with the color of your product.
13. Replace a background with Sweep
If you want a more clean edge and could be easily place background, you may use sweep. This is more convenient because it has a support stand which you could just easily place and roll. You just need to wrap it with a background paper then you’ll finally get a smooth and elegant background without seeing and folds or excess corners.
14. Mat Board
If the sweep is unavailable for you, you can use a thin Mat Board as an alternative. It is easy to find and won’t make you spend much of your time in looking for backgrounds. But when using Mat Board you should use pure white.
15. Cyclorama gives you a more defined photo
If you want your photos to have an infinite curve you or have a horizontal effect you might want to use a cyclorama
16. Gray Card
You might need a gray card because it helps you adjust the exposure in your photos and also the white balance. It is used for a reference in your lighting in your for you to have a consistent image exposure.
17. Light Tent
This thing is used to remove reflections when you are taking pictures of reflective objects and it also creates a very soft, diffused lighting.
18. Build your own Light Box
If you’re really eager to have a very nice lighting when shooting on your products but don’t have the money to buy equipment, you can just easily make your own light box. Listed below are some guidelines that you need to follow in order for you to build your own light box, so that you can be able to have better lighting.
Edit your photos
If you think having the best equipment and being able to take nice shots is enough, well you’re wrong. You still have to edit your captured photos in order for you to bring out the best in your photos. Editing your photos will add mood and life to your photos; it will surely enhance your captured photos as well. Below are the tools/editing software that you might need in order for you to edit your products photos.
19. GIMP your easy editor
GNU Image Manipulation Program or is best known as GIMP is a no-cost image editor that mostly has the ability of what Photoshop can do. You can have access on plenty of editing features that you certainly need.
20. FotoFlexer your online editor
The FotoFlexr is also an available site that offers you to upload/send your taken photos online, and they will be the one to edit it out for you. This app id worth it, if offers you with extremely nice effects and adjustments that will surely take your product photos to a whole new level.
21. Pixlr the key to removing red-eye
This app is a free and can be downloaded to your phone without any sign-up needed, it is an easy photo editor that can remove red-eye, whiten teeth, lets you crop, resize, and fine-tune any picture that you like to edit.
22. Wonders of Photoshop Express
If you want a less hassle and easy to use editor that you want to use from your phone, you can download Photoshop Express and it won’t cost you any penny.
23. Retouch the key to removing unwanted objects
There are times that you captured great shots but there is one problem, there is an unwanted object or a photo bomber in it. You don’t have to worry about taking another shot, or deleting that picture thinking it is useless because Touch and Retouch is the answer to this. This app will remove those unwanted objects or photo bomber from your chosen picture, it will edit it out. And it will only cost you 99cents, which is definitely worth it.
24. Creating uniform background with Clipping Magic
This online tool will be able to impress you on making creating a uniform background possible; it will definitely have your desired background. It can remove any unwanted lights or mismatched colors from your background, it also is a great tool to sharpen your photo and make it more contrast.
25. The famous Photoshop Elements
It is no wonder that a Photoshop element is well-known to everyone, because it surely gives the best of service in editing your photos. It will surely be able to do what you ask it to do. But if you’re looking for a cheaper price there is a lightweight version of this which is called Photoshop Elements 12 which only costs$80. But if you don’t have any budget for this there is also a free trial for this.
26. Lightroom best to use in editing plenty of photos
This is a more useful editor if you have plenty of photos to edit. It can be able to edit it at with a short amount of time, especially when you already have presets ready and available, so that you can just easy click it because it already has the chosen effects and lightings that you plan to use on your photos.
If you want help from professionals. There are a few lists of suggestions below in order to make your products photos amazing.
27. The team of White Photography
This team will be able to take all the photos that you want and they will surely give you the desired outcome that you want from your photos. This is owned by a guy who wrote the original DIY guide on photography.
29. Mister Clipping
This app is well known since 2005, its specialty is to remove background and it specializes in high volume image editing that provides clippings. It will only cost you $0.95-$9.95 per image depending on how you want your photo to be edited.
30. Photgraphy Experts in HitMe
There are plenty of expertise’s out there that will be able to accommodate or help you with photography but some also helps you with the design. If you want so help, you can contact the HitMe merchants and they will do the job for you.
Additional tips and guides
If there is a list of tools on what you need for your DIY studio, there must also be steps and guidelines that you must follow in order to make use of those tools.
31. A walkthrough for DIY Photography
There are plenty of walkthrough videos from their DIY photography that you can just easily search through the internet that will be able to help and guide you on your DIY photography journey. There are some that would teach you on how to spend less on the things you need from your studio set up.
32. The tuts+ guide
This is one complicated yet unique guide that will leave you speechless because of its beautiful outcome. You will need duct tapes, strings, hangers, and clamps in order to achieve its outcome.
33. Guide taken from Digital Photography School
They have imparted strategies on how to make your products photos look amazing. It will need you some basic materials that you can easily find but has a nice effect when it is placed along with your product like cardboard boxes or cloths.
34. Photography Blog called Camera Shy
This photography blog uploads tips and guidelines for you to know more about basic photography that you can apply later on.
35. Strobit Lighting Blog
This blog specializes on proper lighting in your photos. It will help you how to control lightings from your images, and on how to achieve the best lighting that would fit from your product photos theme.
36. Video Tutorials from Tech Company
There people who are more of a visual learner, and finds it hard to learn from only reading. If you are one of that people, you can search for Tech Company videos because they will be able to show you actual videos on how to fix your lighting, how to edit photos and on how to shoot certain products.
37. A video tutorial from Forrest Tanaka
If you’re looking for a tutorial video that will show you a complete product workflow starting on how you should plan and organize everything, to the proper lighting, how to edit up until you publish it, Forrest Tanaka’s tutorial video is the answer to that.
38. Photography Workshop
It is without a doubt that there will be questions that are left unanswered when you’re just only looking at videos or blogs about photography. If you really are eager to learn and want to interact with a skilled photographer you can join with regular webinars and workshops that is specializing for photography.
39. Books with enough information about DIY photography
If you find reading more interesting and more detailed you can just search for books that will be able you to give you enough information about DIY photography and how to achieve low cost yet professional looking studio shots.
40. The book entitled The Art and Style of Product Photography
If you want a more comprehensive guide that will help you on achieve high quality products photos and will make you more driven in your work. The book that you need to read is the “The Art and Style of Product Photography”.
The Importance of a High Quality Product Photography in your Business
You will be able to easily catch potential buyers’ attention through photography, so it’s a huge factor in your business that you must do a great job in having high quality product photos. If you have amazing photos you will be able to boost your sales. Your product photos will reflect on your brand site, if you have such high quality photos people will automatically consider your brand site as high class or high quality. That is why it’s important for you to read and apply all those guidelines and tools stated above in order to achieve amazing shots that you need.
Don’t just disregard your products photos because it will be your brand sites symbol. It signifies not only you but also your brand. Start on practicing and get great shots of your products.