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This image is used solely for illustrative purposes. We do not intend to offend or conflict with any societal, cultural, religious, or political values. Image Source: Unsplash+
Hello Readers,
Now is the time for us to dig deep into the steps of product photography. This is the most interesting chapter of our guide. It will help you in assimilating the ways that can be used in order to capture accurate product images. Here you go:
Product Organization
It is hard to assimilate the time and labor that might be required to click the best images, without having to know about the product itself. Considering the range of products that are easiest to photograph, it will be all the solid products such as toys and cups. All you have to do is to give them a glinting look before taking images.
There are other types of products such as clothing items that easily get molded, stretched, wrinkled, etc. It is complex to position these products. For clothing items, it takes hours and hours to iron and position them for the best photographs. Each and every stretch and mode has to be captured in such a way that it can give the exact look of the product.
Product photography speaks for itself and you can easily determine whether the product is photographed in a high-end studio or with amateurish hands. Before sending the product for photography, you need to inspect it thoroughly for any kind of stains, wear, tears, or any other kind of imperfections. This can affect your website to a large extent.
#1: Lighting: [ E-Commerce Product Photography Lesson 3 ]
Lighting is essential for all kinds of photography. It’s not that only product image needs good light but casual photography also needs good lighting for adept imagery. With lighting, I don’t mean to take out your products in sun and capture pictures. You can use various electronic equipment for this purpose. For small products such as digital cameras, EZcube light tent that comes with small 30-watt bulbs on all its sides can be used.
Products such as accessories or clothing need intense lighting arrangements from all directions. Two boxes that are equipped with 60-watt bulbs on both the sides of product can work perfectly. To omit any kind of shadows from the product, you can use a light reflector.
#2: Camera Settings [ E-Commerce Product Photography Lesson 3 ]
Professional photography is not possible without a perfect digital camera that is equipped with unique features. It is not necessary that only the most expensive model on the market will click the best pictures for you. The camera only needs to have a shutter and manual focus option. Every DSLR camera is equipped with these features.
After getting the products ready, it is always recommended to take test pictures first. This will tell you about all the drawbacks in the background or lighting arrangement so that you can make the necessary arrangements. Also, it is important to keep a check on shutter speed and aperture settings that you might have used for clicking the best pictures anytime previously. You can also find this kind of data available on the internet.
Sometimes, besides having basic knowledge about photography, you don’t get to capture the right pictures. You don’t have to worry about that as there are some camera settings that are to be done manually before putting on the final show.
The ISO settings of the camera need to be as low as possible so that your pictures can look soft. These settings also affect the light sensitivity of your camera’s photo sensor. Best pictures can only be captured with ISO settings of 100 or 200. This will allow you to click high-resolution shots. Also, set the image size of the picture as high as possible.
There is a plethora of basic settings that are also to be considered with equal significance. Camera settings are essential for the best product photography and it is highly recommended to restore settings that give you the most appropriate photos.
#3: Photo Editing: [ E-Commerce Product Photography Lesson 3 ]
So now we have come to the final step of out topic. Unquestionably, this is the most important section that should be studied carefully. This is the process to add glamour to the final photograph. Editing is required to omit all kinds of unnecessary elements in the picture. There might be some unwanted colors or shadows or objects that are to be omitted from the final image. All this will come under the niche of editing pictures.
Most of the product image backgrounds are white. It is also among the prior requirements of every online portal. It diminishes the possibility of clashing the object with something when the background is plain white. Image masking techniques, commonly used in editing software such as Adobe Photoshop are used to remove the background and give it a white base instead. If the image masking process is not done adeptly, it can give an extremely poor look to the product.
Masking is a complex task and the complexity increases with more busy background. The Photoshop version of CS4 is fashioned with the “Refine Edge” feature that makes masking easy. Photoshop also consists of artistic tools that are helpful in manipulating pictures.
Sometimes, besides using every effect, you don’t get the desirable results from the photo. In such a case, you can use perspective controls in Photoshop. This feature is best suited for products such as tables and desks as you can aim at the noticeable points with the help of this tool. It gives the product the most overpowering look, especially when the pictures are taken from the lower edge.
As I see, I have mentioned all four points of this lesson. Product photography is a highly imperative step in adding to your sales. If you have been taking it casually by far then I would say that you are pushing yourself towards huge losses in the coming time. So, I would say that you must start considering this measure significantly and multiply your sales.
