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How can you capture product photos that entice customers to purchase? Jeff Delacruz, Co-founder of Product on White Photography, guides you on how to take professional photos for your business.
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When it comes to selling products online, presentation is key. One of the most effective ways to enhance your store’s appeal is through high-quality product photography. Beautiful, professional-looking images can significantly boost your online store’s visual appeal and help you stand out in a crowded market.
While investing in a professional photography studio is ideal, it’s not always feasible for new or small businesses. Fortunately, DIY product photography offers an excellent alternative. With the right tools and techniques, you can create compelling product photos that rival professional shots—all without breaking the bank.
High-quality ecommerce photography in your online store can be the difference between making a sale and losing a customer. This guide is designed specifically for budget-conscious business owners, offering simple yet effective techniques to produce professional-grade product photos that drive results.
Let’s explore the key items you’ll need to set up your own product photography studio:
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The camera you choose plays a crucial role in the quality of your product images. While high-end DSLRs like the Nikon D850 ($1,800) with a 105 mm f/1.4 lens ($740) can produce stunning results, they’re not necessary for most small businesses. In fact, you can achieve great results with your smartphone—check out our guide to smartphone product photography for tips.
Start with whatever camera you have available and assess the results. Remember, the camera is just one piece of the puzzle. Great product photography is the result of thoughtful lighting, exposure, styling, and post-processing decisions.
A tripod is a three-legged stand that supports and stabilizes your camera. It’s crucial for product photography, ensuring consistent framing and composition across multiple shots.
Tripods are particularly useful when shooting with slow shutter speeds, which are often necessary when using small apertures to achieve greater depth of field. They’re simple to use: set up on a stable surface, attach your camera, and adjust the legs and head to experiment with different heights and angles.
For beginners, an affordable tripod is perfectly adequate. Many quality options are available for less than $30.
A clean white background and proper light control are fundamental for professional-looking product photos.
There are numerous options for white backgrounds. If you’ll be shooting frequently, consider investing in a white sweep. Paper sweeps are particularly useful, as you can easily cut off dirty sections and roll down fresh material.
For a budget-friendly option, visit your local art or drug store and purchase poster board—often available for as little as $7 for 10 sheets. Opt for pure white, as off-white or cream backgrounds are more challenging to edit to pure white in post-processing.
A good table allows you to easily adjust the background, lighting, and products for various setups.
Standard folding tables work perfectly for product photography. Aim for a width between 24 and 27 inches, providing ample space for most product setups without being overly large.
Cover the table with your chosen background material, allowing it to curve up against a wall or backdrop stand for a seamless look. Ensure you can work comfortably, whether standing or sitting. The table doesn’t need to be aesthetically pleasing, since it will be covered—focus on stability and appropriate size.
Securing your setup is crucial for consistent shots. Tape is an excellent tool for holding your background in place.
To avoid damaging your table, use strong, removable tape like painter’s tape or gaffer’s tape. Secure the edges of your background material (such as poster board or seamless paper) to the table, ensuring it’s taut and wrinkle-free as it curves up against the wall or backdrop stand.
Your choice of lens significantly impacts the overall quality of your product photos. Consider your product size and shooting environment when selecting a lens.
While lenses can be a significant investment, aim for versatility. A standard zoom lens allows you to shoot both larger products and smaller details. Two popular options are:
Experiment with different focal lengths to find what works for your products. Choose a lens that clearly and attractively showcases your product’s key features.
Lightboxes are excellent for product photography, creating even lighting and minimizing shadows for a professional look. They’re particularly useful for small to medium-sized products. Using a lightbox is straightforward: place your product inside on the white background. If your lightbox has built-in lights, turn them on and adjust for even illumination. For more control, consider using external light sources.
Props can help tell your product’s story by setting the mood, showing scale, or demonstrating use. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance—props should enhance, not overshadow, your product.
For example, when photographing a coffee mug, you might include coffee beans, a book, or a pastry to create a cozy scene. Arrange props naturally around the product, ensuring they don’t obscure key features.
Consider color when choosing props to avoid clashing with your product. Take test shots and adjust your arrangement as needed to create a balanced, inviting image.
Natural light is ideal for photography, whether indoors or outdoors. When shooting indoors, a room with large windows adjacent to a wall provides excellent lighting.
Outdoors, open areas or tree-shaded spots can offer great lighting. However, controlling outdoor lighting can be challenging and may require additional tools like diffusers or reflectors.
Remember, distance from the light source affects your results: closer proximity creates softer light with darker, softer shadows, while greater distance produces lighter, sharper light. Experiment to find a space where you can manipulate light to achieve your desired look.
Learn more: Jewelry Photography Tips for DIY Product Photos (2024)
High-quality product photos can significantly boost your customers’ confidence in your offerings. While photo editing is important, the foundation of great product photography lies in the initial shoot. Let’s walk through the step-by-step process for capturing professional-grade product photos.
With your gear assembled, it’s time to create your shooting area:
Key tip: Turn off all other lights in the room to avoid contaminating your set—a common mistake many beginners make.
Avoid direct sunlight on your set, as it creates harsh shadows unflattering to most products and people.
A sweep is a crucial element in product photography. It’s a single piece of material, typically white paper or fabric, that curves smoothly from a vertical position to a horizontal one. This seamless transition eliminates sharp corners or blemishes in the background, creating a clean, professional look for your product photos.
To set up your sweep:
Position your product in the center of the flat part of the sweep, leaving room to add a white reflector card later. This setup will ensure your products appear to float in a clean, distraction-free environment, drawing all attention to the item you’re showcasing.
While every camera is different, here are some general guidelines to get you started:
Option A: Manual mode (M)
Option B: Aperture priority (Av)
Pro tip: Don’t rely solely on the camera’s preview image. Use the histogram to ensure proper exposure. Adjust the exposure until the curve representing the white background touches the right edge without going over.
Positioning your product may seem simple, but it often requires careful attention to detail. For items like bottles, ensure the label is centered and straight. Expect to make numerous small adjustments to achieve perfect alignment.
A white reflector card is your most valuable light modifier, versatile enough for any setup. It bounces light to fill in shadows, creating a more evenly lit image. Experiment with different card angles to find the most flattering light for your product.
After capturing your image, take time and examine what you’ve created. This is where experience and education come into play:
Experiment with different techniques to refine your skills over time. Upload your images to a computer for a more accurate view, as camera displays can be misleading. Consider using software like Lightroom to organize and perform initial edits on your images.
Even well-shot photos usually benefit from some retouching. Your initial image should have a properly exposed product against a light gray background. Retouching helps:
Retouching can be challenging for beginners, tools like Shopify Magic make the process much more accessible. This AI-powered tool allows you to:
Alternatively, consider outsourcing to professional retouching services. Companies like Pixelz and Path offer affordable options, typically ranging from $3 to $5 per image.
Image optimization is crucial for both search engine optimization (SEO) and website load speed. Aim for a balance between image quality and file size, with a general target of less than 200 kilobytes per image.
To optimize your images effectively:
One way to optimize your image is to resize it to fit your website’s container. For example, if your container is 684 pixels square but your image is 1500 pixels square, the larger image will still load fully, slowing down your site.
Pro tip: Resize your image to 1.5 times the container size for retina screens. For a 684-pixel container, aim for a 1026-pixel-square image.
Use built-in tools like Mac Preview or Microsoft Picture for easy resizing.
After resizing, you’ll notice the file size is still large. Smart compression removes unused data without sacrificing quality.
Consider these tips when taking product photos:
Window light (natural light) is often preferable because it’s a simple one-light setup, cost-effective, and easy to use. When shooting with a light tent or lightbox, you enter into a multi-light setup, which adds complexity and usually requires more advanced knowledge.
Multi-light setups introduce several challenges:
The quality of light from a light tent is often very even and shadowless. While this might seem ideal, shadows are important for creating product shape and providing a sense of place. Window light often produces more dynamic and interesting images.
Like anything, there are limitations to DIY. Achieving perfect results with challenging products like clear or highly reflective items typically requires a multi-light studio setup and a deep technical knowledge.
Foam boards are versatile and essential tools for controlling light in product photography:
Foam boards are ideal because they’re rigid and easy to position. You can purchase them on Amazon or at local drug stores. In a pinch, white printer paper or poster board can serve as alternatives.
Mastering photo editing skills can significantly enhance your product images:
Start with Adobe Photoshop Tutorials for accessible lessons applicable to various software. After learning the basics, choose a photo editing software that suits your needs and budget.
Providing various perspectives helps shoppers better understand your products:
Keep your camera and tripod in the same position during the shoot, rotating the product instead. This ensures consistency and reduces post-production editing.
While white background shots are essential, consider incorporating other styles to enhance your product presentation:
Lifestyle shots help tell the story of your product and show it in context:
Notice how Allbirds uses both white background and lifestyle photos on its product pages.
This approach gives shoppers context for where and how people actually use the products. If you sell hiking boots, show them on someone’s feet during a hike. For selling clothing, show your apparel on someone walking in an appropriate setting.
Learn more: Clothing Photography: Take Beautiful Apparel Photos
Detailed images give shoppers a closer look at specific product features:
Check out how leather retailer hardgraft uses detailed shots to show zippers, handles, and other unique features of its goods on its product pages.
Group shots showcase products together, which is particularly useful for:
Notice how Beardbrand uses this style to highlight the products offered in their bundles.
If you’ve reached your limitations, professional photography might be a worthwhile investment:
Pair your photos with compelling product descriptions to create high-converting product pages for your ecommerce store:
The best ecommerce sites share a common feature: stunning product photos. While professional ecommerce photography can be expensive, there are numerous product photography tools available to help you create impressive images yourself.
By following this DIY product photography tutorial, you can produce high-quality images for your online store. As you gain confidence behind the camera, you can explore different types of photography to enhance your product presentation.
The best part? You’ll have full control over how you build your brand and showcase your products online. When done well, you’ll increase sales and conversions on your website and grow a successful online business. Who knows? You might even develop the skills to sell your own photos online one day.
Product photography involves using specific techniques to capture accurate and attractive photos of your products. These photos influence shoppers’ purchasing decisions, potentially increasing conversion rates and sales.
According to Glassdoor, product photographers’ salaries range from $48,000 to $90,000 per year. However, income can vary based on factors like experience, clientele, and market demand. Photographers may earn through various channels, including selling photos online, freelancing, or running their own business.
DSLR or mirrorless cameras with full-frame sensors are often ideal for product photography. They offer excellent image quality, versatility, and control.
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