Taking professional-looking photographs of products for eCommerce is more straightforward than you might think. With a few simple techniques, a bit of patience, and a good digital camera, you can take your own great photos for your online shop. Here’s a step-by-step guide to lighting, setting, and shooting photographs of products for your eCommerce business.

Step 1: Prepare Your Set 

Before you begin to set up your photo shoot, make sure the background for your images is neat and tidy. Clear away any excess items, including cords, stray products, and distractions in the background of the shot. Setting up a plain white background is usually the best option. You can either use a poster board or buy a photography backdrop.

Step 2: Position Your Product  

The next step is to position your product so that it takes center stage in the photograph. If the product is very large, find a plain background and put your object in the middle of the frame. If the item you are photographing is small, you may need to elevate it slightly to make it more visible in the shot. Make sure the item is situated in a way that shows off its best features.

Step 3: Find the Best Light 

Lighting is key to taking any good photograph. Set up your product next to a natural light source, such as a window or studio light stand, to ensure that the light is distributed evenly across the set. You may need to experiment a bit to find the best angle; try standing the product in the center of the light source or off to the side.

Step 4: Focus on the Shot 

Take a few trial shots to make sure your product is in focus. Many cameras have a zoom lens that can be used to eliminate clutter in the background and focus on the product. You may need to adjust the camera settings to make sure the exposure, white balance, and depth of field all result in a crisp image.

Step 5: Set the Scene 

If your product needs to be photographed in a particular context, now is the time to set it up. Don’t forget to add any props that you may need, such as side dishes for food items, toys for children’s products, or other items that enhance the setting.

Step 6: Capture from Multiple Angles 

Take a few shots from varying angles to give customers the best view of what they’re buying. Don’t forget to take a photo of any details or labels on the product.

Step 7: Clean Up 

When you’re finished shooting, go back and check through all of your photos to make sure that you’ve captured the best images of your product. Remove any digital dust spots, reflections, or blurs that may have been caused by the light or the lenses. 

Tips, Expert Advice

When you’re photographing a product for eCommerce, practice patience. Take a few test images to get familiar with your surroundings and the product; working methodically through the set-up process will help you achieve the best-quality images. Also, use manual focus and exposure control on your camera to get the best possible results.

How to retouch Pictures of a Product for eCommerce

It’s no secret that a great product photo can help to skyrocket your sales and build customer loyalty faster than anything. However, for your product photos to stand out and catch the eye of potential buyers, it’s essential to use professional retouching. With the right retouching techniques, you can bring out the best features of your product and make it look more appealing. So what exactly does retouching involve and how do you make your product images stand out? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make your product photos look top-notch through retouching.

Step 1: Clean Up the Background

The first step to retouching your product photos is to clean up the background. A plain, neutral background will draw attention away from the image and make the product look more inviting to potential customers, so it is important to make sure that the background of the photo is free of any distracting elements. Use a simple yet sophisticated editing tool such as Adobe Photoshop to remove any undesirable elements. 

Step 2: Accentuate the Best Features

Once you have cleaned up the background, it’s time to start accentuating the best features of your product. Use retouching tools like Dodge and Burning in Photoshop to brighten or darken certain features of the image, such as the chest of a shirt or the lenses of a pair of glasses. You should also use the clone-stamping tool to fill in any imperfections in the surface of the product. 

Step 3: Enhance the Colors and Sharpness

Now that you have accurately represented the product, it’s time to enhance the colors and sharpness of the image. Using curves and levels in Photoshop, you can adjust the tone and contrast of the image to bring out more detail and vibrancy. You should also use the digital sharpening tools to bring out the fine details and ensure a clear, crisp product photo.

Step 4: Add Natural Lighting

To make your product photos pop even more, you should add some natural lighting. You can create this effect easily in Photoshop by using the burn and dodge tools, as well as adding some glow and highlights. This will make the product look more realistic and inviting to potential customers. 

Tips and Expert Advice

1. Always make sure to double-check your work for any imperfections or smudges that may have been overlooked during the retouching process. 

2. If you are aiming to make your product stand out, consider adding a bit of creative flair to the background of the photo. Adding a simple pattern or color element can help to draw the eye to the product. 

3. Consider experimenting with different retouching techniques to find the perfect balance between realistic product images and creative artistic touches. 

Conclusion

Taking photographs for your eCommerce business isn’t as tricky as you may think—with a few easy steps, you can quickly get to grips with the basics and start taking professional-grade photos. With a little bit of practice and some patience, you’ll be able to create eye-catching product images in no time.