Photo credit : Borzoo Moazami

What do you do before you buy a product? For me, I’ll go check if they have Instagram and I’ll check the product photos, and then read the review of the product. If you’re checking a product, let’s say a mug, you go to the search section on Instagram and then you type ‘mug’. And you found these 2 pictures. Which one will you click first?

Most of us will choose B.

It catches our eyes because it has something more than just a shot of a mug. Yes, we’re looking for a mug, but then by adding something to the picture of a mug, we help our potential client to have that imagination of the mug, and adding more reasons why they have to buy our mug, not others. But product photography is not that simple. Usually when you have just started out building your brand you have to be everything. Literally, EVERYTHING. You are the owner, sales person, social media manager, admin and also the photographer, and admit it. Not everyone has the talent to be one. The solution can be to hire a photographer to take pictures of your products but then again, sometimes not every small business can have the luxury of budget to pay a professional photographer. But, Will that stop you from marketing your product ? or, will you risk your product not being seen by your customer online because it doesn’t have a good product photo? Of course not. At least we won’t allow you too.

[read till the end, Colabo Coworking has a solution for you.] WHAT IF, You can, actually make high-quality product photos with your phone’s camera? We've been digging the internet to compile these tips for you, so check them out.

Position your Products

Your potential customer wants to see a product-focused, high quality image that makes them clear on what they are going to buy, so make sure that your products are clean and set it up correctly before you take a photo.

Here are things that you need to pay attention to.

Watch your backgrounds

Plain white background is the best. It makes your product be the focus and removes any distractions. Showing your products in their environment like for fashion using a model helps the potential buyer to imagine how it looks on them. For a coffee mug, hold it with your hand while showing how good the coffee mug looks with steaming hot coffee in it. No matter what, make sure the background works for the product and for your target customer. Avoid distractions and make sure any scenery adds to the focus instead of taking away from it.

Get your lighting right

No, you don’t need expensive lighting gear. Natural light is free. If you’re shooting indoors, set up your ‘studio’ near the window and some sort of white reflector, you can use your white curtain, tabletops etc, and put it on the opposite side of the window. You need to make the light even and eliminate any shadows.

Shoot multiple angles and details

Show as many sides of your products as you can because your customers will want to see as much as they can, and it helps them to make a decision. The higher your price, the higher their need for knowledge. Shoot from all sides and angles. Tips : Make sure to provide lots of high-quality images of your most expensive products to help make the sales.

Choose your camera

Use any phone camera that has a minimum of 12 megapixel as a standard; anything on that level will give you the image quality you need. If you don’t have one, odds are one of your friends has a camera that will suit your needs.

The Basics

After you’ve got a phone with an appropriate camera, now let’s learn how to use it well. To get the best results, you’ve got to know how to use it. And here are some tricks :

• Choose the highest quality/resolution setting

Go with the largest file size and the highest resolution setting that your phone allows. Be generous with the size because this will give you the best image possible to start with, and you can always reduce file size when you edit it.

• Don’t zoom in

Bring the camera close up to the object instead. It will give you better results.

Forget taking a selfie

Always use the rear-facing camera, the resolution is way higher than the front facing camera.

Clean your lens

You put your phone on your pocket, in your purse, on your table so dust, dirt and smudges are there sometimes. They will be super noticeable on your lens, so make sure you clean it first.

Turn the flash off

Flash off, get your lighting right and for the sake of a good photo don’t use it.

Steady your camera

Invest in a small tripod, a tiny purchase that will make a big difference. You can also use something to put your phone and instead of touching it to take pictures, use the timer to avoid mini shakes.

Colabo Coworking as #1 Coworking and Content Creation Center in Jimbaran - Bali, will be doing a Product Catalogue Photoshoot Day on 28th and 29th December 2020.

Get 10 raw and 10 edited photos per brand with only IDR650K, and we limit only 8 brands per day.

Make sure you don’t miss out your chance to increase your sales with High-quality Product Photos, book your spot here immediately. Win a chance to get a 100K discount, by following our Instagram Account, and mention your 5 friends who have business to share the good news.

See you at Colabo Coworking.