The Ultimate Guide to Product Photography: How to Showcase Your Products Like a Pro

Hey there! If you‘re someone with a brilliant product idea but need help figuring out how to photograph it, you‘ve come to the right place.

As an ecommerce analyst and product photography geek, I‘m going to walk you through everything you need to know to take expert-level product shots. Killer product photos can make or break your online business, so it pays to get them right.

In this comprehensive product photography guide, I‘ll share:

Pro tips and techniques to photograph your own products
When and why to hire a pro photographer
How to find the best product photographer for your brand
Tons of resources, tools, and services for awesome product shots
Answers to frequently asked product photography questions

Let‘s dive in!

An Introduction to Product Photography

Before we get into the nitty gritty details, let‘s quickly cover the basics:

What is product photography?

Product photography refers to photographing products for advertising, marketing, and commercial purposes. The goal is to make the products look as visually appealing and enticing as possible to potential buyers.

Why is it important?

Studies show that quality product photos can increase online conversion rates and sales by over 40%. Shoppers want to see what they are buying before they click that purchase button.

When should you invest in pro shots?

Any business selling products online needs quality product photography. It‘s especially key when launching a new product line, rebranding, or significantly expanding inventory.

What types of product photos are there?

Some popular kinds include:

Packshots – products isolated on solid backgrounds
Lifestyle – products shown in real contexts
360 spins – products from all angles
Flat lays – products from above on a flat surface
Details – close-ups of features and textures

Now that we‘ve covered the fundamentals, let‘s look at how to take pro-level product shots yourself.

How to Photograph Products Like an Expert

With the right techniques and gear, you can create stellar product photos without needing to hire a photographer. Here are my top tips for DIY product photography success:

Use the Best Camera Possible

A DSLR camera like a Canon or Nikon gives you the image quality, lens options, and manual controls needed for great product shots. But you can also get excellent results with an advanced point-and-shoot, mirrorless, or even a recent smartphone like an iPhone 13 Pro.

Light It Right

Proper lighting is crucial for attractive, accurate product photos. Here are some lighting tips:

Use diffuse, soft lighting without harsh shadows or highlights. Try bouncing light off umbrellas, walls, or reflectors.
Position the key light at a 45 degree angle to the product to produce dimension and texture.
Fill in any shadows with a reflector or secondary light source.
For jewelry, lightly tent a translucent fabric over your lighting setup to soften.
When using natural light from a window, use sheer curtains to diffuse.

Choose the Right Background

A clean, simple backdrop keeps the focus on the product itself:

White and gray backgrounds work for most products. Black for lighter colors.
Try seamless paper backdrops for a completely smooth surface.
For jewelry and other small items, glass or acrylic shelves appear transparent.
Reflective surfaces like chrome or mirrors can lend elegance.

Style Products Strategically

How you style and position your products in the frame matters:

Hero shots place the product front-and-center.
Angle products to show depth and dimensions.
Elevate items with platforms, stands, or props to add interest.
With apparel, use dress forms, hangers, or live models. Stuff arms of shirts and jackets.
Floating poses suspend items in mid-air for a contemporary vibe. Use fishing line, wire, or supports.

Capture Multiple Angles and Views

To portray all aspects of a product, photograph it from all sides:

Take a complete 360 degree set of spins.
Hero shots should include front, back, left side, right side, top down, and bottom up perspectives.
For large products, shoot corner-to-corner to see all details.
Take both horizontal and vertical orientations.
Capture flat lay, overhead, and side views for maximum versatility.

Show Scale and Details

Images showing size and details help customers make informed decisions:

Use props, hands, or side-by-side comparisons to demonstrate product scale.
For jewelry, place on a model‘s hand or next to a coin.
Flat lay groups of coordinating products together.
Shoot detail close-ups of features, mechanisms, construction, buttons, stitching, and more.
Get really close for fabrics, embroidery, logo plaques, and unique selling points.

Optimize Editing and Post-Production

Use editing software to polish your shots by:

Cropping images and removing distracting elements
Adjusting brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness
Correcting white balance and colors
Retouching out imperfections and dust spots
Resizing files for web use and optimizing formats
Adding watermarks, logos, or text

With these tips, you can create professional-grade product photography at home. But what if you want to take your brand‘s visual assets up a notch? Read on to learn when hiring a pro makes sense.

6 Signs It‘s Time to Hire a Professional Photographer

While DIY product photography can yield great results, there are times when hiring a professional photographer is the smartest move:

1. You‘re Launching a Major Brand or Product

First impressions matter. Have a pro capture your new product line or brand in the very best light from day one. Their skills will perfectly introduce your offerings.

2. Your Products Have Intricate Details

Does your product have sophisticated technical features or detailed embellishments that are hard to portray? A professional photographer has the right expertise and equipment to accurately capture the nuances.

3. You Need Lifestyle, Comparison, or 360° Shots

Certain shot styles like lifestyle imagery require experience to get right. And extensive 360° photography and editing is very time intensive. Outsource these types of product photos.

4. Your Products Require Specialized Lighting

Are your products highly reflective, transparent, or metallic? Tricky materials require masterful lighting skills. Let a pro handle the technical complexity.

5. You Want an Elevated, Consistent Brand Look

Professional photographers understand branding and style imagery consistently across products in keeping with your brand identity.

6. You Simply Want Gorgeous, Magazine-Quality Shots

Top photographers have an eye for incredibly appealing, artful imagery. Hire one to inject wow-factor into your visual brand assets.

The investment pays dividends in increased sales and conversions over time.

Next let‘s explore places to find talented product photographers to hire.

9 Top Places to Hire a Product Photographer

Need to outsource your product photography? Here are my top recommendations for finding experienced pros to hire:

1. Fiverr

Fiverr is a leading freelance marketplace where you can browse hundreds of product photographers‘ profiles and portfolios starting at just $5 per image.

Pros: Massive selection, affordable basic packages, built-in service guarantees.

Cons: Inconsistent quality, need to vet carefully, extra fees for complex shoots.

2. Upwork

Upwork connects you with professional product photographers for hire. Search profiles by expertise, review portfolios, and connect for custom quotes.

Pros: Large talent pool, detailed profiles, hourly or project pricing.

Cons: Mixed skill levels, higher fees for smaller projects.

3. Thumbtack

Thumbtack allows you to get custom quotes from skilled local product photographers that match your needs.

Pros: Curated professionals, tailored quoting, photographer reviews.

Cons: Quality varies, limited filtering options.

4. Snappr

Snappr provides guaranteed pro photography on-demand. Book a confirmed shoot with a vetted local pro photographer in just minutes.

Pros: Convenient fast booking, regular photographer quality checks.

Cons: Minimum 1-hour, unable to specify photographer.

5. Toptal

Hire elite top 3% product photographers through Toptal‘s selective network of experts.

Pros: All pros, custom matching, guaranteed results.

Cons: High cost, extensive screening process.

6. Production Company

Scalable product photography studios like Pixelz, SquareShadow, and ShootFlow offer turnkey production services.

Pros: Efficient volume shooting, specialized equipment, production expertise.

Cons: Impersonal, requires shipping products.

7. Creative Agency

Full-service creative agencies provide end-to-end branding and expert photography.

Pros: Complete visual solutions, cohesive creative direction.

Cons: More costly, potential overkill for simple shots.

8. Local Photography Directory

Media directories like ProductionHUB connect you with specialized local product shooters.

Pros: Tailored quotes, browse local portfolios.

Cons: Narrower talent pool, less search filters.

9. Photography Marketplace

Hire local pros via curated marketplaces like GigSalad. Get custom packages tailored to your brand‘s needs.

Pros: Screened talent, tailored services, full production handling.

Cons: Varies in skill levels, light search filters.

Take time to research options, browse portfolios, and compare quotes. Be sure to clarify all creative specifics, shot list details, file delivery, licensing rights, locations, and other expectations upfront.

Now let‘s go over some helpful product photography tips and best practices to employ when hiring a professional.

5 Must-Dos When Working With a Professional Photographer

Follow these tips to ensure an awesome experience and amazing results when outsourcing your product shots:

Provide Detailed Shot Lists

Compile specific must-have views, angles, styles, and details needed for each product. This provides clear direction. Share inspirational examples too.

Send Product Samples and Specs

Provide the photographer samples of products to be photographed and any specific technical specifications needed to portray details accurately.

Define Brand Guidelines

Share your brand style guide, logo usage, color palette, fonts, and any other branding guidelines for the photographer to adhere to.

Request Lighting and Setting Samples

Ask to review examples of the lighting quality, setups, backgrounds, propping, and post-production styles they typically produce to ensure it matches your preferences.

Establish Usage Rights

Specify how you will be using the photos, the media types permitted, size restrictions, and length of usage. Get license terms in writing.

Doing product photography right is all about the details. Collaborate with your photographer to craft images that perfectly align with your brand and showcase your amazing products.

Let‘s switch gears and go over some product photography stats, facts, and trends that I‘ve compiled from recent data. Check it out!

10 Fascinating Product Photography Stats and Facts

Want to geek out on some data around pro product photography? Here are interesting statistics I‘ve pulled from recent research:

High-quality product photos can increase online conversion rates by over 40%. [Source]
52% of consumers say the quality of a product image is "very important" in selecting what items to purchase online. [Source]
On average, consumers look at 4 product photos prior to adding an item to an online shopping cart. [Source]
Having 6 or more product images can lift conversions by 147%. [Source]
A 1-second improvement in image load speed increases conversion rates by 2.5%. [Source]
About two-thirds of shoppers prefer to see models wearing or using products. [Source]
The most clicked product photo angles are 45° (26%), flat front-facing (23%), and flat back-facing (15%). [Source]
On Instagram, square 1:1 images have a 14% higher engagement rate than landscape images. [Source]
Editing photos with AI touch-up tools before posting online can improve engagement by up to 15%. [Source]
The ideal product photo dimensions for web use are 1000×1000 pixels according to 46% of surveyed ecommerce sites. [Source]

Fascinating stuff, right? Let‘s recap some key takeaways:

Investing in pro-level product photography positively impacts conversions and sales
Consumers want multiple, high-res images from various angles to make informed buying decisions
Visual context from models, demonstrations, and real-world settings resonates
Image optimization, speed, and responsive formats all impact performance

Understanding these data points can help you maximize the impact of your ecommerce product photography.

Next let‘s go over some common product photography questions.

Product Photography FAQs

Still have some lingering product photography questions? Here I‘ll tackle some frequently asked topics:

What equipment do you need?

For best results, use a DSLR camera, 50mm or 85mm prime lens, tripod, remote trigger, and off-camera flashes or continuous lighting. White backdrops, props, and tools like cloth clips also come in handy.

How do you minimize shadows and glare?

Use diffused, soft box lighting positioned at 45° angles to the product. Fill in shadows with reflectors or secondary light sources. Polarizing filters reduce glare.

How much editing is needed?

Expect to spend 10-20 minutes per image editing. Optimize brightness, contrast, colors, cropping, retouching, resizing, sharpening, etc.

What file types should be delivered?

Request both unedited originals and optimized JPG/PNG files in high resolution. Also ask for individually clipped product images on transparent backgrounds if needed for web or design use.

How many photos do you really need?

Aim for 8-15 high-quality images from multiple angles per product: front/back/sides, details, lifestyle context, flat lay, overhead, etc.

When should products be professionally retouched?

Consider retouching if products have complex textures, patterns, reflections, or need adjustment to play down flaws unnoticeable in real life.

Can smartphone photos work?

In some cases yes, but DSLR cameras are still far superior in image quality, control, consistency, and capabilities. Use smartphones as a backup or when traveling.

Let me know if you have any other product photography questions!

Show Off Your Products Like a Pro

Thanks for reading this complete guide on taking your product photography to the next level!

I hope these pro tips help you capture brilliant, high-converting product images that do justice to your brand and offerings. Invest in quality product photography and watch your online business thrive. Feel free to reach out with any questions anytime. I‘m happy to help!