We asked Alexis, of Whipped Up Wonderful, to share some of her product photography tips with us. Her product photos are always so dreamy and beautiful. Here are her helpful suggestions for photography that will definitely up your Etsy listing and Instagram game!
If you are like me, you not only make your product; you package, label, ship and do all the marketing and photography. I’ve taken a lot of bad photos: I’ve tried an “edgy” crooked look, busy backgrounds and overlooked blurriness. Like anything, I improved with practice, and a little revisiting my photography class book from high school. Of course, I’ll also guess you don’t have a photo studio. The cool thing is all you need is a bright sunny window, and a few props, if any, and of course your camera or smartphone.
The White Background:
For your minimalist needs look no further than Amazon for a pop up studio. These fold away boxes offer a full white background, diffuse the light around the subject and make your handmade items “Amazon” ready.
The Catalog:
When you need a look that is more like a catalog style, or you want to try to sell by hitting an emotional key with your customers, then grab your items and let’s look around the house.
Your bath products might look great beside that lovely tub. Your candles might look great on your coffee table. Open those windows wide and get creative.
Pro Tip : Your house isn’t exactly House Beautiful? Pop over to your local home improvement store to create some unique backdrops using wood or tile. Not super handy? Try scrapbook pages or poster board for smaller items.
You might want to experiment with the lighting at different times of day in your house. Sometimes you might only have a few workable hours.
Invest in a tripod. If you need anything to keep a cohesive style, get a tripod, even if you are using your smartphone. You don’t need to drop a lot of money on it either.
Now for the editing. Very rarely will you take a photo from camera to computer and find it to be listing ready. Your computer might already have some photo editing software. If not, there are quite a few easy editing programs online that are cheap or free.
Pro Tip: Steer clear of filters. While trendy and eye catching, they will distort colors and rely on gimmicks (such as bokeh or color washes) that aren’t catalog caliber.
Focus on brightness, white balance and just a touch of saturation to balance and color correct your photos.
And there you have it! Smartphones and the internet have given us all a little leg up in the photography department. Good luck!