Taking great product pictures, tips from special guest blogger BlueBerry Ash Textiles

Please welcome our special guest blogger Maria of BlueBerry Ash. Today Maria will be sharing her tips for taking great product pictures. Her pictures always inspire me so I was so excited when she agreed to share her experience with us! x

First of all, I want to say Thank you to lovely Katia for inviting me into her beautiful crafty space. I am very pleased to be here. My photography skills are not the best that you can find as I am by no means a photographer or have never studied photography, but I will be very happy if my experience will help some of you along the way.

Before you get going and start taking photos...Think what you would like your photo to look like style wise, what story you want to tell and how you want your product to be perceived by others. Consider setting, background, space where you will photograph, light and colour. Sketch a little photography plan and begin.

Light – Light is the most important thing in photography. The best light to photograph in is natural light and the best place to photograph is on a flat surface next to the window, but not under direct sunlight. If it’s sunny and bright, it will create dark heavy shadows on the photos. The light must be bright enough but soft. To soften up the light some kind of diffuser can be used. Blinds on your window, shear curtains, or simple as a piece of paper stuck to the window. Keep you and your shadow away from the picture.

Background – natural background with texture that benefits your products but not take the attention. White plain background is always an easy winner. Avoid reds or bright greens in your photos. 

Setting up - All of my photos are done on my dining table or working desk. If you are photographing an item on a white background use white cloth or paper to create a white wall. I simply use my chair with fabric draped over it as my background, it’s my white box :)

For the style shot, think what else can you bring to the picture to make it look more interesting and inspiring to your customers? If it’s something for a child’s room photograph your work with toys, books or perhaps a child playing with it. If you are making a product, think about adding to the picture tools or materials that you use to produce your product. For example, if you are making cards, photograph your card next to a bunch of flowers or wrapped up gift. Show what it will look like in the circumstances that your product is for. Use things with different textures, colours, sizes in photographs. Odd amount items in photo work the best. Don’t overdo it; you need to make sure that supporting items don’t distract the eye from actual product. 

This is my problem I get so carried away creating pretty pictures that I quite often forget to focus on bringing the best out of my product. 

Photograph the product from different angles - top, bottom, side, left, right, from directly above, move your product, rearrange it a different way and try again. Eventually you will figure out the best way to photograph to benefit the product. 

Edit your photos if needed. I edit my photos in Photoshop to adjust the light. There are many other types of software that  are available for free and easier to use. I quite like Picasa and use it often to create a collage. Just look around try them all and see what suits your needs the best.

Be consistent with your style, so your photos are recognisable. 

Experiment, make mistakes, analyse and keep photographing!

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Thank you Maria! I agree, over-styling pictures is easily done.   It might take some time to find your style that suits your product but it is very important for online sellers!

Do you know have any picture styling tips? 
Do share with us!