Welcome to Royal Product Photography
Ready for that product photography shoot? Well, we all think so until at some point midway a shoot when you realise you actually left out a certain item or a particular equipment is not functional. This will not only affect the session but also waste a lot of time moving around trying to remedy the situation.
Product photography is already a time consuming and even sometimes frustrating job. One way to get through it successfully is to keep things organised. For this reason, you need a checklist to ensure everything that is needed is within reach, being aware of the sequence of activities and keeping track of events. Let’s start
When having multiple products to shoot or the same product but in a variety of styles, don’t do it haphazardly. Schedule a time and if possible a day for the different types of shoots. Being systematic prevents confusion and fatigue.
Check that every product photography equipment you need is available and functional. Check the camera, lenses for different product photography styles, a sweep, table, lights, reflectors, lightbox and tripod.
It is so annoying to set everything for shoot only to realise a dirty stain on the product. Prepare your stock early enough. Keep them clean, smudge, stain and dirt free prior to the action.
These would be mannequins, pins and pegs of doing a clothing shoot, props for lifestyle photography, hangers, strings, cramped paper for stuffing, clips, tape and everything else you might need to support or better your product appearance and perfect the image.
Since you already have the design and layout in mind, set your table, put up the sweep or chosen background, set the subject, arrange the props if any, don the model.
Arrange the primary and secondary lights strategically to shine on the subject or the lightbox if using one. Set the reflectors as well to control the light. Make sure you get it to soften. When doing natural light, have some sheers ready to diffuse the window light if it turns out to be too bright.
When the lights are up, adjust your camera settings appropriately until it blends in well and then set it on a tripod to minimise shutter. For macro shots, be sure to have a table top one.
Start with a couple trial frames to be sure everything is as desired. If OK, capture the items one after the other, arrangement after another. Be sure to mark the spot where the subject is placed for consistent distance. Take several shots in different angles to help you have a variety when picking the best.
Your photos are not upload ready yet. They have to past through the post production phase. This can be done by a professional photo editor****. However, you may do some light editing yourself using a photo editing app.
Keeping the different style, dimensional and background requirements for Amazon, Shopify, Pinterest or whatever platform you have in mind, upload the photos after fulfilling those.