Product Photography on a Budget: Your DIY Guide

Your product photography can be a deal-breaker. Imagery is the first thing that visitors are drawn to when they land on a site. Even with the most informative product descriptions, people will still refer to the photos to get information. Not only do the photos of your products communicate information about the specs, it also shows whether or not the product is high-quality. If it is still early days for your brand and you can’t afford to enlist the services of a professional photographer, here are some practical tips for you to help you shoot decent photos on a budget.

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DIY：预算的产品摄影：

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What’s Product Photography?

In a nutshell, product photography uses certain methods and strategies to display yourdifferent productsin such a way that your target audience will want to buy it. Even if you do not have an eCommerce site (yet), you will need product photography to advertise your products in print media. From big billboards to basic brochures, there are so many places where you can use product photography to sell your products.

您将获得两种主要的产品摄影类型：仅产品照片和生活方式照片。仅产品的照片以最佳的眼光显示了特定产品。它是焦点的焦点，通常是在白色背景上。使用生活方式照片，您可以展示如何使用产品。例如，您还可以包含其他产品，这些产品将成为您正在广告的特定产品的完美补充。简而言之，生活方式照片讲述了一个故事。仅产品的照片往往很无聊，但是有了生活方式照片，您可能会更具创造力。

Effectivemarketing strategies同时使用仅产品图像和生活方式照片。在您的产品页面上，您将主要使用仅限产品图像，但是通过包括一些生活方式拍摄，您的目标受众将感觉与您的产品更具联系。不过，在您的社交媒体平台上，您将主要依靠仅仅是生活方式图像188滚球地址。

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The Importance of Product Photography

Your product photography forms an integral part of your brand identity. You will use it in social media posts, your电子商务网站和其他数字营销。您的目标受众将在产品照片的质量（以及其他图像）上对您的品牌产生第一印象。

It will also help boost conversions. Our brains are wired to engage better with visual elements. Like it or not, but the photos of your products will have a greater impact on your target audience than your product descriptions and the rest of your website copy. The quality of your photos will directly affect your products’ perceived value.

So, do it right and it will capture your target audience’s attention and show that your brand is trustworthy. After all, it is much easier to decide if you should buy a product based on what it actually looks like compared to a written (and often lengthy) description.

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Which Camera Should You Use?

不用说，相机是产品摄影拍摄中最重要的元素。好消息是，随着智能手机相机在过去几年中的进步巨大，您甚至不一定要投资昂贵的数码单反相机。实际上，在某些情况下，您甚至可能最终会使用更熟悉和经验丰富的智能手机相机拍摄更好的产品镜头。有了正确的背景和照明，人们甚至都不知道您没有使用数码单反相机。

That being said, DSLR cameras are becoming more affordable. If your budget allows it, a high-quality camera is still better. Just make sure that you select the right lens and get the white balance and aperture correct. Wide-angle lenses and wider apertures tend to cause distortion and blur.

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To Tripod or Not to Tripod?

Ideally, you should use a tripod. It might not be that important for lifestyle photos, but it is much more important for product-only photos. One of the worst feelings is spending a lot of time getting the background and lighting right, just to have a dozen blurry shots to show for your effort. With a tripod, it is much easier to ensure your photos are in focus. Another advantage of using a tripod is that it adds consistency.

If your budget allows it, consider buying your own tripod as you will use it for several years. Though, if money is an issue, you could probably make do without a tripod. You can, for example, instead simply use a chair or books to help you stabilize your camera.

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工具,您将需要对产品摄影

除了相机和（理想情况下）三脚架外，您还需要以下工具：

• A table
• 灯光equipment
• A white backdrop
• Clamps to position your background
• Image editing software

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Tips for Shooting Product Photos

Use the right background

正确的背景将使编辑（也称为后处理）变得容易得多。白色或轻型哑光背景最适合产品摄影。由于反射表面可以创建不必要的亮点，因此您最终可能会为自己创建更多的编辑工作。

好消息是，您可以即兴创作背景，以消除购买照片扫或摄影盒的需求。根据您的产品类型，您也许可以使用一卷白纸和椅子或桌子逃脱。实际上，使用纸卷代替扫荡或轻盒的好处是，如果背景的一部分变脏（考虑到它是白色的，这将发生），您可以简单地切断该部分并滚下一个干净的碎片。

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Spend a lot of time on lighting

如果您对摄影一无所知，您会知道照明可能是最重要的（如果您正在拍摄产品，甚至更为关键）。您将花费大量时间进行照明，但最终结果将使一切都值得。另外，它还将帮助您进行编辑。

When it comes to lighting, you have two options: studio light or natural light. Whichever approach you follow, your goal is to ensure your product is well-lit. As getting the color spot on is so important for product photography, highlights and deep shadows should be avoided.

Using natural light

使用自然光是最具成本效益的方法。话虽如此，这是充满挑战的，因为光线不断变化，对于产品摄影甚至照明至关重要。您需要确保看起来整个产品范围都以相同的照明拍摄。

Your big concern is going to be to identify the best time during the day for your shoot. If you are going to be relying on natural light for a lifestyle shoot outside, it is best to do this early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Direct sunlight can create unpleasant shadows which will make editing more difficult than it has to be.

If you will be shooting product-only photos, ensure that you position your table close to a big window. By moving the table closer or farther away from the window, you can create different effects. When your table is closer to the window, the shadows and light will be softer. For more even light, you can move the table farther away (bear in mind that this will also make your shadows appear sharper).

It is easier to reduce natural light by positioning a cloth over the window than to create additional lighting during post-processing. So, plan your product shoot for the brightest time of the day (even if you are not at your brightest then).

Using studio lighting

While studio lighting is more expensive, the major benefit of following this approach is that you have much better control. It might take time to set it up, but once it is done your photos will be consistent (which is key for branding). Also, if you know that you have a big range of products that you need to shoot and that you will be busy for a couple of hours, studio lighting will make it much easier.

If you want to use studio lighting, you will need two lights (at least) and two identical bulbs. Cool colored light bulbs work much better than warm colored ones. Though, a word or warning, it does require some skill to know how to position the lights properly.

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Restrict it to five angles

而通常会使用不同的产品照片us angles to display the key features of your product, it is best to limit it to five angles at most. Typically, people want to see a top-down shot, a shot from each side and, depending on the type of product, a photo that shows the bottom of the product (this will be important for something like shoes). Whichever angles you decide to include, remember to make a note of it in your brand guidelines (more about this later).

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Use photo-editing software

After you have taken your photos, you still need to retouch it. Editing can turn an average photo into a high-quality, professional image. With the help of software, you can correct a wide range of issues like removing backgrounds, correcting the color or adding more shadows. Similar to lighting, it will take some time to familiarize yourself with the software.

There are severalphoto editing tools available像Fotor一样，Snapseed和Canva。因此，您不一定必须使用昂贵且过于杀伤初学者的Photoshop。另外，您也可以将此步骤外包给专业人士。有许多公司会花几美元为您准备您的照片。

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Optimize your photos

The majority of platforms have specific photo requirements which you will have to follow. While this might not be the case for your own product pages on your website, it is still good practice to optimize your photos.

Big photos can really reduce the loading speed of your site which in turn will ruin your SEO efforts. By optimizing your photos, you can ensure that your product pages still load quickly without reducing the photo quality. A broad guideline when it comes to optimizing your images is to aim for 200 KB or less.

It is also important that you include as much detail when you name your product photos. Keywords and metadata will help to boost your ranking in the search results.

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创建品牌准则

一致性是创建品牌身份的关键。就像您最有可能已经拥有有关品牌声音和故事，调色板和字体的准则一样，您还应该花时间为产品摄影和后处理创建准则。

以下是应包括的一些内容：

• 产品和相机之间的距离
• 灯光
• Angles
• 饱和
• Shadows
• 作品
• Colors

Luckily, you will not have to spend any money on creating your guidelines. You will only need to put aside some time. As a matter of fact, by taking the time to write down these guidelines, you will actually save money and time as you can simply continue with your next photo shoot where you stopped.

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Wrapping Things Up

Your product photos play such a crucial role, even more so if you solely rely on eCommerce. Not only do your product photos showcase your actual products, but it also communicates a lot about your brand. So, if your budget allows it, you should ideally enlist the services of a professional product photographer.

If using a professional product photographer is something that you can’t afford (at this stage), you can still get high-quality product photos by applying the basic principles. Focus on getting the basics like your background and lighting right and use a photo editing tool to fix any glaring issues. You might even be able to get the job done with just your smartphone in your hand!