title: "7 Highly Effective Tips to Stage Product Photos Yourself" date: 2024-09-13 slug: /how-to-stage-product-photos-yourself word_count: 1500 images: 10
7 Highly Effective Tips to Stage Product Photos Yourself
Preparing your merchandise before taking pictures is key for high-quality eCommerce photos. Various techniques can highlight a product's features, such as how it's used, displayed, or its different colours and sizes.
This is why it's so important to stage a product correctly. Take time to think about the questions a potential customer will ask, then try to answer those questions through your imagery.
Table of Contents
- 1. Product Preparation
- 2. Filling the Inside of the Product
- 3. Illustrate the Product's Intention
- 4. Stage Your Product Photos for Light
- 5. Be Careful to Avoid Reflection
- 6. Product Textures and Feel
- 7. Photographing Additional Features
- About Pixel by Hand
- FAQ
To expand on each of these tips, let's take a real-life product and see how we can apply each one.
In this example, we'll use a handbag as the product. Handbags can be surprisingly easy to stage and photograph if you use the right techniques. Being a relatively small item, they are easy to manipulate and various angles can be explored quickly.
The trick to photographing handbags (as with any product) is to bring out the personality of the product through the images you take. By personality, we mean the size, colour, shape, basic features, and special features.
Taking photographs of handbags may not be as challenging as many other fashion items — so let's apply the 7 tips to this particular product.
1. Product Preparation
Start by removing any unwanted items from the outside of the bag. Remove any dirt, dust, or stains. Depending on the material of the handbag, there are a number of ways to clean prior to shooting. Aerosol gas duster cans are a great option for getting rid of unwanted dust. Some materials such as leather and plastic can really show up under studio lights. Just take your duster can and spray away any unwanted dust. You can also use a clean, dry dusting cloth to wipe over the surface.
2. Filling the Inside of the Product
This is an optional step if the product can and needs to be physically filled. It may seem a little unusual, but it is an essential part of displaying certain products correctly. Clothing and bags are obvious examples.
A great-looking bag is puffed out and looking as though it's full. This illustrates to the potential buyer that the bag is suitable for purpose — you can fit plenty of things inside it. A flat, lifeless bag is far less attractive.
You need to get a good balance so that the handbag is filled just right. You don't want it to look overfilled, as this will just look like a balloon. You can use a variety of objects to fill your handbag, the most popular being paper and bubble wrap.
Filling out the product correctly shows the customer that the item is fit for purpose.
3. Illustrate the Product's Intention
It may seem obvious, but you need to show exactly what the product is intended for. The majority of handbag designs belong to the same styles, but you should never leave it up to a potential customer's imagination.
If the handbag is designed for work, what can you fit inside? A small purse, a notebook, or even a small laptop? Bags can have a variety of intended uses. It's important to communicate this as clearly as possible through the product photography. You can highlight certain features and add context by placing items in or around the bag.
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4. Stage Your Product Photos for Light
Lighting can make or break most product images intended for eCommerce. Unwanted shadows can result from direct lighting. Lighting setups can be very difficult to perfect. One of the best options is to use natural light — if you use it correctly, it can be a great low-cost option.
It's important to get the lighting right for each and every product you shoot. Avoid harsh or direct lighting which can cause unsightly shadows or glare. Lighting setups can be tricky to get right, so play around with different ideas until you find what works.
5. Be Careful to Avoid Reflection
Reflections are common on materials such as plastic and leather. With these types of materials, you need to be careful to avoid any reflections. Lighting is the most common source of reflections, but you also need to watch out for camera reflections and even photographer reflections.
Image editing can reduce some of these issues, but it's always best to take care of reflections during the shoot itself.
6. Product Textures and Feel
Handbags are more attractive when the bag's material texture gives a positive feel. Handbags are constantly being handled by their owner, so it makes sense for a potential buyer to be interested in how the bag feels. A soft, comfortable texture will always win against a hard, plastic feeling. It is therefore very important to set up your lighting to capture a handbag's texture.
Any handbag images you create should be clear and in focus. You should aim to have every part of the bag in focus. It is advisable when shooting your images that the aperture is f/8.0 or above.
7. Photographing Additional Features
In our example of handbags, an important feature to consider is the straps. They are a key feature of all bags. The tricky part can be arranging the straps in such a way that they look natural. A great way to do this is to hang your handbags from up high on a pole or hook. You can even use an assistant to hold up the straps. You can also use thin cotton or fishing line to help the straps hold their shape.
It's important to take on board all the points explained here. If you use these as a solid foundation to build your product shots from, you're sure to increase conversions and sales.
About Pixel by Hand
We are a professional product photo editing service with over 10 years' experience and 380+ eCommerce clients worldwide. We work with businesses across the globe perfecting their images for eCommerce websites.
If you run an online business and would like to improve your current product images, we'd love to help.
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FAQ
Do I need a professional studio to stage product photos? Not at all. Many excellent product photos are taken at home using natural light, a clean white background (even a bedsheet works), and careful staging. The tips in this guide can be applied regardless of your setup.
What's the most common mistake when staging product photos? Failing to prepare the product itself. Dust, creases, stains, and loose threads are all things that become glaringly obvious under good lighting and in high-resolution photos. Always clean and prepare your product thoroughly before shooting.
How do I avoid reflections on shiny products? Use diffused lighting rather than direct light sources. Position your lights at angles that minimise glare, and use a light tent or softbox if you're regularly shooting reflective materials. Check your shots frequently on a larger screen to spot any unwanted reflections early.
Should I fill bags and clothing when photographing them? Yes, it makes a significant difference. An empty bag looks flat and lifeless, whilst a properly filled one looks attractive and fit for purpose. Use tissue paper or bubble wrap to achieve a natural, full shape without overstuffing.
When should I outsource photo editing instead of doing it myself? If you're spending more than a few minutes per image on editing, or if you need consistent results across hundreds of product photos, outsourcing to a professional service is typically more cost-effective. It frees up your time to focus on photography and running your business.