How To Use Your Smartphone For Amazing Product Photography

How To Use Smartphones To Click Amazing Product Images

“First impression is the last impression” -Everyone knows

What if I show you images of two dresses? One blurred, dull and unappealing and the other bright, clear, showing details. Which one are you more likely to choose? The one that looks better?

It is scientifically proven that the sense of vision is the strongest among all other senses and the most receptive one. People are usually drawn to things that are visually more appealing. When it comes to selling online, the biggest and the most challenging aspect is to make it visually more appealing.

Product photography hence becomes an integral part of your online store. The point that has to be stressed upon is that product photography is more about clarity and subtle editing that gives more definition to a picture rather than adding filters to it. Highly edited pictures are discouraged because the product loses its authenticity and also visitors find it suspicious.

No need to rush to rent a DSLR camera when you have a smartphone. This blog will help you in clicking beautiful product photographs with the help of your smartphone.

The five basic things that have to be kept in mind while clicking a picture of your product are

1. Light
2. Background
3. Clarity
4. Angles
5. Scaling

Let us read about each in detail.

1. 1. Light and Background

Now let us first create a perfect backdrop regarding where you should be clicking a picture.

Your product photography is always directly dependent on what product you are selling.

1.1 When you are selling apparels or large appliances

It is always recommendable that if you are selling clothes, then they should be worn by models for it’s product photography as it gives a better clarity on how the particular attire looks when worn. Also in case of apparels, having a model gives the visitor the accurate idea regarding the size, length and other dimensions of the attire. If models are not available, then you can consider buying a dummy stand. It is very cheap and easily available everywhere. (You can also look up in Quickr and OLX, they seem to always have a few on sale)

You need to choose a room with white walls because white reflects most of the light falling on it and that gives a brighter appearance to your product. But if your product is white or in a very light color, go for a darker background. The floor should also be covered with white sheet or chart paper to reflect light. You can also use an aluminium foil to create the perfect reflector.

Make sure you use at least 3 table lamps with huge bulbs and cover the lamp head with white tissues to let out-diffused light. The light straight from the lamp is too harsh for photography.

Now place these lamps on the left and right corners of the dummy/ model and one on the overhead.

1.2 When you are selling small to medium sized objects

You can create a perfect light box for your products. This way your products will receive the best light required for good photography.

1.2.1 How To Make A Light Box?

Step 1. Take a cardboard box.

Step 2. Cut the edges and make rectangular windows on the top, left and right sides.

Step 3. Cover the windows with a white linen cloth or tissue paper.

Step 4. Paste a chart paper on the back that covers the ground as well.

You are good to go now.

How to make a light box?

All you have to do is place your lamp on each opening.

How to use a lightbox?

This was about creating a perfect background and light for your products to be shot.

1. Clarity

The biggest reason why the pictures get blurred are because of our hand movement. However hard we try, our hands do not stay firm and the slight movement causes pictures to blur.

To avoid this, one should use a stand or a tripod. You can create a stand with an old credit card or cardboard piece

How to make a smartphone stand?

Step 1. Take a piece of cardboard and fold it into half

Step 2. Now make the following design on it and cut along it.

You are done.

How to make a stand

Or else you can take a selfie stick and attach it to a tripod stand. You can even make one. Just take a long stick and attach your old back cover to it with the help of fevistick. And you are good to go.

The focus of the image should be set and one should allow the camera to set the focus. You should also use the grid option, this helps you to find the right place for your product.

The Magic Rule Of Thirds

So turn on the grid feature with 3*3 lines. According to the rule of thirds, your object should be placed on the intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines.

1. Angles

You should always experiment and take camera angle that can and will easily affect the way the viewer perceives the subject you’re photographing. For the most simple, straightforward small product photography, there are three key camera angles you need to master:

Low Angle is the ‘worm’s eye view’. You can put your smartphone right on the shooting surface itself and click.

Front Angle is where your smartphone is approximately at a 45˚ angle to the subject. It’s often called a ‘front ¾ view’ and it’s the most popular because it is how we, as humans, naturally perceive most scenes and subjects.

High Angle is the ‘bird’s eye view’. This is when you shoot directly overhead. This angle is often the most graphic and representational view.

4. Scaling

At times what happens is that your viewers are unable to decide whether what the size of the object is in reality. If you include an item in the image that people are familiar with, it can really help to visualize the size of the product. For example while you put an earring on display, make the model wear it so that people can actually decide how it looks.

Now these are things to take care of while you are clicking a picture. Once you have clicked a picture it, the bigger task comes and that is editing the picture to remove what so ever little ambiguities are there. For this, we did a check on what all apps are free to use and help us edit pictures.

List of Free Apps That Help In Editing Pictures

1. Picmonkey
  1. 1. How to edit an image on PicMonkey

- 1. PicMonkey is a great online photo editor. It allows you to make a collage. You can take various photos and arrange them together. If you have lots of products, you can collage them together as perhaps a banner image for your store or in an email newsletter.

1. GIMP

- - 1. How to edit an image on GIMP

- 1. GIMP is the most sophisticated free image-editing tool. You can use it to retouch, edit, and draw. Just download the software and you’re ready to start editing.

1. Fotor

- - 1. How to edit an image on Fotor

- 1. This is the best app where you can edit pictures online. It offers editing and beauty retouching. The best part is the “High Dynamic Range feature”: you can take three photos with different exposures to combine them into a single image, with the best light and tone from each of the separate photos.

1. Pixlr

- 1. The Pixlr editor is one of the most widely used image editors online. It has three editions, all free: Pixlr Editor, Pixlr Express, and Pixlr O-Matic. The latter two can also be used as apps.

1. Aviary Editing App

- - 1. How to edit an image on Aviary

- 1. This is an amazing app that you can use to edit images on your phone. Enhance with hi-def, fix red-eyes, and adjust various aspects of lighting.
  2. And there you have beautiful product images that will just mesmerise your viewers.

So are you ready to display your beautiful product photography on your online store? Let us help you to create one in next 5 minutes.