Time Saving Product Photography Tips

Do you take pretty good product pictures, but feel like it’s taking up too much of your valuable work time? Well, you can increase the efficiency of your picture taking and get back in the crafting saddle sooner with these time-saving tips!

1.  Choose Standard Styles of Photograph and stick to them. Pick out types of shots and then use them over and over again. Not only will this increase the speed of your photographing, it will bring a cohesive look and feel to your online shop! Here are some photo style ideas to choose from:

• The glamour shot!! A super-clickable shot of the product that’s close enough to show detail, but far enough to tell what the product is. This picture is a must and you should be constantly working to make it more alluring!

• A shot of the product while in use. If your items are wearable, take a picture of them on a model!

• Take a shot that shows scale (think beyond the boring shots with items next to quarters or rulers, show the product in your hand, or next to a mug or next to a horse, depending on the size of the product and it’s use!)

• Take a super close-up shot that shows texture or important details.

• How about a product shot from a different angle? Show the back, the bottom, the other side!

2.  Use One or Two Stock Product Shots for every item. This is a super time saver, but make sure the stock shot is really relevant to the product! You could use a picture of your product packaging or some detail that’s the same for every product, like the clasp or tags. If your product has color variations, show a picture of the fabric swatches or finished pieces in the different colors.

3.  Set Up Your Picture Taking Work Station Like a Factory

• Don’t photograph one or two or a handful of products at a time, photograph 20 or 50 of them!
• Assemble together all the props and products and equipment you’ll need at the beginning of the photo session. (Nothing kills efficiency like trying to find that one brown shirt for 10 minutes!)
• Take the product pictures assembly-line-fashion: Take all the pictures of one type of shot first, then take all the pictures of the second type of shot next and so on.

There you have it: Three sure-fire ways to increase your picture-taking efficiency! Happy photographing everyone! (Want more picture-taking tips? Check out my previous post on how to take good product photos with a modest set-up.)

Guest Post by : Jenny Hoople