Jan 20, 2025
Top 23 Product Photography Ideas For Stunning Product Photos
You’ve worked hard to source or create a great product. Now, it’s time to get some stellar photos so you can show it off to the world. But what if you’re not sure where to start? You’re not alone if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the many choices available for eCommerce photography. There’s no denying that the better your product images are, the more sales you’re likely to achieve. Luckily, this article will provide valuable insight to help you reach your goals, like seeking top product photography ideas for stunning product photos.
Caspa's AI product photography platform can help you get there faster. Our solution streamlines the product photography process and lets you take stunning product photos that will grab your customers' attention.
Table of Contents
Top 23 Product Photography Ideas For Stunning Product Photos
Get AI Product Photos that Increase Your Sales for Free Today
What Is Product Photography?
Product photography creates high-quality visual content that showcases products in the best possible light. It involves taking well-composed, aesthetically pleasing images that accurately represent the product.
These images are then used to attract and convert customers on:
E-commerce websites
Social media
Advertisements
Marketing materials
What are the Key Elements of Product Photography?
To master product photography, it’s helpful first to get familiar with a few fundamental concepts:
Lighting
One of the most critical factors, natural or artificial light, can define the look and feel of an image. Experiment with different setups to find the ideal balance.
Composition
Strategically placing the product and other elements within the frame creates a strong visual impact.
Background
Keep backgrounds simple for maximum product focus. Common choices include white, gray, or textured backdrops.
Camera settings
Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all contribute to the final product image. Adjust to find the perfect combination for your product photos.
Related Reading
• How to Take the Best Product Photos
• How to Edit Product Photos
• Midjourney Product Photography
• Ecommerce Product Photos
Top 23 Product Photography Ideas For Stunning Product Photos
1. Achieve a Photo Studio Effect with a White Card
For a good reason: a white background is the most common backdrop for product photography. It provides a clean background that doesn’t distract from your product. It’s most often used for small products like jewelry or shoes, so white is the way to go if you sell something like that. How do you create a perfect white background? The easiest way is to buy a roll of white paper from a local arts and crafts store. It’s cheap and straightforward to handle. Plus, you can easily create an infinity curve with a large sheet for a more significant effect.
Product Photography with Proper Lighting, White Cards, and Background Removal Tools
A white card is also helpful for proper lighting. The card reflects light onto your product and background, ensuring the image looks great online. Adequate lighting is a core principle of any kind of photography, and it can help elevate your ecommerce shots. If you need an instant tool to remove distracting backgrounds from your photos, blur them, or change them to solid colors like plain white to further align with your brand, a background remover is a good choice. A plain background is the best way to display the details of your product.
2. Connect with Customers by Creating a Vivid Scene
Whether selling yoga clothes or baked goods, you sell a particular lifestyle. When potential customers see your product, they instantly form ideas and options about it. By creating a scene, you can influence their associations.
Using Lifestyle Photography to Showcase the Story and Experience Behind Your Product
Let’s say you’re promoting a new brand of beer. You’re not just selling a drink; you’re selling all the things that come with it—late nights, conversations with friends, parties, good times. Consider setting up a scene that reflects the idea behind your product. Customers can see themselves in this lifestyle shot much more than they can with a picture of a beer against a plain background. Of course, these shots take more effort to set up. But it doesn’t have to be a full production. Invite a few friends to a location and snap some shots. You’ll be surprised by what you can produce.
3. Build 360 Product Photos with a Lazy Susan
360-degree photos are becoming a trend for ecommerce stores. They allow customers to rotate an image and see the product from every angle, making them valid for furniture and home goods. Professional product photographers use a unique turntable to get the shots necessary to achieve this effect. But you can do the same thing with a rotating tray, a Lazy Susan, available for ~$10 from any homewares store. Simply place your white card on top of the Lazy Susan. Start by photographing the item facing forward and rotating it slowly to get the other needed shots. You can then combine them and upload them to your ecommerce platform.
4. Add Depth (and Elegance) with a Glass Surface
A tabletop or flat surface is the foundation of any DIY product shoot. You can take it one step further with a piece of glass. A reflective surface like glass can add creativity and class to your otherwise plain product shot. The glass creates a reflection that adds more depth to your photo. It also makes certain products (e.g., a bottle of wine) look more elegant and expensive. This can be an effective strategy for e-commerce stores after an upmarket look on a budget.
5. Enhance Your Lighting with a Table and Curtain
A lightbox is a valuable photography item for shooting smaller items. In a few minutes, you can make one with a table and a translucent curtain or sheet. Simply turn your table upside down and drape your curtain over it to create the desired effect. The curtain is a diffuser, generating a soft and even lighting effect. If you don’t have lighting equipment, you can place your new makeshift light box beside a natural light source.
6. Keep It Natural with Outdoor Photography
Outdoor photography is the most affordable photo idea on this list. All you need is your camera—Mother Nature takes care of the rest. On the right day, the outdoors can provide perfect natural lighting and brilliant backdrops for health, lifestyle, and beauty products. All you must do is choose the ideal background for your brand. Try to find a match between your products and the setting. For example, if you’re selling swimwear naturally, you would choose a beach, while a brand selling hiking gear might choose a mountain or forest setting.
7. Make Products Float with a Fishing Line
Looking for unique ways to make your products pop? You don’t have to be a Photoshop magician (or a real one). With a simple fishing line, you can set up a compelling shot that makes it seem like your product is suspended in thin air. Just attach a fishing line to the product and attach it to a base overhead—the transparent line will barely show up in the final image. While you can do this on a plain background (which is better for editing out the fishing line later), you can do it with natural surroundings and even models.
Using DIY Tricks Like Fishing Lines to Create Dynamic Product Photos That Capture Attention on Social Media
Fishing lines have been pivotal for making things look like flying since old Sci-Fi movies in the 1920s. It’s a classic DIY trick and works a treat. Remember to edit it with your photo editing software (simply “paint” over the line). Dynamic images like this help share pictures on Instagram and other social media. According to Facebook, 83% of Instagram users say the platform helps them discover new products and services, and active images like this help draw potential customers to click on your photos.
8. Create a Reflector with Tin Foil
If you shoot your products with only one light source, harsh shadows can affect the quality of the image. Reflectors prevent this by allowing light to bounce back, dampening any shadows. For an easy (and cheap) alternative, you can make your reflector with materials around the house. All you need is a piece of cardboard, some aluminum foil, and something for the cardboard to rest on. Wrap the foil around the piece of cardboard, prop it up—and you’ve got your DIY reflector ready.
9. Use a Cheap Marble Backdrop for a Fresh Look
Marble backdrops have become increasingly popular in the last few years, especially for food photography, where they give the impression that the photo was taken on a (premium) kitchen countertop or restaurant table. You can buy cheap marble vinyl sheets online, or if you’re after a more tactile, custom look, you can always make your own with some paint. To do so, mix two contrasting colors and drip them onto a piece of cardboard. Of course, if you’re more digitally inclined, you can always add any pattern you want with a white background in your favorite graphic design tool.
10. Use Window Lighting to Add a Dramatic Effect
Natural light is a fantastic source of lighting. Best of all, it’s free, and you don’t need to spend hours maneuvering light fixtures and lamps to take advantage of it. If you want to add drama to a product shot without Photoshop, consider placing your products by a window. The effect you get depends on the time of day. You’ll get lovely warm light in the evening and cooler tones earlier in the morning. You can place a white background near the window or a reflector beside it for a cleaner look. If you can find a frosted window, you can get a fantastic textured, softer light.
11. Add a Lens Flare for Extra Style
Photographers avoid lens flares as they occur as a result of unexpected light reflections or lens impurities. They’re an impurity. But there can be beauty in imperfection, and in recent years, they’re back in vogue (check out a J.J. Abrams film to see what we mean). Lens flare can make your product shots:
More dynamic
Eye-catching
Stylish
This particularly applies to luxury items like watches, jewelry, cars, and skincare items. Now, this is also something you can do with design tools like Canva, but you can also use a CD for a more natural look. If you’re using a DSLR camera, you’ll have to remove the lens hood, as it’s specifically designed to prevent lens flare. You can then place the bottom part of the CD near the eye level of the camera so that it reflects light and creates flares. Play with the different angles to get new and interesting effects and intensities.
12. Make Fake Water Droplets for Frosty Beverages
Are you trying to sell beverages and wondering how the geniuses at Coca-Cola always make their drinks look so refreshing? The secret is using glycerin and water for the perfect water droplet effect. Combine these two elements in a spray bottle, and spray the concoction over your product to give it a chilled effect. Why glycerin? You could use water, but the glycerin prevents the water from running down the product or evaporating instantly. This means you don’t have to rush to beat the clock, giving you more time to set up your perfect shots.
13. Hang It Up
Simply hanging up a product in different ways can create creative product photography ideas at home. String it up from various angles using rope, wires, or other products. To find the perfect shots, take many pictures using different lighting effects and angles. Even better, blend this with a Christmas theme by hanging a product up with Christmas lights.
14. Implement Close-Up Shots
Some products require us to take them off the shelf and examine them closer. To replicate this action in a physical store, close-up shots are a godsend for eCommerce companies. They allow buyers to inspect the quality of the products further and make an informed buying decision.
15. Use Props
Props are optional, but when used correctly, they could be the perfect aid for the products you didn’t know you needed. Instead of placing the items before a single-colored background, the brand chose a unique approach where more is more is the motto. This photography style complements the dreamy vibe of the not-pot website, which can be a source of inspiration for many.
16. Add Graphic Elements and Texts
The graphic elements highlight Kokada’s products while remaining unobtrusive. Like on-set props, graphic elements, and text are standard details in post-production. They grant brands a distinct look and make them more memorable.
17. Spice It Up with GIFs
GIFs and videos are superb ways for sellers to give a detailed look at their products. For cosmetics or food businesses, featuring GIFs showcases the products’ texture, consistency, color, etc., without extensive descriptions.
18. Minimal Background
We have reviewed various photography styles, and it would be flawed not to include the most simple yet efficient photo layout: a product in front of a minimal background. This photography style eliminates extensive planning, which sellers can achieve with a basic equipment kit.
19. Creative Humor
Customers love to look at photos with a fun element. It draws the most attention. Use light humor when doing a product photoshoot. Here, you can create unexpected situations. For example, you can add a funny message if you’re selling mugs. But make sure the humor is tasteful and aligns with your brand and marketing goals. Don’t overdo it.
20. Do Something Out of the Box
Putting unusual items in unexpected places is what shocks and draws attention. If you’re selling a fridge, you can add a pair of sunglasses to it. What makes such a photoshoot successful is how you shape the storyline. It encourages the audience to see what happens behind the scenes and the possibilities of the product.
21. Convey the Emotion
Pay attention to the audience’s emotions about your product. You must connect with your audience by capturing those emotions through your photography. For example, if you’re selling headphones, you can create an idea around music distracting everything happening around you and transporting you to a different world.
22. Use Supportive Objects
What objects best support your product? Try to incorporate them into your photoshoot.
You have to write down every association that comes to mind.
Combine them with out-of-the-box ideas. If you’re selling ketchup, one thing that comes to mind is food.
You can use dipping sauce for a chicken nugget concept for the photography.
23. Still the Motion
Motion photography brings a new level of versatility to capturing stunning images. Using water, flour, or powder, you can create stunning images that go beyond the human eye’s capacity. To capture sharp still motion, remember to set fast shutter speeds of 1/400.
Why is Product Photography Important For Your Brand
Product photography creates the first impression of your brand. A high-quality image shows your product is the best quality, implying a good first impression of your brand. Thus, you need a professional product photographer to capture the best shot for the presentation.
Build Your Brand Identity with Product Photography
Product photographs are the best way to establish your brand identity. Renowned brands worldwide focus on brand name logos, creatively designed banners, product photographs, and photo editing to attract customers. To gain brand value, we (picsfast.com) provide product photography at home or anywhere you choose. We use our excellent service and creative skills to build your brand identity while ensuring customers feel more confident about buying your products.
Product Photography Helps You Sell More
Selling your product is the main objective of e-commerce marketing. To do so, you have to focus on the quality of the pictures. If your product photograph can catch customers’ attention, the sales will increase automatically.
Product Photography Builds Credibility and Reputation
Product photography is the only way to build credibility and reputation if you are just starting your e-commerce business in this tough-as-nails market. People find it easier to trust a website that shows genuine photographs. It also looks inviting, as your customers will look for pictures first, then go for the relevant details later.
Boost Customer Satisfaction with Product Photography
Customer satisfaction is the most powerful technique for your business, and it has a high probability of success. Once your customers are satisfied with your product and find it the same as shown in photographs on your website, it maintains my reputation and drags them the next time they shop from my website.
Caspa: Revolutionizing eCommerce Product Photography with AI for Cost-Effective, Professional Visuals
Caspa helps eCommerce brands create stunning product photography with AI, eliminating the need for multiple tools that traditionally eat up to 20% of revenue like:
Photographers
Models
From creating ultra-realistic product shots with human models to editing existing photos, Caspa's all-in-one AI product photography platform handles everything from background removal to upscaling, letting brands produce professional marketing visuals in seconds. Whether you need custom stock photos or complete studio editing capabilities, Caspa streamlines the entire product visualization workflow into a single, cost-effective solution. Get AI product photos that increase your sales for free today!
Related Reading
• Types of Product Photography
• Product Photography Setup
• DIY Product Photography Setup
• Lifestyle Product Photography
Essential Elements For Great Product Photos
Product Condition: Start with the Basics for Better Product Photos
The first thing to consider when prepping products for a photoshoot is their condition. Sure, it might go without saying, but blemishes, dents, scratches, and other imperfections should be avoided at all costs. We always communicate this with our clients: The products they want us to shoot should be as pristine as possible. That’s not to say that problems can’t be fixed in post. Every photo that makes its way to the client goes through processing, but it takes time to make corrections look natural, and you know how that saying goes. Using spotless products for the shoot saves you time and money and results in better-looking photos.
In short, Make sure the item being shot is:
Clean
Clear
Blemish-free
Lighting and Exposure: Set the Mood for Product Photography
Product photos should be taken with even, diffused lighting to avoid hotspots, glare, and reflections. It shouldn’t be too obvious where the light is coming from – the product should look as though it’s lit from within. Shadows can be tricky, but in general, less is more. Shadows pull attention away from the product, hide detail, and are an eminent reminder that you’re looking at a picture, which interferes with the illusion of the idealized product.
Lighting, Shadows, and Exposure for Rich and Natural-Looking Product Photography
That said, shadows can set the atmosphere or give products a more realistic and natural feel. The same can be said for lighting. What’s important is that these elements look intentional and suit the atmosphere of the shot. Exposure is a little simpler but follows similar principles. Colors should be rich and full rather than washed out, while highlights and shadows should retain detail without clipping. In short, look for even, diffused lighting, minimal, intentional use of shadows, and an exposure that brings life and richness to the product without sacrificing detail.
Depth of Field and Distortion: Get the Right Focus for Product Shots
Depth of field can be thought of as the range at which objects in the frame are in focus. It’s responsible for that pleasing ‘blurry background’ effect you sometimes see in pictures (in that case, a shallow depth of field). It determines what’s sharp and focused and what isn’t. Typically, you want to see crisp detail throughout the product (i.e., the entire thing is within the depth of field), offering customers more excellent information and a more accurate representation of the real-life product. In lifestyle or still-life-type shots, depth of field can be used intentionally to blur whatever is behind and in front of the subject.
Maintaining Product Integrity: Avoiding Distortion and Enhancing Detail in Product Photography
The product should not be distorted, which can happen due to certain lenses (like a fisheye lens) and the angle of the shot. The image taken should resemble the actual product as much as possible. The story’s moral: Look for a sharp focus that shows the product in all its glorious detail, keeping unimportant or distracting elements blurred. The product should never be optically distorted but true to life.
Framing and Composition: Make Product Photography Pleasing to the Eye
With the product often centered against a white background, framing, and composition are less concerned for simple studio shots; however, they matter a lot for lifestyle or still-life photography, which incorporates many disparate elements into a single shot. Framing refers to how and where the product sits within the image, while composition refers to how multiple elements within the frame are laid out about one another.
Effective Product Photography Layouts: Focusing on Detail and Highlighting the Focal Point
In terms of product photography, not only should the picture be pleasingly laid out, causing your eyes to roam over detail naturally, but attention should gravitate toward the focal point of the image:
The product itself
The product in use
The product is associated with the mood
Feeling that the picture evokes
In short, look for products centered on a white background for simple studio shots. This is good for highlighting detail and keeping attention on the product. For more creative and contextual lifestyle or still-life shots, the eye should naturally roam until it settles on a focal point that highlights the product.
Colors and Post-Processing: Aim for True-to-Life Product Photos
Last but not least, there are colors and post-processing. These are pretty straightforward—the colors should be true to life, primarily a function of lighting and white balance, while post-processing should be minimal and natural. Your products should look good, but be careful not to mislead. Too obvious touch-ups might arouse suspicion in customers and introduce hesitation to the buying process. Naturally, products that don't look as good in real life result in more returns. In short, colors should be rich, vibrant, and true to life. While post-processing is necessary, it shouldn’t make products look unrealistic and artificial.
Get AI Product Photos that Increase Your Sales for Free Today
Caspa brings speed and efficiency to product photography. With its AI-driven software, you can create product images in seconds instead of the weeks or months it can take to stage, shoot, and edit a traditional product photography session. Caspa helps eCommerce brands create stunning product photography with AI, eliminating the need for multiple tools that traditionally eat up to 20% of revenue like:
Photographers
Models
From creating ultra-realistic product shots with human models to editing existing photos, Caspa's all-in-one AI product photography platform handles everything from background removal to upscaling, letting brands produce professional marketing visuals in seconds. Whether you need custom stock photos or complete studio editing capabilities, Caspa streamlines the entire product visualization workflow into a single, cost-effective solution. Get AI product photos that increase your sales for free today!
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