{"id":55467,"date":"2022-07-06T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/?p=55467"},"modified":"2022-07-05T11:13:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T03:13:04","slug":"photos-that-sell-a-guide-to-taking-good-product-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grab.com\/ph\/community\/photos-that-sell-a-guide-to-taking-good-product-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos That Sell: A Guide to Taking Good Product Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Customers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores have the chance to handle the items on sale and inspect them closely, from multiple angles, before purchasing them. In e-commerce, however, product photos are often all consumers have to go on when it comes to assessing how a particular item looks and imagining how it might perform. Because of this, the quality of a particular merchant\u2019s product photos can make or break their sales, whether they are operating through their own online storefronts or on other e-commerce platforms.\u00a0<\/p>

and boost their sales. If you\u2019re a seller on the GrabFood and GrabMart<\/a> platforms and need actionable advAt Grab Philippines<\/a>, we\u2019d like nothing more than to help our partner merchants find good ways to market their products ice on effective product photography, rest assured that you\u2019re in good hands. Our handy guide will help equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to create photos that sell, sell, and sell more.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Choosing Appropriate Equipment<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Good product photography necessarily starts with putting together the right tools. For Grab Merchants who\u2019d like to take the best quality photos possible, the following pieces of equipment are essential:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Camera<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many sellers are under the assumption that they\u2019ll have to invest in top-of-the-line cameras with professional shutter speed, aperture, and ISO capabilities, as well as a full-frame sensor, huge resolution, interchangeable lenses, and all sorts of sophisticated settings. However, this simply isn\u2019t the case. If you do have the privilege of owning a high-end camera, you\u2019d certainly do well to take advantage of it for product shoots. There\u2019s no need to break the bank if you don\u2019t, however, as many online sellers right on the Grab platform have found plenty of success shooting their products with a simple smartphone.<\/p>

Newer smartphone cameras now come equipped with powerful lenses that allow them to take high-quality, almost professional-looking photographs. These cameras also boast a range of customizable settings that allow the photographer to adjust to different lighting conditions and shooting environments. Given this, photographing your products with your phone is a more than viable option that won\u2019t just produce excellent results but will also save you a lot on equipment costs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tripod<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A tripod can help you achieve a consistent, standardized orientation across all the product photos you take, and it can also help you produce higher-quality images in darker environments or under low-light conditions. It\u2019s also much more affordable to buy and easier to set up a tripod these days than it was years ago, when large, professional-grade tripods were more or less the only available option.\u00a0<\/p>

When selecting the right tripod for your setup, you\u2019ll mainly have to choose between traditional and flexible options. Traditional tripods are a solid, fuss-free choice if all you need is a sturdy base on which to mount your camera or smartphone at a set height. A flexible tripod, meanwhile, will have bendable legs that you can manipulate to achieve your desired angles.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Sweeps<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you prefer a smooth white background for your product photos, getting a paper sweep is the best way to achieve it. Sweeps are rolls of paper several yards long that you can place underneath and behind your product to create a seamless backdrop. If you\u2019re on a budget, white poster board from your local art store will also work just as well for this purpose, provided that the paper you choose is a true, pure white, rather than off-white.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Reflector Boards<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Reflector boards, also known as bounce cards, are flat, reflective surfaces that photographers use to redirect light onto a particular object or scene. They\u2019re typically used to redirect light and control contrast, as the light bouncing off a reflector board can help make the shadows in a photograph less dark.<\/p>

Though many specialized photographic reflector boards are available for purchase, you can also improvise your own reflectors using white foam board. You may also want to add a black foam board to your setup for photos in which you want the shadows to be deeper, which can be especially helpful for capturing predominantly white products against a white backdrop.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Working with Lighting<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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You\u2019ll want to make sure your pictures are appropriately and adequately lit, so that customers browsing Grab can get a visually accurate, in-depth look at the items you sell. When thinking about how to work with lighting, bear in mind that no single lighting setup will showcase every single product well. Be prepared to adjust your lighting setup based on the products you\u2019re shooting on a particular day.<\/p>

The following are essential considerations for lighting your product photos effectively:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Shooting in Natural versus Artificial Light<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Natural and artificial light are the two primary light sources availableto photographers. Which source a photographer chooses to utilize for a particular shoot will depend largely upon the subject and the intended purpose of the final photographs. As a general rule of thumb, however, photographers will typically use only natural light or only artificial light per photo rather than mixing light sources.<\/p>

Natural light refers to sunlight or daylight, which means that photographers seeking to utilize it will have to be mindful of the weather and the time of day. It\u2019s also often referred to as \u201csoft light,\u201d as the sun provides much more spread-out, gentler illumination than artificial sources like lamps or spotlights.\u00a0<\/p>

Natural light is an ideal choice for your product photographs if your objective is to create a sense of scene or atmosphere, rather than to highlight particular qualities of the product. It\u2019s also preferable when you\u2019re shooting people wearing, using, eating, or otherwise handling the product, as natural light tends to be more flattering. Some restaurants, for instance, will feature photos of particular star menu items being cooked or eaten. Photos like this typically depend on an emotional, human element to draw in customers and are thus well-served by warm, gentle natural light.<\/p>

Artificial light, meanwhile, comes from manmade sources such as bulbs or candles, which produce smaller and more focused illumination than ambient daylight does. Artificial light is also sometimes called \u201chard light\u201d for its concentrated quality, and it\u2019s most often used to showcase specific product details or features. If you\u2019d like to simply showcase a product against a plain backdrop, without any distracting surrounding details, it makes the most sense to choose an artificial light source.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Filling and Bouncing Light<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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When any kind of light hits your product, the product will inevitably cast a shadow on the side opposite your chosen light source. As these shadows can appear quite harsh on camera, you\u2019ll want to soften them by introducing a little extra light into your photo. Two common techniques you can employ for this are as follows:<\/p>