Product photography is a great way to show off what you make and/or sell. Product photography has so much potential and the options are endless.

I have learned a lot about product photography over the last few years. When I studied photography in university I was able to do a few mock product photos. My favorite was the Levis mock commercial, it was very fun and my graphic design partner and I spent a lot of time working on this project.

I have learned that businesses want consistency with their product photos. So having a little bit of everything mentioned below is a great way to approach your product photography session.

How often your product photography will need to be updated depends on the type of products you produce. If your products are holiday based, i.e. Halloween/thanksgiving/Christmas, you will need a bigger session about two months before then. If you have a consistent production of products that can be used throughout the year, separating these sessions over quarters through the year will be the best approach.

Getting photos of the product alone on a white background is a great way to show of your product in a clean and clear way. But using color backdrops is a lot of fun! I had too much fun with the cookies below.

The next product photo you will want to add to your product photos will be with people. Whether this is eating your product or wearing it, sometimes it can be both depending on your audience, babies doing a cake smash are a perfect example of this. I loved photographing the model shots below for a jewelry client, getting a combo of pulled-back and close-up shots wearing the product helped the client have an assortment of images to show off the product.

Location is something to think about, getting images with a plain background and at a location either outdoors/ indoors helps flesh out the product portfolio. I did photos for The Sweetest Things that we did some at their store as well as at different areas around downtown Olympia. This is something to talk about during the consultation.

What about product photography around Olympia:

I specialize in event photography, which means I need to know how to do several different photography services to help amplify the quality of that event. Product photography at events is very important.  Often at events, there are vendors, sometimes it’s the only time to see these products in person.

At these events, I am able to approach vendors and ask if I can photograph their products so that the images can help bring fans of their products back to the event the following year.

I photograph attendees interacting with the products, owners with their products, and products alone, sometimes the products are photographed with something that defines the event, i.e. in front of tugboats at Olympia Harbor Days.

Auction items in product photography:

It is incredibly important to have images that will showcase what is being offered to the public and for your auctioneer to refer to. Photographing the trees at Providence Christmas in the Forrest is always such a fun event and really kicks off the season for me. These photographs aren’t just used to help auction off the trees but are given as a gift to the designers of the trees. The photos also serve as an archive of what has been done in the past. Often my clients who need photos of auction items send the images to their donators as a thank you.

Don’t forget:

The best thing you can do prior to having the product photos done is create a Pinterest board and talk through what you like about those photos. Simply sending the board and not sharing what you love about what you have cultivated will result in two different visions and, most likely, your dissatisfaction. Talking about the light, the shadow, particular cropping, or the background is super important. It’s great to focus on the positive but don’t discount what you don’t want either. This helps create a scale or preference.

 

Let’s get to it, here’s what I have done in product photography Olympia:

 

The Sugar Canvas Boutique Bakery

At this session, I photographed The Sugar Canvas Boutique cookie pop-up, bought some cookies, then photographed them at home with different backgrounds.

You can check out Colleen’s cookie store here. She offers pop-ups, personal orders, and classes.

 

These precious lockets were such a pleasure to photograph. Abel Lockets has unique lockets that are elegant and able to hold your rings or other small items. My favorite is the Moon Landing Locket, you can check it out here.

 

Photographing all The Sweetest Things items curated from female-owned businesses was a lot of fun and I was able to get really creative. My favorite was the cupcake soap, we created foamy bubbles and larger ones for the background. The black background really made the colors pop.

 

 

 

Erika Laureano Design is a great example of needing new photos each season, Erika creates many items but also does custom pieces. Each item is photographed on a white background, then in an artsy still and finally on the model. Check out Erika’s work here.