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If you’re thinking about starting a product photography business or you simply want to take your own product photos, then read this post!

There are a few investments you need to make when you’re wanting to start a product photography business; these would be at the top of my list if I was just starting out.

Basic tools you need to start a product photography business:

[1] CAMERA

Camera for product photography businessYou cannot take professional product photos on a mediocre camera. Your iPhone simply won’t cut it.

Think about what your budget is, and do some research. Things you want to consider would include:

  • Can the camera shoot in manual mode
  • Does it have interchangeable lenses
  • Can the screen flip out
  • Does it shoot in RAW

Your camera and the lenses you own will play a huge role in the type of product photography photos you can take.

[2] STUDIO LIGHTING

You have 2 options when it comes to studio lighting:

  1. Continuous light
  2. Strobe light

When I first started my product photography business, I opted for continuous and used the Godox SL60W lights. I found them to be great and do the job for someone who is on a budget. I’ve been experimenting a bit more with strobe and, while it’s slightly trickier to work with, the crispness and sharpness in my photos have improved dramatically.

[3] TRIPOD

With product photography, you want your photos to be as in focus as possible. This means that you’re shooting at very high apertures. Typically when you shoot at a higher aperture, your shutter speed goes down which means you are more likely to experience blur and shake in your photos. The easiest way to avoid this is to invest in a tripod. Mounting your camera will reduce the shake and help you take really crisp photos.

Bonus, if you can tether your computer and shoot remotely you’ll eliminate the shake completely as you are not touching the camera at all!

Best tools for starting a product photography business

[5] BACKDROPS

There are so many amazing backdrops out there now. You can get waterproof vinyl ones that look like bathroom and kitchen tiles – these are great for skincare product photography.  You can also get non-reflective paper backdrops that make your products and models really pop! Think about the kind of vibe your photo is going for and invest in some backdrops that will help you capture that.

I love Every Day Co and most of my vinyl backdrops are from there!

[5] LIGHTROOM AND PHOTOSHOP

Editing plays a huge role in product photography. Lightroom will help you to do basic edits on your photos such as exposure, shadows, highlights, white balance etc. But to really make your images pop, you’ll need Photoshop as well. In Photoshop you can clean up product packaging by using the clone and spot removal tools, you have more control over the curves, can do background replacements and so much more! Not to mention you can make use of the layering function to help you with things like focus stacking.

I hope these tips help to point you in the right direction!