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DIY Product Photography for Social Media Marketing (That Won't Break the Bank!)

16th July 2024
5 mins

Earlier, social media was only a medium to connect and share with like minded people. Now, it has transformed as a hub to buy and sell everything possible online. Not just that, social media presence has turned into a superb way to bring generic traffic to online or offline stores.

As everyone knows, today's ecommerce highly depend on the uniqueness and quality of product photos. It does not matter if you run a small business, are an influencer, or want to present goods online; right product photography well edited by experts or by using AI tools are crucial for interest and sales.

However, many think that to have professional-level images, one must invest in costly equipment. In this detailed blog, we will take you through a step-by-step process of planning, shooting, and editing product images for success on social media.

Prepare Yourself For Your Shoot

Proper planning is the first secret of any great photo shoot. This involves researching and analyzing your audience and the kind of images they are most likely to appreciate.

Are they more inclined to sharp lines, simple images, or more colorful graphics and the fast pace of the scene? This is why employing a DIY product photography is better. You can use DoMyShoot mobile app that bring your product images to life without the need for elaborate photoshoot or expensive props.

Understanding Your Target Audience

While working on product photography for social media, understanding the people who will be seeing your photos can go a long way in determining how your photos and their appearances look.

For instance, the photo and video must include trendy and bright frames if the target groups are young and active. In contrast, if the target groups are middle-aged and traditional, the image and videos should have more classic and simple shots.

Choosing the Right Products

Choose a variety that will fit the product's current advertising campaign. If you plan to introduce a new product into the market, that's fine; concentrate on it. It is advisable to make sure that the filmed products are flawless, as it might be embarrassing to do some product editing later.

Organizing Your Workspace

DIY product photography indoors


Choosing the proper location for shooting is also very important for product photography and may greatly affect the outcome. The indoor shooting locations should be in fully controlled environments, and outdoor shooting locations must be in natural environments.

Indoor shoots allow the possibility of controlling the light and background while filming and outdoors can offer more intense light in different shades and diverse backgrounds.

Sunlight is preferable as it is one of the best and cheapest light sources. Choose a low angle of the sun so that no harsh dark lines will be depicted and the subjects are not overexposed.

Indoor vs. Outdoor Locations

Indoor shootings might not be very appealing if the weather conspires against you, but you have control over the situation. Nonetheless, outdoor settings may offer vivid and complementary vistas and lightning.

Using Natural Light

Lighting has to be natural. In most cases, natural light is taken into account. Do most of your shooting during the first and last few hours of the day when the light is not harsh, brilliant, or excessive.

Selecting Backgrounds

ai backgrounds for product photography at home


Gray and white colored backgrounds are general and formal looking, while black color is simple and sophisticated. To add more life to the images, you can use rough backgrounds such as wooden or marble surfaces or even colored paper. Moreover, even if your images don’t have the background you want, you can do it through solutions offered by Dresma. Do product photography at home using the DoMyShoot app and use Design Studio (webapp) to create conversion worhty content, namely, inforgaphics, banners, social media posts and more.

Some Appropriate Essential Equipment Required on Set (Limited Budget)

Contrary to what one may expect, making professional-looking product photos can be simple with minimal photography skills or expensive cameras. Most current mobile phone models come with great built-in cameras that can capture quality professional pictures.

If you prefer using a camera, your best choice could be a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, but at an affordable price. However, even if you don’t have advanced smartphones, or cameras, you may get quality images with the help of the DoMyShoot mobile app.

Stability is very important in product photography, depending on the type of product you are capturing. Therefore, you should ensure you get a good tripod for photography. You don't have to spend much for this; even a simple tripod will help minimize shake and produce a much better shot.

This can be homemade using white foam boards or aluminum foil or purchasing cheap ring lights or soft boxes online.


how to get product photography for free?

Camera Options

Many smartphones today have high-quality cameras and advanced features, such as impressive portrait modes with depth-of-focus. If you buy a camera, a drop-off DSLR or a mirrorless beginner's camera such as the Canon EOS Rebel or the Sony Alpha series will do the trick. Without advanced smartphones, or cameras, you may get quality images through DoMyShoot mobile app.

Props and Accessories

how to add props in diy product photography?


Props should complement the product provided without diminishing the focus on the product. Plants, books, or fabrics are humble, yet they create focused and attractive accents. The kind of colors on the props should be carefully selected to match or reflect the product.

Manage Composition and Styling

Knowing the fundamental concepts of composition can significantly enhance product photography for social media. Thus, the rule of thirds, leading lines, and symmetry are basic methods that enable harmonious and aesthetically pleasing images.

Styling your product revolves around simplicity with a pinch of detailing. Indeed, coordinating colors is crucial in establishing harmony within a set of pictures. When using props, use them in such a way that they add relevance and general interest but should not cloud the product.

Principles of Composition

The rule of thirds separates the frame into nine equal sections using two lines horizontally and two vertically. This way, or at the intersection of these lines, the key elements are positioned and create a balanced and exciting photograph.

Leading lines are lines meant to lead the viewer's eye through the image, and symmetry gives a balanced look to the photo.

Styling Tips

The layout for product photography should remain minimalistic not to overshadow the product. Ensure the colors match each other so that the image looks good. For instance, if your product is green, accompany it with props in shades of gray or colors diametrically opposite to green.

Angles and Perspectives

different angles in diy product photography


Multiple angles provide different dynamics, which can be useful in showcasing the product. The eye-level, top-view, top's, and low-determine which perspective is better for your item.

Shooting Techniques

Ensure that the products captured are free from dust and fingerprints. It seems unbelievable, but this small detail can make a huge difference in the quality of the images. You can also control your equipment by fine-tuning its elements, such as ISO, aperture, direction, and white balance.

If you are using your smartphone, you can go to settings and use grids and focus features to arrange your shots and ensure they are properly focused. It is advisable to make many attempts during a shoot and not limit it to just a few photographs; instead, opt for many and then retouch.

diy product photography for free using apps

Preparing Your Products

Before product photography at home, ensure that your products are well washed so that no abnormalities visible in the photos are present. For very oily black smudges, gently dampen a microfiber cloth with water to wipe off dust and fingerprints.

Camera Settings

To heighten the quality of the photos taken, one must comprehend the fundamental settings of a camera. ISO determines how well the camera captures light. A low ISO number is good for a bright environment, and a high ISO number is good for a dark environment.

Aperture, known in stop numbers as f-stop, influences the depth of field, such that a low number (large aperture) blurs out the background to emphasize the product. White balance acts to guarantee that colors are more natural and appear consistently.

Using Smartphone Features

Many smartphones have installed gridlines to assist in selecting subject composition. Troll the focused touch control to make sure it is sharp enough. Switch between photo modes, such as portrait or pro mode, and discover the best settings.

Photo Editing

photo editing using design studio


Well, that is where your photos can truly come to life. Readily available solutions for editing your images include Dresma, which provide varying parameters to help with the creative content creation for eCommerce. First, synchronization can be performed with basic image corrections such as cropping, brightness/contrast, and color correction.

If you wish to do more sophistication on the photos, do the following:

  • Enhance the skin smoothness.
  • Remove unwanted objects.
  • Modify the picture's background.
  • Apply different filters to align your pictures.

The continuity of the presented messages and images is critical in consolidating a unified brand appearance. You can also seek expert help from Dresma after product photography at home.

Enhancing the Social Networking Space

Every social networking site has dimensions and preferred picture file formats for the images it allows to be posted. Knowing these will assist in enhancing your photos for the best presentations.

For instance, Instagram will automatically crop any image that is not either square or vertically oriented. Pinterest specifically recommends images with a vertical aspect ratio.

Evaluating content captions and employing proper hashtags can greatly increase a page's reach and active participation. This makes it easier to upload your posts at the best possible time using effective third-party applications like Later or Hootsuite.

  • Platform-Specific Requirements: Instagram, the recommended image size is square, with a 1080 x 1080 pixel size, or a vertical image with a size of 1080 x 1350 pixels. Pinterest favors vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio, mostly 1000 and 1500 pixels.

  • Creating Engaging Captions: Your captions should be exciting and provide background information about the photos you post. You can do this by commonly asking questions, using emojis, and incorporating phrases such as 'reply,'' 'comment below,' etc.'

  • Using Hashtags Effectively: Find and incorporate hashtags to help your posts gain more visibility on different social platforms. Crossover general hashtags with those specific to target unique audiences to reach more people of the desired niche.

Conclusion

Social media product images can cost a lot of money or take a lot of time. However, a little ingenuity and proper planning can make your work inexpensive yet very efficient, making it look like a professional job. Always play and try new things while ensuring mastery of the current tasks. For product photography, don’t forget to visit Dresma for high quality AI powered content creation.

product photography for free

Frequently asked questions

Do I need expensive equipment to take good product photos for social media?
No! This blog post focuses on DIY product photography techniques using a smartphone and a free product photography app - DoMyShoot. You'll find tips on using natural light and more for professional-looking results.
What kind of lighting is best for product photography at home?
Natural light is your best friend! Aim to shoot during the first or last few hours of the day when the light is soft and diffused.
What are some tips for styling my products in the photos?
Less is often more! Keep your backgrounds simple and choose props that complement your product without distracting from it. The blog dives into color coordination, using the rule of thirds, and other composition techniques for visually appealing photos.
How can I edit my product photos for social media?
The blog mentions Dresma as an editing solution, but there are many options available. It also provides basic editing tips like cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast, and using filters.
What are the best image sizes and formats for different social media platforms?
The blog covers platform-specific requirements for popular platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Knowing the ideal aspect ratio and pixel size will ensure your photos display optimally on each platform.
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