How to Take the Best Photos for Your Small Business
Happy World Photo Day! In honor of this fun holiday smHauler has pulled some of our favorite product photos from our small business community. We’ll tell you what makes each photo so great for shoppers and how you can take similar pictures for your own small business. See a product you love? You can also tap each image to shop.
*smHauler has a attributed credit to each small business, as their photographer is unknown to us. These are meant to be used as inpiration, not to copy.
First things first, the photo basics
To get started, there’s a couple basics all of these product photos have that make them so great. Please also keep in mind you don’t need a fancy camera to take photos like these. Most newer phone cameras take pictures with comparable quality!
- ALWAYS make sure you have good lighting. You can purchase different lighting options, or you can just position yourself in front of a window or outside for natural lighting.
- Make sure your product is clearly the focus. Don’t let shoppers get confused as to what you’re selling or overwhelmed by additional staging. Everything in each photo should be intentional. If you add props, make sure it is only to enhance the type of feeling you are trying to give shoppers.
smHauler loves this photo because it has a bright luxurious feel. For bath and body products, a luxury feel is probably one of the top things you are trying to communicate to a shopper in a photo. This photo also clearly shows what the product is and what a shopper can expect when they open their package.
You can recreate this photo by using a silk/satin sheet, pillowcase, or small scarf depending on the size of your product. smHauler also likes to use a pearl curtain behind some of our product photos, which can give a similar vibe.
Clear objects can be really difficult to take photos of, but NolieCo did this well! This photo has a serene feel thanks to the focused product and blurred background. There is some interest with the product without it being overwhelming.
If you want to take product photos of your stickers like this, grab a bamboo skewer from the grocery store to hold the sticker for minimal coverage to show off the clear backing. Add some plain objects in the background and blur them a little bit to accent your soft and delicate designs.
This product has TWO incredible photos. Since it’s a ghost sweatshirt, Dahlias Apparel brought in the spooky vibes by floating the objects! Sometimes all it takes a little thinking outside the box to come up with a scroll stopping photo to get your product noticed.
smHauler isn’t exactly sure how they achieved these photos, but we believe a little editing was involved (or maybe they really used ghosts… who knows!). To achieve the pumpkin photo take a picture of your model sitting with their hands posed as if they are throwing something, and then take a picture of a pumpkin separately. Import both these photos into an editor like Canva, remove the background on your pumpkin photo and place it over the face of your model.
You could take a similar route for the floating object style too. Remove the person holding the sweatshirt, and drag it into the scenery you think fits best.
There you have it!
Three very different products with very different product photos- aren’t they all amazing though? Each one of these photos captures your attention because it is clear, and the vibe of the photo matches the vibe of the product. Nothing feels random, and each product is the spotlight while there are still other objects in the photo to make it interesting. Now that you have these small business product photos to use as inspiration, go take some of your own! smHauler LOVES seeing your work, so if you’d like to share your results with us you can tag us on social media, or send us a DM! You can also share your favorite photos best tips in our Facebook group for small business owners.
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These small businesses have THE BEST photos! Check them out and learn how you can recreate them on the smHauler blog
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