Online Success 5: Beginner's Guide to Taking Great Photos

October 01, 2024

Not a Great Photographer? Get Professional-Looking Results with These Simple Tips

Guidelines for Good Photo Composition

Photo composition is the way elements are arranged in a photograph to create visual appeal for your customers.

Understand the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is the most basic and most important principle of art. Placing your focus point(s) in the left or right third is often more visually interesting than dead center. To apply this, imagine a tic-tac-toe grid overlaying your subject (most cameras and phones offer a grid line setting you can turn on). Position your important element(s) at the intersections of these lines for the most visual interest.

Line Up Your Frame, No Tilting!

Squarely line up your shot unless a tilted view is part of your creative intent. Use a natural line in your environment, such as the horizon, the base of a building, or the posts of a fence as a guide. Even a slight tilt is easily noticed by your website visitors and can make your images feel unprofessional to some.

Get Your Subject Right

The subject of your photo is the main object, person, or item you want to capture and showcase. For retail sales, you need to make sure you are effectively highlighting your subject. When doing so, consider the following:

Clarity - Make sure the subject is in sharp focus. A blurry background is acceptable (and can be an effective technique) as long as the subject is clear.
Brightness - Use more light than is typical for standard indoor settings and use natural light when possible. If it feels 'too bright' in the area you’ve set up for the photo, you likely have sufficient light. When in doubt, more light is generally better than less.
Framing - Take photos of the entire item for retail photography. When photographing people, avoid cropping at joints or “places that bend” on the body (the waist being the exception). Here’s a quick video about framing and cropping humans from SLR Lounge: Cropping Mistakes: Bad Portrait Crops & How to Fix Them.

Don't Crowd the Subject

It's good to have some open, blank space around the subject of the photo, but not too much. Too little will make the photo look crowded, and too much will make it look distant. Aim to find the right balance. With your retail photos, find a balance that works for you, and then be sure to do it the same way every time you take a product photo.

Find Your Brand's Unique Look

After you've got the basics down, experiment with angles, distances, backgrounds, and settings until you find a unique look that will make your photos 'feel' like your brand. You can upload an unlimited number of photos to the product listing in Rain POS. You can also use the Gallery module to feature your products with as many images as you like. Don't hesitate to showcase your offerings from multiple angles. This will give your customers a clearer idea of what they're buying, which will help with informed purchase decisions and inspire more impulse buys.

Tips for Great Product Photography

There’s a limitless amount of excellent free information available online about photography. We encourage you to read and watch as much as you can. The more you educate yourself the better your photos will be. To get started, here are some foundational tips to guide you as you go from novice to skilled photography in no time.

Always Use Good Lighting

Good lighting is crucial for a high-quality photo. The best lighting is natural but indirect. Whenever possible, take your photos near a large window and use something white, like a tri-fold presentation board, to bounce light back onto the item. If you don’t have access to natural light, try a lightbox. Most importantly, adjust your lighting as needed to avoid harsh shadows and reflections.

Use a Tripod

For stable shots, a tripod is unmatched. Not only will you be able to snap a steady picture, you’ll be able to step back to observe how the shot is arranged from a different perspective than you’ll have with the camera in your hand.

Take Advantage of Editing Tools

Research photo editing tools and find the one that you like best. Popular options are Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, but even your phone’s built-in camera can offer robust editing tools. A good editing tool allows you to adjust colors, strategically crop for your product, fix blurs and shadows, and so much more.

A word of caution about editing your photos: don’t overdo it. Overly-edited photos may appear inauthentic and could undermine customer trust.

Use Multiple Angles

Start with eye-level straight-on shots and then capture your product from as many angles as possible to really showcase its details. Also consider showing your items in “lifestyle” shots with props. For example drape that hand crocheted Afghan across a model’s shoulders while they relax on a porch. Your lifestyle shots should evoke a certain feeling whereas your product shots should focus on detail.

Know Your Product

Study your product and identify key features that are important to your customer or will show it to its greatest advantage, such as a brand name. Understand how the product material(s) and angles reflect light so that you can capture its details as accurately and attractively as possible.

Be Patient with Yourself

Familiarize yourself with your camera and the features it offers. Practice taking pictures of an item from various angles, with different lighting setups, and with or without props. Give yourself some grace while you work out your own unique brand of photography and remember learning takes time. You’re not trying to be a professional photographer, you just want to look like one.

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