Product Photography Tips

I have been having a little look around some online storefronts - Wow!  There are some amazing items out there, but their photos don't do them a great injustice! 

Now I'm not saying my pics are truly great (far from it and I've got a long ways to go yet) but could I point out a few little things that may help if you are new.

Fashion bib necklace by Sesenarts

1. Make your item the focus of the picture. 

Make sure there are no distracting elements in the background. Eg if the item is taken indoors against a wall, make sure there are no door, window frames, tables, pics on walls etc in the background. Neutral backgrounds are best if possible and look more professional. 

2. Remember the 'rule of thirds'. 

Fill up the frame with your image, use cropping to get rid of unnecessary space around the image and try to keep the finish cropped pic square. You wont get cut off images then when you upload. 

Red Embroidered Hanging Heart by Sesenarts

3. Use natural lighting as much as possible. 

You can buy daylight bulbs from the hardware store to assist if light is lacking. Don't use a flash. I  find mid afternoon the best time to shoot

4. Use a light box.

To assist in getting a goodly amount of light, use a Light box. Or what I do is get a couple of medium sized sketch books, open them up to clean white pages and arrange them around the small object to be photographed.

Coral Felted Wearable Art Scarf by Sesenarts

5. Reflect Light. 

Use use alfoil taped to a cupboard to reflect light back onto my mannequins for the scarves.
Have a good day all. I've got some things to re-photograph!



My name is Julie Smith and I have been practising as a mixed media and textile artist for over 20 years. I have created both wearable art and wall art using wool and silk as my base then embellishing with beading and embroidery to enhance each piece. 

My work has been exhibited and sold numerous exhibitions and galleries, both here in Australia and internationally and I hope to have my my own gallery and teaching space in the near future. For now my wearable art can be found at Sesenarts.Etsy.com and Handmade Artists.com






Note:  The opinions expressed by the author and and those providing comments are theirs alone.