How to Photograph Products to Sell

Investing a few dollars on great product pictures that will pay back in more sales is a no brainer for anyone selling online.

With so many cameras and photography tools available in the market today, it is relatively easy to get a professional-grade product photo even if you are just using the phone camera.

I have a few ideas here that won’t break the bank and will pay back in no time. In fact, some of these suggestions are free.

5 DIY Product Photography Tips for Less than $5

Color Blocking Backgrounds for contrast

I love simple ideas for photography that have a big impact. For my own product photos, I often just use a color piece of paper as the backdrop for contrast. While I’ve purchased my fair share of pre-printed photography backdrops, I almost always just use color cardstock or construction paper for smaller products.

Here is a good example. I simply placed the product on the corner of the cardstock. The edge of paper creates a nice natural frame against the plain white background. The best part is, I can still use the cardstock for other craft projects.

Here is the pack of neutral cardstock I use the most for these kinds of photos. (Yes, I admit, this product is technically more than $5 as the pack but I actually got it for less than $5 on sale at Joanne’s)

Easy Recycled light box

My stock pile of Amazon delivery box is reach new heights, literally during pandemic quarantine and what better way to use a free product I was going to recycle anyways, especially when it pays.

Yes, you can make a complicated DIY light box for product photography but what I’m talking about is even easier.

I just cut off 2 sides of the box and use the back of the now open box as shade for a natural lighting photo shoot. If you have some plain white paper to line the box, great, use that. If not, just throw a neutral-colored sheet on it and it works just as well. Here in this photo, I just used some contact paper I had leftover from lining my pantry.

If the weather is nice, I take the box outside and position it such that shade covers the floor of the box where the product goes. Remember, direct sunlight doesn’t make for very good photo. Indirect sunlight, however, makes even ugly products beautiful.

Easy Plain backgrounds for product photos

By far the easiest product I use for clean background is Clipping Magic.

It is a fully automated background removal tool that has editing tools so you can make some editorial changes after the automatic background removal if you choose. It is so easy to use with just a simple copy and paste or upload your product photo.

I like using their preset background colors features to add a nice neutral background to my product shots. Give it a try yourself for free.

The free app for filters

My second favorite way to edit my photos is Google Photos. It is free and you can edit full size photos with easy presets. While the preset and inventory of ready made filters are not as amazing as say the VSCO app, they are still pretty good and you can use it on full resolution photos.

Faux foliage photography

While my preference is for plain background photos so the customer can focus on the product, once in a while, I like to throw in some faux foliage for fun.

I didn’t have time to make leaves for for my paper flower here but I did have a nice faux garland sitting around that I used for the photo. I’d say it adds a nice touch to the background that enhances focus on the main subject.

I love Amazon’s selection of faux foliage. I can get it delivered directly to my house and then use the box and its contents for great product photography.

Interested in some free templates and printables to get your creative juices going on what to make and sell?