3 Tips to Help You Prep for Your Product Photography Session

Professional and beautiful product photos can elevate your online presence and make a lasting impact on your clients. Whether you are looking for classic, styled, or editorial and lifestyle content, we are here to help! We’ve compiled three tips to help you prepare for your next product shoot, so that you can approach your session stress-free, and achieve the highest quality and visually pleasing images to showcase to your customers.

1. KNOW THE PURPOSE OF YOUR SESSION

It’s so important to know the why behind your shoot, so that you can convey what you’re looking for to your photographer, and therefore get the most out of it! It also helps you and your photographer make decisions like what type of session to book, the photo orientation, what products to include, what props to use, and how to style it all. Here’s what you should ask yourself as you prepare:

• What do I want the photos for?

• How many photos do I need?

• How/where will they be used? (website, Instagram, Pinterest, digital ads, etc)

• Are there any specific images/themes I need? Or am I looking for more general content?

• Are there any important aspects of my brand or the products that I want a focus on?

2. PREPARE YOUR PRODUCTS

Make sure you know exactly what products you want photographed. Be specific and clear with which items are most important to be photographed. That way your photographer knows which products to prioritize in the allotted photoshoot time. Here are some helpful tips when selecting the items to be photographed:

• Based on the tip above, keep your purpose in mind. Are you launching a new product or collection? If so, be sure to distinguish those pieces to your photographer.

• Organize your items by what pieces you want photographed alone, and what can be shot together in a grouping.

• Make sure you’re selecting the “prettiest” products to be photographed (straight labels, no scratches, product is full, etc.)

• Also, please make sure your items are clean, wrinkle-free and dust free!

• When it comes to choosing products that have various size options, it might be best to discuss and plan which sizes to include with your photographer ahead of time.

If there are specific details (eg; a pocket inside you want highlighted, how to fold it a specific way, etc.) make sure to discuss them with your photographer ahead of time.

Note: Consider how your products will appear on your e-comm site. For example; if you have 1 product in multiple colour ways, you may want to request a group shot for the cover image, plus supporting images of each product shot individually.

3. DISCUSS & PLAN PROPS

This is always a fun part of the planning process. Here, we can get quite creative with choosing supporting items to show your offerings in context, highlight features, or tell more of the story behind your products.

We can plan props for specific themes or social posts. For example if you want Holiday content for the upcoming season, we can prepare fresh winter greenery, berries, ribbon and stockings.

We also love finding props that reinforce the company’s brand. For example, if your products are made with all natural or plant-based ingredients, we will include natural, real props- and obviously no plastic.

If you have any specifics props that you want included in your session, be sure to discuss them with your photographer. If they are props you have, you can send them along with your products for the shoot. At Anthology Marketing, we have a collection of items we can pull form during our sessions. If there is something specific you would like, that we do not have, we can often source what is needed and add it to your invoice (fresh flowers, greenery, a cake, etc.)

Another great tip is to send items from your work space as props. Are you a sewer? Send some spools of thread or some tools!

BONUS: MAKE A PINTEREST BOARD!

Our last tip is a bonus, and is not a necessity. But if you have a specific vision, or find scribing what you are looking for in words difficult, then this can be so helpful for you and your photographer to get onto the same page! Here are some of the things you can pin that would be helpful.

• photos that share the same overall “vibe” you are aiming for

• images that have products styled in a way that you like

• background colours, textures and prop ideas

Using these tips and ideas will allow great communication between you and your photographer, and will help you get stunning images that will showcase your products and brand. If you are looking to elevate your product imagery, refresh your brand, and reach your marketing goals, don’t hesitate to reach out! We can’t wait to work with you!