Worth a Thousand Words – What are Your Photographs Saying?

In our industry, it is not unusual for customers to ask for photos of our product line. In fact, at Maple Ridge Farms it happens on a daily basis! Often, our customers present us with instructions like “I just need a quick shot of the item, nothing fancy.” But a saavy business person knows there is much more to it than that. We’ve all heard the old adage “a picture’s worth a thousand words,” so we have to ask ourselves, what are the images we provide to our customers really saying? 

The good news is, you don’t need to be a professional photographer or have a top-of-the-line camera to provide your customers with great product images! Just keep in mind a few simple tricks and you can be sure your photos are saying just the right things.

Keeping Things in Focus

First and foremost, the most essential part of a great photograph is focus. If your item is not in focus, your image is not helping your customer. Today’s point-and-shoot cameras and even mobile phone cameras generally choose the focus point for you. Your goal is to get that focus point to be the portion of the item that is closest to your camera. That will ensure that your whole item is relatively in focus. 

The Background is Important

The first thing you will want to concentrate on is the background for your image. First and foremost, you need to make sure your background is clear of any distracting elements. Take the time to clear the clutter from your shooting area, so that you don’t find yourself with your desk accessories in your shot!


The next step is to make sure that if you do have something in the background, it is as far away from the item you are trying to shoot as possible. That way, the items in the background will be less in focus than your main item. You want to create a photo that has a shallow depth of field.  By using a shallow depth of field, your product will be the main focus of your image, which means it will get the most attention.

 

Lighting 101


Perhaps the most challenging aspect of shooting photos is the lighting. How do you create great shots without thousands of dollars of lighting equipment? The answers are surprisingly easy and very cheap!

First, use natural light whenever you can. Take your products outside for an adventure and use the great light that nature provides for us! If the day is overcast it’s even better! As long as it isn’t raining, snowing, or really windy, and overcast day can be your best friend. The light is still bright enough to properly light your product, but doesn’t cast harsh shadows. If it’s sunny, you can still shoot outside, just avoid shooting from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm because those are the hours when your shadows will be the harshest.  If you don’t want to shoot outside, at least shoot near a window so you can take advantage of the natural light.

Sometimes it’s impossible to use natural light, and your only option is to use the pop up flash on your camera or phone.  And as most of know, that can sometimes result in having washed out images or dark shadows in the shot.  Your best bet? Grab a tissue and cover up your flash! Just one or two layers of tissue will soften out those harsh shadows and should still give you enough light on your product. Just experiment, and take multiple shots.

Most consumers tend to be visual when it comes to making decisions and very few people are willing to spend large amounts of money on things they cannot see. By keeping in mind a few simple photography tricks and practicing them until they become second nature we can provide our customers with great visuals to help promote our products and close the sale.