How to photograph products!

Here, I will show you things that are good to know if you are interested in hiring a product photographer.

Terre D'ermès Men's Cologne

The Fundamentals

It is important for all product photographers to have a clear understanding of both their camera, and the client's product.

To start, it is important to have a longer lens, so you can compress the background and reduce distortion. For most of my product photography, I love the Canon 70-200mm f 2.8. For this particular photo, the background was important to the branding of the product. Hèrmes uses beaches and tropical settings for this cologne, so I made sure to show texture in the pebbles.

Lighting makes or breaks an image. Product photography relies so heavily on lighting, you can always tell if the photographer knows how to use light. For this photograph, I had to light the top of the bottle with a rich, orange light that looks like the sun. The stripes of light are used to simulate a nearby body of water you may find near a beach. The shadows were filled in with a colder, soft light to simulate the blues and purples of a sunset.

Finally, the composition. The best images will always have a structure to them that engages the audience and draws interest. Layouts in product photography showcase this excellently. For this product, simple diagonal lines draw in attention, and make the image more dynamic overall.

Thank you for reading!

I hope you learned a little bit about my world of product photography. It takes only a few simple choices to make a product really shine. If you are interested in more, I will be posting more content soon, possibly including some behind the scenes footage! :)

I like feedback and questions, so if you want to chat, feel free to send off an email!

P.S. No pebbles were harmed in the making of this set.