Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash

Photography plays a vital role in selling any product. Photographs influence the consumer's psyche and their decision. A good picture can influence a person to buy a product which they do not even need. It can change a decision from not purchasing to purchasing.

With this increase of importance, many small businesses are investing in good-quality cameras, mobile phones, tripods, and other gadgets to capture the best of their products.

Not all small businesses have the space or the budget to set up a professional photo studio. Neither can they hire professional photographers to shoot for them.

This is no excuse for lagging in photography. Nowadays, many small businesses are home run and are run by young people between the age of 16-21. These young minds have worked hard and used their creative capacities to click top-notch pictures of their products. There are tons we all can learn from them.

Are you one of the struggling small business owners who need advice on doing the best quality product photography?

Don't worry, I've got you covered. I own a cloud kitchen, a home bakery and sell via social media. So, with my own experience and learning from many others, I have gathered the best tips and tricks to set up a small photo booth for your product photography at home. The below tips are cost-effective and will make your pictures look 10 times better!

1. Pay attention to the background
The product background either increases the beauty of the product or decreases it. A white background is preferred for product photography as it makes the colors of the product more vibrant.

For a white background, you can use a white fabric such as a bedsheet. Iron it and place it on your table, and voila, a white background is ready.

If you want a 3D background, then you can make one with cardboard. Cover cardboard with whatever paper you'd like as a background. One cardboard act as the base and paste 3 standing cardboards on 3 sides of it and place your product in between and shoot!

Handmade cardboard backgrounds can be made in various colors and designs. If you are too lazy or short of time to make one, you can purchase readymade backgrounds. Many small businesses sell stunning marble effects and printed backgrounds!

2. Lighting
Lighting is crucial for good quality vibrant pictures. You can utilize sunlight, but you can purchase a ring light if you are shooting during the evening. A ring light or a cinema light will throw direct light on your products and bring out the colors. They are cheap and durable!

3. Camera/mobile phone used for photography
Invest in a good camera for amazing pictures. You don't need to buy an expensive one for that. Check the specs of the camera and compare it with cameras of other brands. A camera is like an investment.

But if you still think that it is expensive or do not know how to operate one, you can purchase a mobile with good camera quality.

4. Decorate your background
If you sell clothes, bags, makeup, or accessories, you can make your background a little colorful by adding a few elements to it. Scarfs, necklaces, clips, perfume bottles, fancy plates, fur coats are some of the examples of elements you can add while taking pictures.

But make sure you do not overpower the background. These elements should not overshadow your product. Focus on your product while clicking pictures. Elements should just accentuate the background and make the final result more appealing.

5. Editing
Many small business owners do not edit their pictures and upload them in a hurry on their sites. But that is a mistake. The right amount of editing highlights the products and makes them more visually appealing. For editing, you can download various apps for free such as Adobe Lightroom, Inshot, Snapseed, etc.

Let me give you an example of setting up a photo booth of a product. If your business deals in clothes, you can click amazing pictures of your clothes by following these simple steps-

1. If you want to click a picture of a purple top and white jeans spread out your white background on the floor.
2. Place the product on it. To add a few elements, you can add a matching bag, earrings, and sunglasses. Put your ring light or table light above.
3. Now with your mobile or camera, click pictures of your products from various angles!

After editing it, upload it to your website!

Over to you, share your experiments and ideas in the comments section.