Companies (or writers for that matter) with physical products nowadays sell online. It requires basic product photography so customers can see product traits. However, image quality first matters! Good photos create a mood. Within that mood, an emotion occurs, and this drives potential customers to become customers. Turning your business into a recognizable brand is one of the biggest reasons why photography is so important.
Being able to set up a home photography studio is not only convenient but breaks down any barrier holding you back from showcasing your products with your audience. Setting up your own content studio can be relatively cheap — even an iPhone camera can get you started.
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Here are some essentials for starters:
- Any camera phone or entry-level camera will do!
- Camera tripod or Flexible Cell Phone Tripod
- Lighting: natural light is more than enough, but if you’re looking for something extra, LED Ring Light 10″ with Tripod Stand & Phone Holder
- Backdrops: You can use household items like bedsheets, curtains, etc.
- A stand, chair or table to set your products on
- Props: Succulents, small mirrors, decorative household items, etc. will also help in bringing your items to life!
For the pros:
- Primary camera: Sony A7III (28-70mm Lens)
- A camera tripod: like this one from GEEKOTO Camera Tripod – with a multi-angle center column will come extra in handy if you like the flat-lay photo style.
- Lighting: ESDII Softbox Lighting Kit
- Extra memory cards: SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro SDXC
- Backdrops: Studio-98 Photography 10′ Wide x 7′ FT High Background Stand + SAVAGE 107IN X 36FT Backdrop wi.
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Now you’re ready to set up your own DIY photo studio!
If this is your first step into taking product shots at home, remember you can make the process as simple or as complex as you like. Don’t worry if all you are working with is just an iPhone and great natural light — you will still get some perfect results!
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TIP: I took many photos of books and other items outside my cottage in the bright winter sun – when it is shining in a lower angle onto the objects. If I had to shoot in summer, I did that before 8 am or after 7 pm outside. Natural light is better than any lighting inside a room! Here are more home photography studio tips:
Find the Best Natural Light in Your Space
Every home or apartment will be different, but try to find a room or area with the best natural light! It may be a corner of your bedroom, living room, even your kitchen table — anywhere with great organic light will be ideal for setting up a studio space.
Design Your “Set”
Once you have found out an area with good lighting, you will need to designate a certain amount of small space for your “set”. A blank wall could be handy here, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can also use a kitchen/bathroom counter, a stool in the middle of a room, etc. Your image choice reflects the brand colors in the Instagram Stories highlights.
Use Light-Reflectors
Reflectors or reflecting paper or plastic sheets or a mirror are available at dollar stores. Set them opposite to a window or a light source to bring more dept and avoid split-lighting. It will add some fill lighting to your items.
More Lighting Tips in these Videos:
THREE Point Lighting Tutorial
Master CINEMATIC LIGHTING
CINEMATIC LIGHTING with no lights!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eseAi73RA5Q
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How to Market your Book on Photo Sites
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You know Flickr as a photo storing and sharing site, but did you know you can use it to market your book there? Not to advertise, this would be against their terms of use and would block your account. But there is a subtle way to introduce your book on photo sharing sites, comparable to showing your book – including inside-illustrations – on Pinterest.
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Flickr is popular, both for personal and professional use. For the average photographer, it has limitless potential for self promotion and sharing. Photos are easy to embed with links and author names, and can be found on WikiMedia Commons for example, they always have a lot of Flickr images shown there. Start increasing your own authors visibility and these of your books through photo posting on Flickr.
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Thanks, Doris
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