You can take great DIY product shots with just some simple tools and natural lighting.
Start with the PRODUCTS themselves. Firstly get them looking their best – clean and polish them if
necessary.
Next choose your BACKGROUND.
This will depend on your product and the look you are going for – do you want to create a mood or
present it simply with a black, white or light grey background?
For an authentic feel try to find an environment suitable for the product. For instance leather goods
work well styled on a worn wooden table or use your work environment.
For a very clean and simple look use white, light grey or black. Foam boards are useful as they stay
clean and don’t crease.
For a LIGHT source, nothing beats natural lighting and it’s free, though use it wisely. Find a spot
indoors by a window with indirect light or outside in the shade or even directly outside on an overcast
day. Position the Lightcase so that the light is diffused through the Polypropylene material. Look for a
balanced light across the area of your shoot.
Choose the earlier part of the day for good overall colour.
CAMERAS – You can’t beat the quality of a good Digital SLR camera however you can take
remarkably good photographs using a smartphone and a tripod if required. Make sure the camera is
focused, the brightness is adjusted and the camera is steady. Resting the camera on top of the Lightcase
stabilises the camera, but if you are shooting from the front you’ll get the best photos by using a tripod.
There are lots of great apps to edit your images with but you’ll get the best results starting with a great
photo in the first place. Sometimes you can get camera shake when taking photos with your
smartphone – if so, try connecting your headphones and click the button on the headphones to release
the shutter avoiding any camera shake.
LAYOUT – Make it interesting. Flat lays are a great way of styling your work by introducing other
objects to enhance your products and tell a story. Co-ordinate colour and textures of multiple objects. If
you can ‘t get things to sit in place then stick a bit of blue tack to the undersides.
HAPPY shooting!! Have fun and get creative with your shots! Try placing the Lightcase flatlay over
your hands at work and take a timelapse or instructional video to mix it up a bit and offer something
different to your followers!
P.S. I have used the newLightcase #Flatlay in the photos above. Lightcase #Flatlay helps you get the
best out of your photography; it diffuses the light giving a balanced and enhanced shooting
environment. It also holds your camera steady and you can go hands free to adjust your shoot live. Slot
a sheet of paper into the back to get a seamless background for front angle photos too.
Lightcase #Flatlay was launched on Kickstarter on September 7th!
Check out our campaign on Kickstarter here.
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