Tips For Better Bath and Body Care Product Photos
A picture is worth a thousand words,
especially if you are trying to sell your bath and body
care products on the internet, or through a print
catalog. Whether your business is internet based, or
mail-order, or even if you give out brochures at craft
fairs, or trade shows, people will remember the photos
they have seen of your products. You don't have to be a
professional photographer to take decent photos, and you
don't have to have an expensive camera. The following
tips will help you take good photos that you can use to
sell your products.
1. Use natural lighting whenever
possible. Photography is all about lighting. The
better your light, the better your photo. The best type
of light for photos is natural light - light from the
sun. If you have a spot at your home or studio where
natural light comes in, experiment with taking photos of
your products in that area. The best natural light is not
necessarily direct sunlight on your products, but most
likely light that peeks through the clouds and scatters
everywhere.
2. Use a flash. If you can't use natural
light, use the flash on your camera in a brightly lit
area of your home or studio.
3. Use a tripod. If your hands aren't
steady, use a tripod to stabilize your camera to get the
clearest photo.
4. Use props in your photos. Instead of
taking your photos on a plain background, try to add
visual interest with photo props. Doilies, flowers,
towels, baskets and dried herbs can all add interest to
your photos.
5. Use a simple background in your
photo. When composing your photos, try to not
have anything distracting in the background. Either put
your products against a wall, or put something behind
your products to cut out distractions in the background
of your photo.
6. If you can, use a digital camera.
Digital cameras are a wonderful tool because you can take
as many pictures as your camera memory will allow without
printing one photo. You can simply delete the ones you
don't need, and use the ones you do. Two features to look
for on a digital camera are megapixels and zoom. The
higher your megapixels the larger the picture you can
take without losing clarity. Try for at least 2
megapixels, but more is better. If you are in the market
for an inexpensive digital camera try ebay.com or
overstock.com. The office supply stores like Staples,
Office Max and Office Depot are good sources for
inexpensive digital cameras.
7. Use photo software. If you use a
digital camera, or if you digitize your prints (using
either a scanner, or by letting someone else do it) use
software to enhance your photos. Adobe Photoshop
Elements® is good software program that is also
inexpensive. It allows you to sharpen, crop and touch up
your photos and also prepare them for the internet.
8. Make sure your digital photos are the right
resolution. Photos for the internet should have
a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. Photos for print
purposes should be at least 300 pixels per inch. You can
size your photos appropriately using your photo software.
Many people neglect to do this and it makes their photos
too large (when viewed on the internet) or very difficult
to view in a computer browser.