How we scenarise and take photos
& how much money we spent
Getting into e-commerce, we knew product pictures were going to be very important, for not saying crucial. We didn’t have any experience in photography nor marketing, so 2 options were offered to us. We could either have a professional company setting, taking and editing the pictures for us, or learn and do it ourselves. Besides the financial aspect of it (which was the main reason for us), having a 3rd party taking pictures for you could be as risky and subject to constraints as doing it yourself. You might not be fully satisfied with the outcome and you will be dependent on him for anything in the future (like small editing of pictures, future product launches…). So we decided to learn how to make product pictures ourselves. We will make mistakes and it will take us time to learn but the long-term results are worth it.
1. Getting the PHOTOGRAPHY equipment
We did some research online and read (contrasted) opinions about which type of camera to go for. But also, whether or not investing in good lighting equipment was more important than the actual camera itself. We got drowned by the abondance of information and had to make a choice. We decided to go for a great camera, a Nikon Z6 with a macro lens (very important for keeping the proportion of the product as realistic as possible), and an entry market flash gear set, from Godox, MS300 300WS (made in China). Actually, we went for LED video flash (looking like a flash but with continuous light), however the amount of light it could get was very limited, so we returned them and went for the flash option.
You will need | a camera adapted to your budget (with a memory card), a lense (macro lense preferably for good detailing and realistic proportions), a robust camera tripod as it will ensure your camera is very stable and improve the neatness of your images, a set of flash lights (ideally 2 units, but you can do with one or 3 units), a set of soft boxes to diffuse the light homogeneously, a set of tripods (for each flash) and a wireless flash trigger (adapted to your camera and set of flash), optional but very usefull. This little tool will save you a lot of movement back and forth to set your flashes.
2. Figuring out the background
Having the photography equipment sorted, we now had to figure out the background for the product.
We looked at other company’s website to see how they displayed their product online. Most of them would either have them on white background (just the product) or in the environment of use (in our case, in a house, mixed with other furniture or objects). We went for the white background vinyl supported on 2 tripods. It was easy and didn’t require a big amount of money.
After several Youtube tutorials on how to use and set up our photography equipment, we finally had all products on shoot. Our camera allowed us to get a very nice resolution and since we had invested a lot in it, the editing part was very quick (another thing to keep in mind when buying your gear, the more professional you go, the less editing you need afterwards).
You will need | an adjustable background stand, you can easily find a set with all you need and a vinyl photography backdrop (colour of your choice). You might be tempted to buy a fabric background, much cheaper than the vinyl option, but keep in mind that vinyl is much easier to clean and doesn’t get wrinkled.
After a couple of months, we started to receive a lot of constructive feedbacks from our friends and family. A comment that came back often was that it was difficult to visualise the object in a house and to get an idea of the actual size of the product. Indeed, when seeing our designs in real life, people got very surprised on how big they actually were.
We had to find a way to help people visualising our products in their house and get a quick understanding on how tall or wide it is (we provide dimension specifications on our website but it isn’t enough).
(Unfortunately for us) interior design environment require a lot of space and investment, especially if you want to make it look professional. This were minimalism appears, not only in our designs but also in our working philosophy, “do little but do it great”. We had a small room with no use for it, so we decided to paint in various colours (one per wall), so depending on the product’s colours we could use one wall or another one to get a nice background. We painted some product display columns in the same colours of the walls for a monochrome look.
You will need | moldings which can be found in any DIY store and it is usually sold by meters, some clue to set the moldings on the wall (you can use nails for better result), a few buckets of paint and the painting tools.
A great alternative to painting (you might not have a room for this) is to use some curtains. You can buy an adjustable background stand, so you can easy hang it andswitch curtain depending on the background you are looking for.
You will need | an adjustable background stand, you can easily find a set with all you need and a curtain .
2. Set the scene
Once we had our “real life” background set up, we looked for a way to include objects that people could easily assimilate a size to it, so they get an immediate idea of the size of the product, but at the same time being harmonious for the pictures. We went for random objects you will find in a house, such as vintage glasses, books, cushions or even a plant, which we place carefully on a piece of furniture (we already had).
For an harmonious outcome, you can place your objects on different levels and therefore fill in all the spaces in the picture. Indeed having all our decorative objects and your product on the same “line” can create an unbalance visual aspect.
Having one same decorative object on all your product pictures can be also useful as a reference when cropping your pictures. This is very practical for the main product picture of each product, displayed on archive/category pages, to make sure all the pictures are taken from the same distance so you get an idea of the size of a product relative to another.
Once you are happy with the outcome, the shooting session can start.
2. THE BILL
All prices include VAT
PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT | 3,093.00€
Camera with lens (Nikon Z6 with Z24-70mm F4 S lens) – 2,500€
Camera tripod (Benro Mach3 tripod + Manfrotto MHXPRO-3W head) – 265€
Set of 2 flash lights (Godox MS300 300WS) – 212€
A wireless flash trigger (Godox xpro-n i-TTL) – 81€
Set of 2 tripods for flash lights (Neewer Pro) – 35€
THE BACKGROUND | 120€ – 435€
Set 1, the white background | 123€
Adjustable background stand (Neewer)– 60€
Vinyl photogrpahy backdrop (Fondart) – 63€
Square Plinths – 200€ / unit (optional)
Set 2, the studio | 435 €
Moldings & baseboards – 228€
Molding fixing tool – 25€
Paint – 82€
+ lots of time
Square Plinths – 200€ / unit (optional)
Set 3, the curtain | 120€
Adjustable background stand (Neewer)– 60€
Curtain (Lino Alma Natural) – 60€
Square Plinths – 200€ / unit (optional)
SET THE SCENE | Variable depending on the objects, accessories you decide to add. We have used things we already had so it has no direct cost for us.
2. Figuring out the background
Having the photography equipment sorted, we now had to figure out the background for the product.
We looked at other company’s website to see how they displayed their product online. Most of them would either have them on white background (just the product) or in the environment of use (in our case, in a house, mixed with other furniture or objects). We went for the white background vinyl supported on 2 tripods. It was easy and didn’t require a big amount of money.
After several Youtube tutorials on how to use and set up our photography equipment, we finally had all products on shoot. Our camera allowed us to get a very nice resolution and since we had invested a lot in it, the editing part was very quick (another thing to keep in mind when buying your gear, the more professional you go, the less editing you need afterwards).
You will need | an adjustable background stand, you can easily find a set with all you need and a vinyl photography backdrop (colour of your choice). You might be tempted to buy a fabric background, much cheaper than the vinyl option, but keep in mind that vinyl is much easier to clean and doesn’t get wrinkled.
You will need | moldings which can be found in any DIY store and it is usually sold by meters, some clue to set the moldings on the wall (you can use nails for better result), a few buckets of paint and the painting tools.
A great alternative to painting (you might not have a room for this) is to use some curtains. You can buy an adjustable background stand, so you can easy hang it andswitch curtain depending on the background you are looking for.
You will need | an adjustable background stand, you can easily find a set with all you need and a curtain .
2. THE BILL
All prices include VAT
PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT | 3,093.00€
Camera with lens (Nikon Z6 with Z24-70mm F4 S lens) – 2,500€
Camera tripod (Benro Mach3 tripod + Manfrotto MHXPRO-3W head) – 265€
Set of 2 flash lights (Godox MS300 300WS) – 212€
A wireless flash trigger (Godox xpro-n i-TTL) – 81€
Set of 2 tripods for flash lights (Neewer Pro) – 35€
THE BACKGROUND | 120€ – 435€
Set 1, the white background | 123€
Adjustable background stand (Neewer)– 60€
Vinyl photogrpahy backdrop (Fondart) – 63€
Square Plinths – 200€ / unit (optional)
Set 2, the studio | 435 €
Moldings & baseboards – 228€
Molding fixing tool – 25€
Paint – 82€
+ lots of time
Square Plinths – 200€ / unit (optional)
Set 3, the curtain | 120€
Adjustable background stand (Neewer)– 60€
Curtain (Lino Alma Natural) – 60€
Square Plinths – 200€ / unit (optional)
SET THE SCENE | Variable depending on the objects, accessories you decide to add. We have used things we already had so it has no direct cost for us.
