Product shooting skills? Ask for guidance

As an online shop seller, everyone knows the importance of product shooting.

How to present the goods to the buyer truly and clearly is a basic skill that the seller must master.

Commodity photography is different from artistic photography, which does not need to reflect the artistic value and high aesthetic taste of photos, but this does not mean that the final image is boring.

Because most sellers have not received photography training, the photos taken are not ideal. In order to improve the shooting level of products, I give them to you.

General introduction: how to shoot goods (still life) in online stores.

I'll make a list for you first, and you can check it.

First, the characteristics and requirements of commodity shooting;

Second, equipment preparation;

Third, the use of light;

Fourth, the layout of goods;

Selection and treatment of verb (abbreviation of verb) background;

Sixth, commodity shooting, everyone talks about it.

Here we go. Look carefully.

First, the characteristics and requirements of commodity shooting

In a broad sense, the object of commodity shooting refers to all objects that can be sold, including natural flowers, trees, fruits, vegetables, daily necessities, industrial supplies, handicrafts, historical relics and so on. What we want to say is that, from a narrow perspective, the scope of shooting is indoor decorations, flowers, utensils, handicrafts and other small objects that can be placed manually.

Commodity photography is different from photography of other subjects. Not limited by time and environment, it can shoot 24 hours. The key to shooting lies in the organic organization of goods, reasonable composition and proper use of light, so that these goods can be displayed quietly and vividly, and give buyers real feelings through your photos.

The characteristics of commodity shooting:

1, the object is still: the biggest feature that distinguishes commodity photography from other photography is that the objects it shoots are all static objects.

2. Follow-up and follow-up: Follow-up is another distinctive feature that distinguishes it from other photography, and there is no need to rush to shoot on the spot. It can be manipulated according to the photographer's intention and completed slowly.

3, restore the truth: you don't have to pursue artistic conception too much and lose the original appearance of the item.

General requirements for commodity shooting:

The general requirement of commodity photography is to fully express the shape, quality and color of commodities without exaggeration.

Form refers to the form, modeling characteristics and picture composition of goods.

Quality refers to the texture, quality and texture of goods. Product shooting is very strict with quality. The shadow level that reflects quality must be clear, delicate and realistic. Especially in subtleties, highlights and shadows, the performance requirements for quality are more stringent. Appropriate light distribution angle and light contrast can better complete the performance of confrontation.

Color, commodity shooting should pay attention to the unity of color. Color and color should be in contrast to each other, not in opposition, and they are a unified whole. "There is no need to be elegant in the room, and there are not many flowers." Color processing should be as simple, accurate and pure as possible to avoid complexity, disorder and confusion.

Second, the equipment preparation

1, since it is an online shop to shoot goods, it is necessary to have a camera suitable for still life shooting, preferably with macro function. The topic of camera will be introduced by our Muyu moderator in the "shopping guide", so I won't say much.

2. The tripod is an indispensable main accessory for shooting commodities and other subjects. In order to avoid camera shake and ensure clear images, a tripod is needed.

3, lamps and lanterns, is the main tool for indoor shooting, if conditions permit, there should be more than three lighting. It is recommended to use three-color white energy-saving lamps above 30W, which are relatively cheap and have good color temperature. Perfect for home shooting.

4. The commodity shooting platform is necessary for commodity shooting, but it can also be used flexibly. Desk, family coffee table, square table, chair, large cardboard box and even smooth ground can be used as shooting table.

5, background materials, if you go to the photographic equipment store to buy regular background paper and cloth, the cost is very high, and it is not necessarily convenient to use in a small room. You can go to the stationery store to buy some completely opened white cardboard to solve the problem of no background. Never use copy paper. You can also buy some fabrics with different textures (pure wool, chemical fiber, silk) in the market for background use.

Wow! There are too many things to prepare! Don't be afraid of trouble, as the saying goes, "If you want to do something well, you must sharpen your tools first."

Third, the use of light.

Commodity photography is different from other photography subjects in the use of light.

Most of the objects of commodity shooting are things that can be put on the shooting platform. The texture of the object and the composition of the picture are more demanding than other photographic subjects. Moreover, there is more light used in shooting and less natural light, so the picture layout and lighting processing are more complicated.

Here are two ways to shoot goods with light.

1, indoor natural light:

If you use indoor natural light to shoot goods, you should know the characteristics and requirements of this light. This seemingly simple and easy-to-use lighting condition is very likely to lead to the failure of shooting. Because indoor natural light is the light that comes from outdoor natural light through doors and windows, the direction is obvious, which is easy to cause the contrast between light and shade of the light-receiving part of the object. That is, it is not conducive to the pursuit of the texture of the article, and it is difficult to complete its color expression. For photographers, the freedom of using light is limited.

In order to change the problem that the contrast between light and dark of the subject is too large, first, we should try our best to adjust our shooting angle, improve the lighting conditions of goods and increase the distance between the subject and the doors and windows. The second is to make rational use of the reflector to make the dark part of the subject receive light, thus narrowing the difference between light and shade of goods. Using indoor natural light to take photos of goods, if the lighting is reasonable and accurate and the shooting angle is appropriate, not only can the lines of goods be clear and distinct, but also the brightness of the main body can be uniform and the picture atmosphere is realistic.

In terms of lighting for commodity shooting, if conditions permit, I suggest that you practice shooting with artificial light sources according to your own understanding of commodity shooting.

2, artificial light source:

Artificial light source mainly refers to the light emitted by various lamps. This kind of light source is widely used in commodity shooting. Its luminous intensity is stable, and the position of light source and the irradiation angle of light can be adjusted according to your own needs.

How to use artificial light source to shoot depends on the specific conditions of the subject and the photographer's requirements for performance. Lighting acts on commodities in the form of point light source or soft light shed light source and reflected light. In many cases, the surface structure of an object determines the use of light sources.

Under normal circumstances, commodity shooting relies on the characteristics of the commodity being photographed to attract the attention of buyers, and the use of light will directly affect the performance of the commodity being photographed. We should be good at using the contrast between bright and dark light and strong and weak light to understand the results that light in different positions can produce.

Side light can well show the shape and three-dimensional sense of the subject;

Side backlight can enhance the texture performance of goods;

Low-angle backlight can show the transparency of transparent goods;

You can use a high-angle backlight to photograph the outline shape of a commodity.

Familiar with and master the function and effect of lighting in the above positions. In the process of shooting, you can first use a single light with high illumination to carry out lighting experiments in different positions of the subject, and carefully observe the different effects that light can produce in different positions. Understand its influence on the performance of the subjects.

Using indoor lighting to take photos of goods, the types of light can be roughly divided into main light, auxiliary light, contour light, background light, top light and ground light. Generally speaking, only three or four light types can be used in the shooting process.

For the photographer, when arranging various types of light, it is forbidden to irradiate all the light on the subject and its background at one time. Doing so will inevitably cause confusion between light and shadow.

Conventional light distribution methods should pay attention to the order of light use, and the first thing to focus on is the use of main light. Because the main light is the dominant light in all lights, it is the main light that shapes the subject. When the main lamp acts on the main position, its lamp position will no longer be easy to move. Then use auxiliary light to adjust the contrast on the screen due to the action of the main body, and the light ratio of the main light and the auxiliary light should be well grasped.

The position of the auxiliary light is generally arranged near the camera, and the illumination angle of the light should be appropriately high to reduce the projection of the subject and not affect the effect of the background. After the auxiliary light is determined, consider using side light as needed.

Generally, the position of the position marker lamp is on the left or right rear side of the goods, and the lamp position is relatively high. When using the side light, pay attention to whether there is light hitting the lens surface, and deal with it in time once it is found to avoid glare. Then, according to the needs of shooting, consider using other light such as background light.

After all the necessary lights are deployed, look at the overall situation and make some necessary minor adjustments. Of course, this light distribution sequence is generally, in the face of some special subjects, the use of light is not necessarily limited to the light use sequence from the main light to the auxiliary light and then to the side light. Sometimes only one lamp is needed for lighting, and sometimes the top lamp is the main light. Therefore, photographers can master the law of light use through repeated practice, and then grasp the effect of light use in commodity shooting.

It doesn't look easy. Everyone should study hard and become a photographer in the future!

Next, the light application methods of several commodities with different surface structures are introduced:

(1), light application of rough surface goods.

There are many commodities with rough surface structure, such as fur, cotton and linen products, sculptures and so on. In order to express their texture, side backlight or side illumination should be used in the use of light, which will make the surface of goods show structural changes of light and shade fluctuation.

(2) Smooth surface of light application articles

Some commodities with smooth surfaces, such as gold and silver ornaments, porcelain, lacquerware, electroplated products, etc. , with mirror structure and strong one-way reflection ability. When the direct light is focused on the surface of such goods, a strong light change will occur. Therefore, when shooting this kind of goods, first, we should use soft scattered light for lighting, and second, we can use indirect lighting method, that is, the light acts on the reflector or other goods with reflective ability, and the reflected light illuminates the goods, so that a soft lighting effect can be obtained.

(3) Optical application of transparent commodities

Glassware, crystal, jade and other transparent commodities generally use side backlight, back light or bottom light illumination, which can well show the clear and transparent texture of still life.

(4) The application of light in shadowless still life

There are some photos of goods, which have no projection at all, and the tone is very clean. The way to use up this photo is to use a framed glass table, put the goods to be photographed on it, and lay a large piece of white paper or translucent tracing paper under the glass table. Light acts on the top of the paper from below. Using the light at the bottom, you can take photos of goods without projection, and if necessary, you can add a little auxiliary lighting to the goods from above. In this case, pay attention to the brightness ratio of the bottom light and the front light.

3. Light and atmosphere

The atmosphere shown in product photo shooting is an emotional response to the buyer, which is formed due to the action of light during the shooting process. Only by consciously retaining the lighting characteristics of specific light can we truly reflect the atmosphere expressed by this light. For example, in the case of backlighting, the contrast between light and shade of the subject will be great, and the "face" of the subject facing the camera lens will often appear in the shadow. If you don't use too much auxiliary light from the front of the object properly, the backlight surface of the object will be very bright, trying to show more details of the subject. Doing so will not only lose the light sense of backlight photography on the screen. More importantly, it destroys the overall atmosphere of the photo screen.

The performance of atmosphere depends on the function of light, which is based on the performance needs of the subject. In the above situation, the first thing to think about is how to coordinate the relationship between texture expression, atmosphere rendering and theme content expression. According to the modeling function and characteristics of the used lights, adjust the light ratio structure of the main light and the auxiliary light, and use the atmosphere of the picture to better facet the main body of the picture.

Fourth, the layout of goods.

The layout of goods, here we can understand as the composition of still life pictures. Commodity shooting follows the general composition requirements of photography in composition, but in some aspects, the composition requirements of commodity shooting are higher and more detailed. Because commodity photography is different from other photography subjects, it is arranged by the photographer's subjective intention, so the composition needs integrity and rigor, and the handling of various relationships in the picture also needs rationality. The process of commodity layout in the picture is the beginning of establishing various factors of the picture. This includes the position of subject, the relationship between companion and subject, the use of light, the expression of texture, the organization and coordination of tone and shadow, the rational use of screen color, the background setting off the subject, the creation of screen atmosphere and so on.

According to the basic requirements of composition, seek the prominence of the theme in simplicity; Find the change of the picture in a balanced state; Seek the jump of lines and tones in stability; Seek harmony and unity in vividness; Seeking the relationship between content and form in integrity. Before preparing for shooting, you should carefully observe the products you are shooting, shoot the perfect angle that can best express your own characteristics, and then put them on the still life shooting platform with background. The composition should be arranged according to different themes. Shooting historical relics, in order to make it stable and solemn, is generally placed in the middle of the picture; When shooting ceramic galloping horses, we should leave a certain space in front of the main running direction; When shooting a slender still life, you can put it in the middle of the picture slightly to one side and use its projection to achieve the balance of the picture; When shooting larger objects, the layout of the picture should be substantial, giving people a big feeling; When shooting a small still life, you can leave some space on the screen appropriately, which makes people feel small; When shooting multiple objects, we should consider the relationship between mutual foil and echo.

Grasping the layout and composition of still life pictures depends on the usual practice and accumulation, and it can be handy to use it.

The following introduces several traditional still life shooting composition forms for your reference.

(1), Delta (triangle)

Triangular composition is what we often say. This composition is the most commonly used way to shoot still life. The scenery it represents has a sense of stability and solemnity. It should be noted that the primary and secondary relations generally form an equilateral triangle, which is stable but not rigid.

(2)▽-shaped (inverted triangle) composition

Contrary to the triangle composition, this inverted triangle composition is very dynamic, seeking changes in feelings in unstable emotions. This form of composition is also a common one in commodity shooting.

(3)S-shaped combination

S-shaped composition is beautiful and changeable. Although this form of composition is rare in commodities, if you use its expressive force with lines, you will take very good photos of commodities.

(4) Diagonal composition

In this form of composition, due to the inclination of the subject, the impact of the picture is strengthened, giving people a strong sense of movement.

The above four composition methods are all traditional composition forms. There is no fixed pattern for the composition form and layout of commodity shooting. The purpose of reference is not to copy, but to exert one's talents and innovations on the basis of application.

Selection and treatment of verb (verb's abbreviation) background

In commodity shooting, the background shows the environment, atmosphere and space where the subject is located. It plays an important role in expressing the hue and line structure of the whole picture. Because the background area is relatively large, it can directly affect the performance of the picture content, and the quality of background processing determines the success or failure of still life shooting to a certain extent.

The materials used in the background mainly include: special background cloth/paper, woolen cloth, velvet, cloth, paper and wall.

(1), the use of background lighting

In commodity shooting, if the background light is used reasonably, it can not only remove some messy light projection to a certain extent, but also better render and contrast the subject. There are two forms of background lighting: one is to arrange the illumination brightness of the background evenly, so that there is no difference between light and shade on the background as far as possible. The other is to arrange the light effect of the background into the effect that the light around the middle is gradually dim, or the light effect that the upper part of the background is gradually darkened and excessively downward. By adjusting the background with light, the tone or color of the background can be divided into light and shade, and the subject and background can be integrated into a perfect whole, which will get very good shooting effect.

If the backlight is placed behind the main object and the background is illuminated from the front, a circular beam ring will be formed on the background. The distance between the lamp position and the background determines the size of the beam ring, which you can adjust according to the needs of the main performance. This method is not only simple, but also shows a good picture effect. You might as well take a still life photo in this way.

(2) Processing of background color

The processing of background color should pursue gorgeous but not tacky, light but not pale visual effects. The relationship between cold and warm, the proportion of hue, the configuration of hue, and the contrast of background color must be based on the premise of better highlighting the main object. You can use elegant background to set off colorful still life, or you can use elegant still life with elegant background. There are no certain rules and requirements in this respect, as long as the relationship between subject and background is well coordinated and reasonable. The use of black and white in the background of commodity shooting has gradually attracted people's attention. For the contrast and expression of the subject, black and white has an effect that other color backgrounds can't achieve. In particular, the white background gives people a concise, simple and pure visual impression, which will make the subject beautiful and generous. If you want to take still life photos, try using a white background. I believe you can achieve unexpected success.

(3) the "fuzzy" background.

If you take still life photos outdoors, you will be affected by the messy background. So in order not to affect the performance of the subject, it is necessary to blur the background. Processing method: First, use the lens with medium and long focal length to shoot, give full play to the performance of this lens with long focal length and small depth of field, and blur the background. Second, try not to use too small aperture when shooting to avoid too large depth of field; The third is to control the distance between the subject and the background to achieve the purpose of blurring the background.

If you use natural light to take still life photos indoors, you can also blur the background by using a slow shutter speed and moving the background left and right or up and down quickly when you open the shutter. But it needs two people to operate, and the shutter speed should be below 1/2 seconds.