Product and food photography requires you to be precise, to have an extra ordinary amount of patience and creativity. It also requires some budget to get you the product or the food that you wish to photograph. I guess you might be knowing some of that but let’s get into the nitty gritty.
The Idea
Do some research on the kind of products that would be ideal for your portfolio. Check out Pinterest, Behance, Instagram and other platforms that feature great product and food photography. The best thing that you could do for yourself is create a mood board, which will consolidate your ideas and give you direction.
Choosing the set of products you want to photograph
The best advise I can give you for this is, choose products that are beautiful and physically appeal to most people. This means, if you photograph it well, it will look good on your portfolio. Be on the lookout for unique packaging and well thought of designs. Visit different marketplaces before settling on the products, some window shopping will do you some good.
When purchasing products, at times you may need to purchase more than one item of each just in case things go wrong or you need multiples in the shot.
Props and backgrounds
Where to start, so hopefully you already have a couple of backgrounds and props you can begin working with but remember, that all depends on the IDEA you want to execute. If the props and backgrounds you have won’t go well with the products you intend on shooting, you may need to invest in some more.
Scout for props at your local market but go far and wide as you may need and the best time to buy props is when you spot them.
Backgrounds can include such a big variety of materials, from wood to tiles (matte) to paspex(is that the spelling?). It however can be something totally different like rocks or sand, that’s totally up to you.
Lighting
With food, you can get really good shots with natural lighting, or if you know how to, artificial light you may just need to modify it. With products however, artificial lighting will help you go a long way in highlighting and bringing out the best features of the product. Some people have learnt to shoot products with one light but more often than not, you will need multiple lights. However, the important thing is start with what you have or alternatively, hire a studio where you can get multiple lights.
Editing
You will need to learn how to edit products and food, if you don’t already have the skills. Tips for food photography, don’t over saturate your photos, pick the right crop and make sure your food is the most prominent item in the photo. For product photography, learning compositing would be a great plus, learn to clean up different backgrounds and objects and see what creativity you can add to your edits.
Putting your work out there
I’m assuming you have social media pages so you can share your work there. You could also go for the more professional platforms like your website or create a Behance portfolio. Get eyeballs on your work by also sharing on Behance and Pinterest.
If you have a couple of leads, send them your portfolio and express interest in working with them. All the best.
What more would you add?
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