product photography of floral arrangement

I think of myself primarily as a people photographer.  But I’ve shot a lot of product photography over the years too.

Since Lockdown I’ve been unable to go out and shoot portraits, and events have all been cancelled.  So I’ve been spending even more time than usual in the office, and a lot of that time has been spent looking through my archive.  Now, I’ve been going since 2003, and the commercial photography business properly for at least a decade, so that’s a lot of galleries I’ve looked through.  I’ve surprised myself a little, but I’ve done a fair bit of product photography over the years.  There’s also been a fair bit of variety too in the objects I’ve aimed a camera at.  Below you’ll see just a few examples – food and drink seems to figure a fair bit (and I should also point out that photographing bottles and jars – anything made of glass in fact – is particularly tricky to get right), and clothing.  The latter is something that I’ve been doing very recently (as this post on ghost mannequin photography shows).

Sometimes it’s been a specific job; sometimes it’s been part of a half or full day shoot for a client.  And, just like portrait photography, I’ve come to learn the subtle nuances of product photography; the effectiveness of good,clean shots; the need to show angles and close-ups; a background that’s appropriate to the intended use of the photos; the importance of not being too tricksy or clever with camera angles.  It may look simple – and the end product is certainly meant to look simple – but like all sectors of photography, there are a myriad of tiny, unwritten rules that are important to the effectiveness of the final image.  And, with more and more sales moving online during Lockdown and probably for a long time afterwards, these rules will be more important than ever.  After all, your online product photos need to give a clear picture of what the items really look like – right down to the feel of the material they’re made of, and an accurate representation of the colours they come in.

I’ve recently re-installed a home studio and started shooting small products again.  Some have been for fun, some for clients.  But it’s been great to get the lights out, work on a few simple set-ups and get some images in the bag.  I’ll share some of these soon.

 

product photography shot of food in clear glass jar

product photography shot against dark background

product photography shot of pink baby booties

product photography shot of blue hooded sweatshirt layflat on white background  Who knows what the post-Lockdown world will look like; it’s unlikely that I’ll be shooting events for a long time.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t until 2021.  So …….. I’ll have space in my diary if you have some product that you’d like some clean, effective images of.  Give me a call (07766 815703) or email me (info@martinhambleton.com) if you’d like to chat about it.