Creating high-quality professional product photos doesn’t have to cost a fortune! Whether you’re shooting for a brand, social media, or your portfolio, these budget-friendly hacks will help you achieve professional results without expensive equipment.
Affordable Background Solutions
- Foam Boards & Poster Boards: These cost ($1-$3 each) and have multiple uses! Use them as a background for your images or a reflective sheet for more lighting! I always have three black and three white foam boards when taking photos. This can help if I want to add or remove light!
- Large Fabric Pieces: Using fabric is also really easy to use as a background and easy to edit. Using items such as blankets, large shirts, or even table cloths can give your photo some texture (or fun patterns)!
Budget-Friendly Lighting Tricks
- USE ALL THE LIGHTS YOU OWN. There are so many times where I am using every single light source I own to create images. This includes: natural light, desk lamps, LED lights, a white computer screen, fairy lights, or even the cursed overhead lighting. Think about where this light is coming from and how warm/cold it looks. If the lighting is too harsh, you can tape white paper over the light (make sure you do this safely) and it will defuse it, creating a softer look.
- Natural Light: Sometimes it’s hard to get really bright lighting and you just have to look up, (at the sky). The sun is a wonderful tool to use! Many times I put one of my foam boards directly into the sun and aim it at the area that I need!
- Aluminum Foil: This is also a great alternative to a reflector!
Creative Product Positioning Hacks
- Fishing Line/Thread: These can be used to suspend products or tie them together. This is also an easy fix in photoshop!
- Tape/Glue: Using double sided tape or even gluing objects can help you create the vision you have for the product. This allows you to enhance the visual quality. These items are also easy to remove in photoshop!
- Household Items: Use different boxes, stool, tables, walls, buckets, or plastic containers for different variety and texture. You can place products on quite literally anything!
Professional-looking product photography doesn’t require expensive gear—just creativity and resourcefulness! Experiment with these budget-friendly hacks to achieve high-quality results while keeping costs low.
Which tip are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments!
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