23 Product Photography Ideas To Boost Your Sales

Looking for some new and fresh product photography ideas? The market is highly competitive, which is why you need to do something unique and out-of-the-box. Products need to be photographed in a way that is different from the traditional approach. That’s why I’ve compiled these unique ideas that will help you and your work stand out among the competition.

The list below contains both simple and more creative and complex ideas for all levels of product photography. Just by realizing several of these ideas, you’ll make your shots irresistible.

This innovative idea is to photograph the product one second before something happens: an explosion, fall, jump, etc.

This can be used to illustrate how durable the product is, show off its qualities, as well as create an eye-catching image by evoking suspense in viewers.

This product photography idea is a good way to add a dramatic or even mysterious atmosphere to your shot. Use the colored smoke if it is suitable for your product design. To create smoke much faster, you can download Photoshop and install Adobe Photoshop overlays.

Especially if you’re working with clothes, jewelry, or beauty products, it's highly important to hire a model to realize your product photography ideas. Using a model can give potential clients an idea about how the clothes are going to fit their body type. And if you've captured fantastic photos, any imperfections like dust or undesirable reflections can easily be removed through special services, such as jewelry retouching, ensuring your images are flawless and captivating.

And, the model can generate creative model poses for displaying the product in the most appealing way.

Reflections add depth to an ordinary shot. You can create a reflection effect by applying Photoshop reflection actions, or you could try working with mirrors and glass.

Use colored filters on your lights, to enhance the reflection or fine-tune the color as needed.

Symmetry is one of the most powerful photography composition techniques. Such compositions are very pleasing to the eyes and easy to grasp.

Symmetrical compositions are all about balance and equality. So when composing a product photo, make sure it’s balanced equally on all sides.

Everyone is getting a bit bored with that classic white Amazon product photography backdrop, so you have to attract clients with something more interesting, like color blocking. It is when two or more contrasting or complementary colors are combined. For example, if you’re working with a product with lilac packaging, you could opt for a mint green or light yellow backdrop.

Laying out products on stands, like cubes or stones, is a great way to add dynamics to a photo. This technique is often used in makeup product photography.

Carelessly laid-out brushes and makeup palettes help differ from formal product placement and make the image unique.

The classic approach is to place a camera for product photography at the same level as the product so that the final image comes out at eye level. I recommend you to try and explore unusual angles to stand out from the competition.

For example, you can try shooting from above or vice versa, go underneath the product. However, when shooting from unusual angles, always be aware of the possibility of distorting your product.

This idea certainly won’t suit most products but is definitely eye-grabbing. You can either break the product, or position it among broken glass, or ceramic pieces. Make sure to take all the precautions not to damage your lens for product photography.

Tabletop photography is among the most trendy photography styles out there on the internet. Here the product is laid on the table and the camera is placed right above it to get a birds-eye view of the product. Enhance your flatlays with thematic props for more visual interest.

Consider adding texture to your product photography ideas by putting the products in sand, snow, grass, stones, wood, water, etc. A textured background is great for branding and expressing a mood. You can use this idea for iPhone product photography since it’s so easy to realize.

The key to a successful product shot is making your potential customers imagine themselves using the product in your photo. A buyer, who’s interested in purchasing a table to furnish his house, will struggle to imagine using the table that’s advertised against a white background.

Alternatively, they can very easily imagine themselves dining at the table that’s advertised with the help of lifestyle product photography. You can also group several of your products in lifestyle shots. It can even convince your potential customers to buy several items.

Using humor in product shots can make the brand look more approachable. Besides, funny product photos have the potential of going viral, which will ultimately result in attracting a great number of clients. Brainstorm puns, and unusual uses of the product.

However, you have to be careful that you don’t use anything that would be offensive. Many photographers choose something neutral–like animals that they place with the product in a funny way.

A tip you’ll find in every product photography tutorial is that you need to convey the colors accurately. That’s why it’s always a good idea to additionally emphasize the color. The curved shimmering paper in the photo above masterfully highlights the color and showcases the dimension of the item.

Motion is a great way to achieve stunning photos since it allows you to capture images that the human eyes cannot. You can create splashes with water, sand, powder, or anything you can think of.

Remember, to try high speed photography you need to know proper camera settings for product photography. You’ll have to set fast shutter speed, so use 1/400+ to get a sharp photo.

Showcasing a product with its ingredients is an important step towards being transparent with potential buyers and making a successful sale.

Take this idea one step further by laying out the ingredients in the shape of the product.

Another interesting product photography idea is to incorporate some body parts, like hands or arms. This can complete the image with a mysterious element.

You can use this idea to show how the product is supposed to be used, or add creativity, by making it look as if the hand is coming out of nowhere to grab the product.

Another way of making shots more appealing is by using creative product photography backdrops, like painted backgrounds with paper crafts. For example, if you are shooting sunscreen products, creating a pool or beach scene would be the most fitting.

Such backgrounds can be a great means of boosting the visual appeal of the product and adding more character to the brand - though it may take some brainstorming to craft the perfect scene.

By hanging products, you create more of a three-dimensional look, and it can be used to add movement to the image as well. Such a photo can be taken using a fishing line. It may take you several attempts to get it right.

Afterward, you can edit out the line in free apps to remove unwanted objects from a photo.

When learning how to take product photos, it’s vital to pay attention to the feelings you want to evoke with your images.

For example, this headphones product photo is based around the idea of escapism and the feeling when your music distracts you from things happening in your life and takes you somewhere else.

Try to immerse the customer in the atmosphere of the product. Lighting and props are key to establish the tone, and mood of a product.

Try conveying the taste or the smell of the product, as well as highlighting its textures, and colors. For example, a rich, fresh perfume can be shot with moody lighting, while a floral scent would be better suited to bright, youthful lighting.

Try writing down every association you have for the product. At first, you’ll probably have only standard associations come to mind, but eventually, you’ll come up with out-of-the-box ideas, like creating an ice cream out of lipstick swatches.

This type of images require extensive digital editing in combination with set design, that's why you need to carefully plan out your idea before the shoot.

If you need an original photo for a billboard or a fashion magazine, there’s nothing better than realizing some surreal photography ideas.

Such photos go hand in hand with photo editing, but if you’re not a good retoucher, you can address our photo manipulation service to do the heavy lifting for you.

If you trust professionals or wish to see new and creative product photography ideas from experienced digital artists and photographers, you can look through this list of 10 best product photographers from around the world.

Lucas Zarebinski is a photographer from New York who specializes in food, beauty, cosmetics, and product photography, and videography.

Ben Nichols is a professional photographer from Scotland, who has gained popularity thanks to his creative product and promotional advertising photography. He can implement various product photography ideas and take beautiful pictures in any location, whether it is at home or studio. He is also famous for arranging nice background and flattering lighting.

Timothy Hogan is a photographer from America famous for his creative works. He deals mainly with commercial photography and always tries to show a product in the best way possible by combining light and such natural elements as fire or water. Before shooting he analyzes different natural materials and their forms and uses them to take unique, professional pictures that fully reveal the philosophy of a brand.

Harold Ross is a fin art photographer who has been in business for over 20 years and is famous for using a special technique called “painting with light”. It means catching the light on and around objects in darkness during a time exposure. This way, he produces deep, detailed, and dimensional product pictures.

Karl Taylor is a professional photographer who has been working in the industry for more than 25 years. He is respected and popular among the largest world companies for his detailed pictures and refined work with light. 

Karl Taylor has made a significant impact in the field of product photography. With his vast expertise and creative vision, he has established himself as a leading authority in this specialized genre.

Karl Taylor's portfolio showcases his mastery in capturing products in captivating and visually striking ways. Through his meticulous attention to detail, he brings out the best features of each product, emphasizing textures, highlighting intricate details, and presenting them in their most appealing light. His work exudes professionalism and a keen understanding of commercial aesthetics.

Also, Karl Taylor has developed numerous workshops, seminars, and online courses, where he shares his knowledge and techniques with aspiring photographers. Karl Taylor's teaching style is known for its clarity and effectiveness in conveying complex concepts, making him a sought-after mentor in the industry.

 To bring to life his product photography ideas, he uses challenging and complex settings and adds movement to pictures.

Sam Kaplan is a photographer from New York, while likes photographing food, drink, and beauty products on solid backgrounds with harsh lighting. When shooting, he places small objects on different designs and patterns and makes sure there’s proper distance and ideal symmetry between them.

Zachary Goulko is a still life and product photographer who uses light to add form and volume to 2D images. He loves creating a special mood in his images and frequently observes shapes, lines, and light to achieve unique results. His pictures are detailed, clean but strikingly intimate at the same time.

Peter Belanger is a professional photographer who is known for taking photos featuring Apple products. Besides Apple, he worked with eBay, Nike, Pixar, and Square. When working, he tries to reveal the story under each product he shoots and does it with the help of light.

Mathew Zucker is engaged in digital products, still life, and beauty/nude photography. He shares his images on the net and in various catalogs. When implementing his product photography ideas, he focuses on the ingredients of the products and the sphere of application.

Nori Inoguchi has gained world recognition for his refined and minimalistic style. He worked with the largest fashion, cosmetics, and electronics brands in Paris, London, New York, and Japan, his homeland.

He has been in business for more than 10 years now and has taken many clean and detailed photos for various ad campaigns.

To make your product shots beautiful and fix common issues, you can either address product retouching services or use ready-made Lr presets. Such tools can speed up your workflow and help you get an attractive color correction in all photos.