Let's go over some basic digital photography areas to save money and improve product appearance.

Today's Camera Choices

While it is important to use a quality camera, this no longer means expensive. Quality digital cameras have become both very affordable as well as readily available. You certainly should be happy with today's digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) models, but now we must also address that some mobile phones are equipped enough to produce great quality photos.

While mobile phones have come a long way, it may still be beneficial to stick to a camera with lenses for shooting product photography being between 50mm to 105mm. These will often prove great for close-up work, especially for jewelry product photography.

Digital Photography Lighting

Good lighting is not just essential, but necessary. A significant amount of light is required to allow any camera the best advantage towards a great photo. It is probably best to have a source of continuous light to work with that offers the ability to shoot video as well as observe great product angles. Many photography lighting kits are available that offer great continuous light and span. Using a continuous light over just a flash will prove itself a much better option that really isn't expensive either. Today's household lamps with powerful daylight LEDs may even do a job that nears or equals a lighting kit, so don't forget to explore this option as well.

Your Tripod or Camera Mount

You should probably consider taking longer exposures for the best image, so holding your camera by hand is not an option. Holding your camera by hand will simply be a little more blurry unless you are uniquely very stable. There are so many tripods out there today... even good tripods for smartphones that you can find almost anywhere and at any price. All kinds of other stable platforms can be used as well, you just need your camera to be still for the longer exposure. If your camera has a timer, this will also serve to improve the image quality as nothing will be touching the digital camera during the actual taking of the photo.

Product Photo Setup

While many photographers shoot products in front of a continuous white or neutral grey background, it should be considered that a background may need to be solid with no shadows for higher level advertising/work. A solid background is easier to remove and replace and/or leave with the image set as a transparent photograph. Working with a final transparent background obviously offers many more options for later stage work.


To create a neutral background easily on a budget one can purchase rolled craft paper and clamps to attach to a table. Place a riser at one end of the table and roll the craft paper down and to the end using clamps to secure the far end to the riser - typically rising to a few feet above the table(can also be done from the floor). This will produce a smooth photography ramp that offers a great basic background of your choice. Your product should be placed on the paper just after it comes into contact with the riser for a great image.

From there, simply choose your lighting, whether natural, photo lights or household lamps. There are also many ready-made digital photography setups for an all-in-one simple studio.



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