Amazon Finds for Product Photography (2020)
I am upgrading my product photography equipment! This post highlights which items I chose, which I have positive past experience with, and which are high on my wish list.
Cameras
When selecting your camera, consider what you are taking pictures of, how those pictures will be used, and under what conditions you will be shooting. Does your camera need to be weather sealed? Are you doing macro (close-up) photography or taking pictures from a distance? Are there any special features that would make your images better?
Smart Phones – I have seen clients get excellent product images with their smart phone’s built-in camera! These pictures will never satisfy customers who expect to zoom in and pay close attention to detail. But they work fine for helping customers imagine how the product would fit in their lifestyle.
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 ii – This is my new camera of 2020. In addition to product photography, I do portraits, event photography, and enjoy taking pictures of nature. This has turned out to be very nice camera, near the top of my price range, with better image quality than my previous cameras. It has decent zoom, and a lot of fun features!
Canon Powershot SX70 – My last two cameras were the Canon Powershot SX60hs and SX50hs. Both had good image quality and I was satisfied with the results. My pictures looked great at 1000×1000 pixels. But some customers requested higher resolution / better quality images.
Sony Alpha a6000 – This is supposed to be an excellent camera if your priority is high-quality images for less than $1,000. I chose not to get this camera because I prefer a fixed lens with a lot of zoom.
Sony Alpha a7 III – This camera is rather expensive, but has great reviews! I haven’t had a chance to get my hands on it yet, but I know somebody who recently purchased one with the 24-105mm lens kit. He is very pleased with the results!
Lightboxes / Photo Tents
I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent looking for the right spot to take pictures. Somewhere that has good lighting and where I can control what reflects off my subject. That break room window sill may be perfect today. But what happens when the weather or landscaping has changed?
Lightboxes (or photo tents) are an excellent option to create consistency in your product photos. You may still want real-world pictures of your product in use. But for detailed images isolated on a white background, lightboxes are the way to go.
To learn more about finding the right photo tent, read Why I chose the Samtian Photo Box.
Coming soon: Turntables, photo editing software, and a microphone
