Outdoor product photography has a different aesthetic that is not possible to get from an indoor product photoshoot, as products shot in an indoor setting are quite bland compared to outdoor product photography.
However, working in a large space with natural light during an outdoor shoot can sometimes make it difficult for the photographers to utilize their creativity. In such a situation, some ideas and tips come in handy.
In order to assist you with your outdoor product photography, we have created this article with all the helpful suggestions and ideas.
Without further ado, let’s get straight into the discussion.
What you’ll learn in this article
Which Products Need Outdoor Photography?
The use of the scenic beauty of nature as a background in outdoor product photography helps customers connect with the product and nature. If the product is an everyday usable item in the outside world, it will provide a context for the customers and influence their purchasing decisions.
Although there are countless items available for shooting outdoors, some of them are listed below:
- Drinks and Beverages
- Vehicles such as high-end automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.
- Fashion products like clothes, shoes, hats, etc.
- Beauty products for makeup and skin care.
- Cosmetic products like soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc.
- Accessories like bags, jewelry, watches, perfumes, and many more.
Outdoor Product Photography Ideas To Increase Online Sales
An outdoor commercial photographer’s main goal is to make the products look captivating enough to win customers’ trust and increase sales. That’s why the product photographs should have distinctive features that will make them stand out from the competition.
Here are a few suggestions for outdoor product photography that, if used, will make your products appealing and engaging.
1. Individual shots
Individual shots are great if you are working with only one product. For this type of shot, the rule of thirds and center framing both functions well to draw attention exclusively to the product. However, keeping the product on one-third of the frame makes the photo a bit more unique and eye-catching rather than placing them at the center.
2. Group shots
Group shots are ideal for providing the customers with an overall idea of what they can expect from you, whether it’s apparel, accessories, cosmetics, drinks, or other goods. It is an effective way to display your entire product line, whether they are identical products in various flavors, identical designs in multiple colors, or products that come in combinations.
3. Flat lay shots
Flat lay photography, also known as overhead shots, is popular on social media sites and in the online marketplace for its unique aesthetics. The top-down framing highlights the distinctive qualities of the products. Also, placing the products with some color contrasting props in an outdoor location can make the product look exquisite and grab the customer’s attention effectively.
4. Lifestyle Shots
Lifestyle shots help to provide context for certain kinds of products like clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, and others that create a better understanding among the customers regarding product size or how the customers will look while using them. So, if you want to increase sales, use outdoor lifestyle photography to give customers a sense of connection to your brand.
5. Close-up shots
For accessories like jewelry, watches, shoes, or clothing, close-up or macro photography is the best way to capture every detail of the items, including their texture. This kind of photography helps to increase consumer trust in the products as they can view them up close, just like they would see them in the physical store.
6. Packaging shots
Brands typically set aside a specific budget for packaging expenditures because appealing packaging has the power to sway consumer choices and contribute to the formation of a distinct brand identity. It also creates an impression that a product is of high quality. So, you can try packaging shots or packshot product photography to highlight the packaging and labeling of the products.
7. Hanging shots
Hanging photography is a unique approach to an outdoor photo shoot. This style can be beneficial for lightweight products like clothing, shoes, or jewelry photography, as this style of photography can attract customers’ attention way faster than the typical photography style. Besides, this kind of photography gives customers a 360-degree view of the products, which helps to boost sales.
7 Tips to Improve Your Outdoor Product Photography
Check out a few of our suggested outdoor product photography tips for your upcoming shoot.
1. Don’t Compromise with Camera Gears
Natural light cannot be managed as efficiently as artificial light. Besides, if the raw photo is of good quality, photo editing will be quicker and more efficient. That’s why, for outdoor commercial photography, you must not compromise with your camera gear to capture good-quality photographs.
The most crucial equipment that you should bring for outdoor photography is-
Lens: No matter how good your camera is, the quality of a photograph is determined by the lens; the better the lens, the better the photograph it can capture.
A zoom lens may be the most useful option for outdoor product shoots because of its adjustable focal lengths. With just this one lens, you can shoot both up close and from a distance. However, since a macro lens is explicitly designed to capture details from close-up shots, you can use it if your product is a piece of jewelry.
Tripod: A hand-operated camera can affect the quality of the photos because there is a high chance that the images will become blurry. So, to keep the camera stable, it is essential to use a tripod.
Make sure you are using a sturdy tripod for flat-lay photography, as poor-quality tripods may struggle to carry your camera weight and could end up damaging your camera or lens.
Filter: Cameras often fail to capture the sky’s vivid color, leaving behind a dulled-down version. In that case, polarizing filters can assist you in enhancing the color of the sky to match how your eyes perceive it.
Besides, the photographs might be affected by the water’s reflection or glare if you use water as your background. Such problems can easily be resolved by using a polarizing filter.
Diffuser: Compared to artificial light, sunlight is pretty harsh and doesn’t spread evenly. As outdoor photography is all about working with sunlight, using a diffuser can help soften the light and spread it evenly to make the image’s tonality more even.
Reflector: Shooting in natural light means you will have an abundance of light that is more than you need. Also, the direct, harsh sunlight causes deep shadows on your products. So, using a reflector can help you to manage the shadow issues by reflecting some of the light in the opposite direction.
2. Adjust the Camera Settings Manually
The intensity of natural light depends on the time of the day and weather. Using the automatic camera settings can result in either an underexposed or an overexposed image. Therefore, the best way to solve this issue is to adjust the camera settings manually.
The three most important camera features that need to be adjusted manually are-
Aperture: The hole in the lens through which light enters the lens is known as an aperture. The primary function of this aperture is to control the amount of light that flows in, as a small amount of light can make the images darker, and an excess amount of light can wash out the images.
Remember, the lower the aperture value is, the wider the shutter will stay open. That is, f/1.8 will have a larger opening than f/11. So, to ensure a minimum amount of light entrance, the recommended range of aperture for outdoor photography is f/10 to f/16.
ISO: Digital camera light sensors are controlled by ISO, which determines how sensitive they are to light. The imbalance of ISO may result in your photographs being grainy. Besides, ISO and shutter speed are closely related to each other; that is, lower ISO values will result in a slower shutter speed.
On a sunny day, keep your ISO between 100 and 200. However, you can raise the value to brighten the images in cloudy conditions.
Shutter Speed: Shutter speed determines the opening and closing speed of the shutter of the camera. This speed should be controlled depending on the light source. That is, the shutter should close faster in a bright environment, whereas a slower shutter speed is advised for having a well-exposed image in a dark environment.
That’s why the optimal shutter speed on a bright sunny day is 1/500 to 1/1000.
3. Make the Best Use of the Golden Hour
The best time to shoot products outdoors is during the golden hour. At the time, just after sunrise and before sunset, the sun’s position stays closer to the horizon, resulting in the scattering of light more into the atmosphere than the earth’s surface.
This light is less intense and has a golden hue to it, which is why it’s referred to as the golden hour. The specialty of this time is-
- the light remains softer compared to the daylight
- Light rays spread evenly
- doesn’t cause deep shadows
- products appear more appealing and vibrant.
4. Shoot Using the Rule of Thirds
Every camera frame has 2 horizontal and 2 vertical grid lines intersecting each other that divide the whole frame into 9 equal squares. This rule states that you must place your product on one-third of the frame, leaving the other two-thirds of the frame free.
The rule of thirds is an effective technique to make a composition captivating and well-balanced because-
- easy to place the products
- identifying the focus point is relatively easy
- brings attention to the product naturally
5. Use Props
Generally, it is discouraged to use props for indoor white background photography. However, for outdoor product photography, props are a significant element that can liven up a product’s appearance and connect it to nature.
Whether shooting on a beach or in your backyard, you will always find natural elements that complement your product and the setting. Besides, using props with contrasting colors can enhance the visualization of the composition.
Natural objects that are frequently used as props include-
- Flowers
- fruits
- Leaves
- Sand
- Shells
- Stones and many others
6. Add a Human Touch
Products that allow customers to picture themselves using them are the most appealing to them. That’s why using models for product photography is essential to growing customers’ interest in your product. Besides, it helps to provide a context for the products along with styling ideas for wearable products.
The benefits of using models are-
- builds trust in the product
- customers can visualize themselves
- gives an idea of the size of the product
- Helps to develop emotional connections with products
7. Experiment with Vantage Points and Angles
A product’s appearance can vary greatly depending on angles and vantage points. Whether you are doing outdoor fashion photography or outdoor lifestyle product photography, your product has a certain angle that will make them look their best.
Moreover, multiple images taken from various angles and vantage points make it easier for customers to see the specifics of what they will receive by drawing attention to small details.
Important vantage points for product photography are-
- High shots: Shots from an elevated position
- Low shots: Shots from a position below the product or closer to the ground
- Eye-level shots: Shots providing a view from human eye level
Important angles for product photography include-
- Front angle: showing the front side of a product
- Back angle: showing the backside of a product
- Profile angle: showing the side of a product(perfect for shoes)
- Macro angle: close up shots to capture the fine details of a product
- Top angle or bird’s eye view: placing the camera above the product at 90 degrees also known as flat lay photography
- 45-degree angle: showing multiple sides of a product by placing the camera at 45 degrees
- Worm eye view: pointing the camera toward the sky from the ground level
Why to Consider Hiring a Professional Outdoor Product Photographer
The quality of product photos has a significant impact on the company’s brand image and its sales. Promoting high-quality product photos is the only way to remain competitive in eCommerce. In such a sensitive situation, experimenting with product photoshoots with an amateur hand is like playing with fire.
Hence, rather than experimenting on your own, consider hiring a professional outdoor product photographer for commercial product photography.
The benefits of hiring a professional outdoor product photographer include-
- Cost-effective result
Photography equipment such as cameras, lenses, lights, and others is quite expensive. If you are not a professional photographer, there is a very slim chance that you will be able to take photos like a professional, meaning that your entire investment in the equipment will be wasted.
So, to get the best outdoor photography, hiring a professional photographer will be a wise choice because they will use their high-end equipment and deliver usable edited photos at a comparatively lower cost.
- Strong professional background
A professional photographer has years of experience in the photography industry. The year-long experience has taught them the use of lighting, framing, and other skills required to make a product look professional. Besides, they have a much better sense of art direction than an amateur or non-professional photographer.
Moreover, a professional outdoor lifestyle photographer has expertise in both outdoor model photography and outdoor glamour photography because they know how to make the best use of models with products to make products look more appealing to customers, along with other styles of photography that include nature.
- Professional quality images
Professional photographers are well aware of the consequences of producing low-quality images. They use top-quality lenses to capture crystal clear high-resolution images. Besides, they give extra emphasis to capturing the details of the products. The high resolution and precisely captured minute details allow customers to zoom in on the images to see the details without any image distortion.
So, getting high-quality images is guaranteed when working with a professional photographer.
- Consistent result
Each professional photographer has a distinctive photographic style that serves as their signature. Utilizing a professional photographer will give your products a consistent look that you can’t get from a non-professional photographer.
Besides, a professional photographer will keep the color scheme, framing, and other elements consistent, which will help to build your brand image.
Get Outsource Image Editing that Increases Sales
Edited product photographs are now an integral part of the online economy due to the growing demand for high-quality photos in the eCommerce sector. As a result, outsourcing photo editing services has emerged as a practical means of satisfying the needs of everyone from brands to photographers.
Among the numerous photoshop editing services available in the marketplace, ClippingPathStudio is undeniably one of the best image editing service providers for its professional quality service at an affordable price. Apart from that, some of their best features are-
- Wide range of services
Product photography may have numerous issues regarding color, light, shadow, reflections, and many more. To resolve these issues, Clipping Path Studio offers Clipping Path, Background Removal, Image Masking, Ecommerce Image Editing, Image Retouching, Ghost Mannequin Effect, Color Correction, Shadow Creation, Image Manipulation, and Neck Joint Services.
- High product quality
We aim to establish a long-lasting relationship with our customers, which can only be done by ensuring high-quality products. Our expert dedicated team makes every effort to guarantee the product’s quality. So, you won’t have to concern yourself with product quality while working with us.
- 150+ certified professionals
We never take the chance of hiring any non-professional in order to give our clients the best service possible. Currently, we have more than 150 certified experts with years of experience providing customers with satisfying service that repeatedly brings them back to us.
- Bulk amount
Ensuring quality and meeting deadlines at the same time is not something that everyone can manage. That’s why ordering a large quantity sometimes creates concern among customers. As we are skilled at handling any size of order, you don’t have to think twice about your order size while reaching out to us.
- Quick turnaround
We don’t want to lose the trust that our clients have placed in us. Hence, meeting deadlines as per our promise is our top priority. Our enormous team of experts works all day and night to deliver your product on time. So, there won’t be any problems with deadlines on our end.
We also take urgent orders. Hence, please do not hesitate to contact us if you are in a critical situation and need your products within 6 to 24 hours.
Final Thoughts
Outdoor product photography is the art of incorporating nature with products. As humans are innately a part of nature and constantly feel closer to it, it becomes easier to utilize nature for product marketing. Especially if the products are eco-friendly or contain natural ingredients, it becomes effortless to form an emotional connection with customers and nature.
We hope you have gained enough inspiration for your upcoming outdoor product photography.
