How To Set Up Photo Backdrop At Home

In this series of blog posts, I volition cover three DIY product photography specific topics: a simple domicile photography studio setup that uses a white backdrop and natural window light for DIY photography lighting; how to take advantage of your camera settings to shoot in "manual" mode; and how to edit your product images to optimize your online store.

In this starting time postal service, I will teach you how to set up a photo studio at home on a bootstrapped budget. You will be surprised to encounter how hands you lot tin turn your living room (or spare sleeping room, garage, etc.) into your ain home photography studio and then that you tin can consistently produce quality white groundwork production images for your online shop. The abode photo studio beneath cost less than $300 USD to ready (with photographic camera!), and you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

You can use this setup to shoot a range of products such every bit vesture, footwear, accessories, jewelry, and more! Permit's get started.

Office i: Home Photo Studio Shopping List

Professional photograph studio lighting equipment can be disruptive and expensive. The adept news is that it's possible to create the same quality images without the beefy, high-tech equipment almost professional photograph studios use.

High-finish equipment and gadgets do accept their benefits, but they simply are not necessary to create corking looking product images.

High-end equipment has its benefits only is not necessary to create nifty looking production images.

The bare essentials listing of at-home photo studio equipment:

1. Camera ($320)

Everyone has a photographic camera these days, whether information technology's built into your phone, an quondam point-and-shoot or something more than on the professional side. I am hither to say that you don't need the best of the best for great product images.

That being said, if you have room in the budget for a quality motorcar, go for it. Go on in mind that your camera is just i of 5 factors that will affect the final upshot of your production images. Your domicile photography studio setup, lighting, product styling, and using the best production image editing service all play an important role in the creation of quality product images.

And then don't stress nigh the camera. I suggest that you commencement try to utilise what yous take at home before you go along a shopping spree (here's a guide to smartphone product photography). If you are set on ownership new equipment, I suggest that yous purchase a camera that at a minimum has manual settings for exposure and aperture.

What to buy? Well at that place are tons of bully cameras on the market, and for the upkeep conscience Eastward-tailer, I suggest something along the lines of a Canon PowerShot SX620 HS, which is more plenty camera to go the job washed. This camera retails at $230, has manual settings, takes make clean and crisp images at 22 Megapixels, and has built-in wifi capabilities. Retrieve that you can also get a great deal on used cameras on eBay or Craigslist to bring the price down even further!

$320 - Canon PowerShot SX620

2. Memory Menu ($9)

Don't forget your SD retentiveness menu! This is what your camera will use to store your images on during a photo shoot. Memory is inexpensive these days and a modest capacity SD card (+16GB) shouldn't run more than $ten bucks. For DIY product photography, yous don't need to worry about speed class. Without going into particular, speed is more relevant with video or burst photography.

$vii – SanDisk 16GB SD Retentiveness Menu

3. Tripod ($13)

A tripod is an essential office of your home photography studio because it will let you to stabilize your camera and piece of work in rooms where the lighting is not optimal (such as your living room!).

In the second function of this mail service, I will show you how to conform your camera's manual settings depending on the light in your studio. Yous do not need to spend a lot of money on a tripod, simply it is admittedly essential that you buy one. Below, I have listed a smashing budget friendly choice:

$xiii – Lightweight Camera Mount Tripod Stand With Bag - 16.5 - l Inches

four. Gyre of Seamless White Paper ($35)

To create a seamless white photograph backdrop, I recommend that you purchase a large roll of white newspaper to place behind your product. You tin buy rolls of white newspaper at almost function supply and photographic camera stores.

It is important to go a long coil of white paper, considering you need to create a seamless white "sweep" (a curved seamless background behind the product), in order to reduce the amount of postal service-product work your images will require after shooting. In that location'southward a reason east-commerce photography is synonymous with white groundwork photography.

The width of the curlicue of paper should be larger than the production you are photographing. I recommend a good standard size of 53 inches across. You can notice ones that are smaller and wider, but this is a great length for most product sizes. It may not work for big products like furniture and equipment, or shooting on-model dress; in those cases yous will want something wall length and big.

$35 – Barbarous Seamless White Backdrop Paper 53" broad x 12 yards

5. Foam Core Board ($23)

Apply a piece of white foam board ("cream core") as your reflector. White foam boards are utilized for "bouncing" light from the window of your studio dorsum onto your product. The purpose of using a foam "reflector" is to reduce the shadow on the side of the production opposite to the window. This technique provides "fill up light" and will requite your product an fifty-fifty, clean wait. Like the white paper roll, you can observe foam core board at most office supply and camera stores.

$23 – White Cream Core, Pack of 5 16x20

vi. Folding Table ($100)

You volition also demand a photo table to permit your white backdrop "sweep" to fall beyond, then you can position and style your production accordingly. You don't want your product too high or likewise depression, because information technology won't exist comfy or easy for you to take photographs of your product. I suggest a foldable carte table for like shooting fish in a barrel clean upwards. You can employ the photograph table anywhere, making its portability very convenient as well! You can find tables similar this under $50 at your local hardware store or online.

$100 – Cosco Blackness Foursquare Folding Tabular array 34"x34"

seven. Duct Tape or Clamps ($9-$22)

You will likewise desire a few rolls of tape or clamps to secure your white paper sweep backdrop to your photo table and then zip moves while yous are photographing your product. Duct tape is quick, convenient and easy to find, while clamps make for easy clean up and reusability. You can discover both at your local hardware store.

8. Window ($0)

Last on our list (and nearly important) is having admission to a large window that allows for a lot of natural light. Make certain yous practice a trivial business firm cleaning and clear some infinite in the room to work around the window. The key is having ample natural light and a workspace that allows you to move around comfortably while taking photographs.

Whatever the size of your product, y'all volition desire the window to be significantly larger. The bigger the window/light source the more even and soft low-cal in that location will be. The smaller the window/light source the less light and more than directional it will exist. If you are photographing small-scale earrings, a smaller window will work fine—but in my case I am photographing shoes, so the bigger and wider the better.

In almost cases, utilize the largest window in your home. The windows I take used are in my dining room and mensurate 50" by 50". Just remember, when it comes to DIY studio lighting, the bigger the window is the better.

And then that's it! Now just head out to the store, and for under $300 you volition be converting your spare bedroom room into a home product photography studio. Only don't tell your spouse that you learned these tips from us! At present that you have all the necessary equipment to photo your products, follow my next steps and go your abode photo studio gear up in 10 minutes or less!

Part 2: How to Set Up Your DIY Photo Studio

Pace ane: Table & Window (1 minute)

Beginning past positioning your foldable table near your window. Our goal is to have even, natural light on the product. That existence said, it'south important to point out that we do not want directly sunlight to hit the set. I volition cover the optimal fourth dimension to photograph your products in Office 2 of this post. Y'all should also be sure to allow yourself enough room to move around the table to style and shoot your product in one case the backdrop is gear up. I've learned that existence in a small infinite can literally cramp your style.

Footstep ii: Seamless White Backdrop Newspaper & Tape (3 minutes)

Now unroll your white background paper coil and tape it to a wall, ceiling, or something that can hold it up (like a large box or a volume stand). I will exist using my ceiling, considering my window is in the heart of the room and this will allow my paper sweep to fall nicely onto the photo table. Record the sides of the paper to the table besides, and so your setup doesn't move while you are shooting pictures. Stabilizing the white photo backdrop likewise helps me go along things make clean and organized which allows me to focus on my camera.

Step 3: Production (3 minutes)

Before placing your production on the white groundwork sweep, make sure to clean and prep your object before y'all photo it. This sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised how many people forget this critical stride! Keep in listen that a little cleaning can save you a lot of post-production piece of work. If yous are photographing jewelry, make certain to clean and shine all your chains and gems.

If you are photographing footwear, make sure to brush, shine or clean off whatever dust or scuff marks. This tin reduce your post-product time greatly, just don't worry if your product isn't 100% perfect, every bit it is possible to fix the remaining defects in Photoshop.

Make sure to clean and prep your object before you photograph it.

Now identify your product in the centre of your white properties and directly in front of where your camera will be placed. I am photographing a pair of women's heeled pumps, and I will be taking multiple images of this shoe to capture as many angles as possible for my product listing. When you rotate your product, make certain to keep your tripod, camera, and object in the verbal same place for each shot, then that the product is framed the same style for all images. Doing and so volition brand your images more consistent and will reduce the corporeality of mail service-product time needed to perfect the images.

Step 4: White Foam Board "Fill Light" (2 minutes)

Depending on the window light that enters your room and the color of your product, you may need to add together extra "fill light" to complete your DIY photography lighting with fifty-fifty lighting on each side of the product. As I explained earlier, the larger the lite source the more than low-cal on your discipline.

Without Make full Low-cal

With Fill Light

In my example, I accept a great large calorie-free source, but I am photographing a blackness suede pump and generally blackness products need an extra make full to see texture and item (because it'due south darker). To do so, I cutting a pocket-size piece from my foam core lath and propped information technology up vertically using a roll of duct tape. Y'all can get artistic with what y'all use for the prop. The of import things are that your foam board stands straight, is positioned opposite to the window, and is the aforementioned size as your subject or larger. When prepare, the light coming through the window will bounce off the bright white board and "fill" the shadows on the left (darker) side of the shoe. Every bit you lot can see in my images above, the bounced lite fills in the back and side of the shoe nicely allowing for detail to be nowadays.

Stride 5: Camera & Tripod (1 infinitesimal)

Extend the legs of your tripod and adjust it until the top of the tripod is affluent with the surface of the table. Make sure your tripod is level because information technology will be easier to adapt your photographic camera when it is attached. At present, attach the camera to the screws or clip on your tripod.

Exercise: add actress complimentary space on top and bottom

DON'T: too tight around product

It's good to fill your production in the frame of your camera, merely brand sure to leave space effectually it.

Once your camera is secure, start playing with the position of the tripod by looking through the viewfinder on your camera while directed at your product. You lot volition want to fill your product in the frame of your photographic camera, just brand sure to leave actress infinite around your subject and then you lot take room in the paradigm.

Yous may demand to heighten the neck of the tripod like I have, to ensure the all-time possible view of your product from meridian to bottom. If you feel like you're too close or too far away, endeavour utilizing the zoom feature on your camera lens. In my example, I have a stock-still (or "prime number") lens, which means I cannot zoom in and out with it. I will have to manually move my tripod and camera closer or farther from my subject area.

The do good to using a prime lens is that you can become closer with a lower aperture and reach quality images. Simply since we need a higher aperture and won't be using lower ones, the do good to having a zoom on your camera or lens is that you can position yourself close or far from your product, which allows much more versatility. This may change what y'all ready your discontinuity and shutter speed to, but I volition explain those in the next lesson!

And so that's it: one trip to an office supply store, a $300 dollar equipment investment, and 10 minutes worth of dwelling house photography studio prep time and you are now set to outset shooting bang-up looking product images! That wasn't as bad every bit y'all thought it would be, right? In the second function of this post I volition explain exactly how to optimize your images by using your photographic camera's manual settings. In part three, I'll bear witness you how to edit product images, if you don't desire to utilise an online photo retouching service.