Best Camera Settings! Product Photographers should know

You don’t have to be professional photographer to take decent photos, but a product photo requires more than just aiming and shooting. When you are photographing product image for selling online, you want to take best result possible. A great product photo will make your store look professional and show that your pay close attention to details. 

Here are the most important camera settings for product photography.

File Format

The automatic setting on your DSLR will allow you to capture JEPGs. The next level to take photos on your DSLR means moving from JEPG to RAW. RAW image capture exactly the way you and the camera see your product. RAW images contain all of the information you need to make any and all adjustments necessary to produce the exact image you want. So when you shoot your product image select RAW format.

 Aperture

The aperture is the size of the opening of the lens that lets light pass through to the camera’s sensor. The aperture is adjustable, and is often also referred to as the “f/stop.” The smaller the apertures value for f/stop number, the larger the aperture. Simply put, an aperture of f2 lets in a massive amount of light, while an f/stop of f22 lets in very little light. If you are unfamiliar with the term, just go an aperture between f/4.5-f/7.1. This is the perfect range of aperture for product photography. 

Adjust Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is how first the camera opens to let light a close again. When shooting in aperture mode, the camera will, generally, set the shutter speed for you. Change the aperture and you change the Shutter speed again. They work conversely. If you chose Shutter priority mood, it will allow you to control shutter speed, the camera will automatically set the aperture for you. What really matters here is this: if you are going to hand hold the camera for your images, make sure the shutter speed is no slower than 1/60th of a second. 

Choose Your ISO

ISO or International Standards Organization is the measure of the camera’s sensitivity to light. In the days of physical film cameras, it was called “film speed.” Set your ISO to a low rate, because other wise your image really can be grainy. You should start a setting 100. If your image needs more brightness adjust the settings between 200 to 400.

Set Your Exposure

Exposure refers the amount the lights allowed to pass through your camera. For product shots, you’ll want brighter shots, so try setting your exposure to +1 or +1.5. However it does take time and experimentation to get the right setting. So be patient to become an expert about exposure setting. 

White Balance

White balance is the process to remove color from photo. Fluorescent or even normal sunlight can really affect your white backgrounds. It is best to choose the Automatic setting for white balance for your product photography. This is one setting where the DSLR will do the work for you. 

Taking product image is a lot of work. But you will be proud the product sells. If you follow the setting above for your next product photo shoot I hope you will satisfy with the result.