I’ve struggled with learning the ropes of product photography, but I’ve definitely picked up some handy tricks and tips that have worked magic for me over the years.

MACRO reigns supreme. Nearly every camera should have a Macro feature, which is often designated with a flower symbol.  The Macro feature allows you to take close-up photos of objects and retain more detail.

Read your manual. I know, novel idea, right?  I can admit that I had zero interest in reading my manual, and I didn’t bother to do so until a year later.  Boy, talk about a colossal mistake!  By reading the manual, I learned what the settings were for my camera–including the beloved Macro function.

Don’t be afraid to take a thousand photos to get one good one. Until you’ve mastered the art of your camera, lighting, etc., don’t feel like you can only take a few photos to get the one great one.  If it’s for a website/blog, you’re most likely using a digital camera, and therefore you should feel comfortable taking as many photos as it takes.  In fact, I highly recommend just spending a day taking photos using various camera settings, lightings, rooms, objects, etc.  You name it, give it a shot.  Periodically note what works, what doesn’t, what might, what might not.  Upload to get a sense of feedback.

Shoot in better lighting. I still haven’t perfected my lighting, but I know shooting in the dark is definitely not going to work for me.  I’ve learned taking photos in natural light doesn’t always turn out better than indoor light.  Be sure to try different lighting situations to see what works best with your camera.  For instance, my camera does a great job even indoors and using flash, but not all cameras manage this.

Tone down the flash with a tissue. If you find you need to use flash, but it’s washing out your photos too much, try placing a tissue over it to help diffuse the intensity of your flash.