Have you ever wondered what goes into creating those eye-catching images of beauty products?

From what to do before you start photographing, to how you style the products, to post-production, I share my top tips to ensure I get the best results.

1. clean the product

Once you get up close to a product, there’s nothing worse than seeing dust, dirt and fingerprints.

To save time & frustration later, make sure to clean the product really well before you start shooting. Use a soft damp cloth for dirt & fingerprints, and a hairdryer to blow off the dust. Oh, and wear gloves when positioning your product for the shoot. 

2. consider the background

The background plays an important part in product photography and choosing the right background is something that sounds easier than it is.  Ideally, you want something that complements, rather than distracts from the product. If you or your client sees the product as cheerful, you can add contrasting bright colours in the background. Whereas if it’s seen as colourful t you can use a monochrome or white ot black background to pop out the colours.

I mainly use vinyl backdrops or cardboard for smooth, even backgrounds - although not in this example below!

3. make it the hero

Sometimes less is more. Plan the composition and product placement. The product is the hero, so it should take pride of place. Try not to include too many props and products in each photo, or it will end up looking crowded and cluttered.

4. show the details

Capture the close details and show what the product looks like in real life. Showing what’s inside the bottle, tube or dropper is also a good idea. Customers love to see the texture and consistency a skincare product and swatches are a great way to show the contents and/or colour of the products. 

Try to make your entire product in focus. Do this by having a smaller aperture for a wider depth of field. I often shoot these products at around f14. The other way is to use a technique called focus stacking, which allows you to shoot a series of images at different focus points and merge them together in post-production. This ensures crisp, sharp focus on all parts of the product.

5. consider your props

Props can play an important role in beauty product photography. Whenever you are using a prop, make sure it is not seeking the attention of the main product itself.

Key ingredients of skincare products make great props. Ingredients such as pomegranate or lemon, green tea, chamomile, mint leaves can all bring the much-needed nuance to a shoot AND have the informative layer to them.

6. make it perfect

Once you’ve got your final image, there will always be some degree of post-production and retouching required. From removing small marks & imperfections, to making contrast or colour adjustments, this is an important part of the photographic process and you may be surprised at how even the smallest tweaks can make a difference.