How I Take Professional Pictures For My Small Business at Home

So, as some of you may know a few months ago I started my own small business – We’re All Ears Boutique. It’s been a whirlwind journey but so far I’ve been loving getting to know the ins and outs of setting up my own company. I still have a long way to go but I’m here to let you know one of the biggest lessons that I have learnt in the success of my business – Photography is everything! And you don’t have to spend a fortune in setting it all up.

Now, of course I’d love to book a flight to Disney World and take pictures of my products on Splash Mountain using a fancy waterproof camera and I’m sure that I will get there one day, but for now, I’m happy with my at home set up, and when I say home set up I really do mean it!

So what you will need to take professional pictures on a budget is:

• Some coloured A3 card (front and backdrop)
• One of these fancy selfie lights
• A blanket in a similar colour to your card (adds a little texture)
• A camera (either your phone or if you can maybe a compact 4K camera)
• Some photo editing software (when using my phone I love ColourStory)

Some other tips that are worth noting when trying to take some professional photos at home:

• Try to shoot in natural lighting – This is the biggest thing I’ve found that makes my pictures look amazing. I set up next to a window in the daytime and other than a little post-production tweaking, I don’t have to do much else. 
• Keep it simple – It’s really easy – especially when looking at other peoples amazing flat lays – to over complicate your scene. When I first started shooting my product pictures I was experimenting with different props and backgrounds that took forever to put together, but my most successful posts were the ones most simple.
• Framing is everything – I have to have my pictures at different dimensions so they can go on both my website and socials. This means I have to have a couple of versions of the same image, for example, one square and one horizontal, so it’s super important for me to make sure that I frame my picture correctly in order to transfer across all the platforms I need. 
• Finally, stop and review – Do you know the number of times that I have finished taking pictures after glancing at them every now and again, and then upload them to my computer and I hate them all!! Too many times to count. If you can stop and properly look at what you’re doing, consider what you can change and adapt

So there you have it, some quick and easy tips to take your own professional photos at home! And while you’re at it, feel free to check out my little company.

Courtney xo