Shoppers can’t touch, try or hold your product online. Your photos have to do all of that work. The good news: with a phone, a window and a few cheap props, you can get photos that look professional.
The kit you actually need
- A camera: any recent smartphone is plenty.
- A tripod: sharp, consistent photos start with a camera that doesn’t move.
- Light: a big window with indirect daylight, or two soft LED panels.
- A backdrop: a white sweep (a sheet of card curved from wall to table) or a simple textured surface.
- A reflector: white foam board to bounce light into shadows.
- Tripod and phone mount$40
- LED lights$80
- Backdrop and boards$30
- Props$30
Example starter budget for a home product studio. Prices vary by brand and region.
Light is everything
Turn off the room lights and use one main soft source — a window to the side of the product works beautifully. Put the white board on the opposite side to lift the shadows. Avoid direct midday sun, which creates harsh edges and blown-out highlights.
The six shots every product page needs
- Hero: the product, front-on, on a clean background.
- Angles: side, back and three-quarter views.
- Detail: close-ups of texture, stitching, materials and labels.
- Scale: in a hand or next to a familiar object, so people understand the size.
- In use: a lifestyle shot showing the product in its natural setting.
- What’s in the box: everything the customer receives, laid out flat.
Prepare images for the web
- Keep the same shape for every product photo (square or 4:5 works well on most themes).
- Resize before uploading — around 2,000 pixels on the long edge is plenty for zoom.
- Compress and use WebP where your platform supports it. Large images are the most common cause of slow product pages.
- Name files and write alt text that describe the product, e.g. “brown-leather-chelsea-boot-side.jpg”. It helps accessibility and image search.
When to call a pro
DIY is perfect for getting started. When you’re launching a big collection, need lifestyle shoots with models, or want video for ads and social, our photography and video team can plan and shoot it for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is a phone camera really good enough?
For most products, yes. Good light, a tripod and a clean background matter far more than the camera.
White background or lifestyle photos?
Both. Use clean white-background shots for the main image and listings, and lifestyle shots further down the page to help people imagine owning it.
How many photos should each product have?
Aim for at least five or six: hero, angles, detail, scale and in use. Add video if the product moves or has a feature that’s hard to show in stills.
Tailor Themes Team
WebTailor Studio
Nickolas Blake
