Product Photography

How a Custom Hat Maker's Product Photos Went From Kitchen Snapshots to Magazine-Worthy Shots
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How a Custom Hat Maker's Product Photos Went From Kitchen Snapshots to Magazine-Worthy Shots

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with knowing your product is excellent but your photos don’t show it. I’ve seen this with so many small business owners I’ve met over the years — talented makers, bakers, and craftspeople who undersell themselves because their photography looks like an afterthought. The good news is that the gap between “embarrassing snapshot” and “wait, is that from a magazine?” is usually a handful of intentional decisions, not a $5,000 camera body.

Peter Lippmann Is the Product Photographer You Should Be Studying Right Now
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Peter Lippmann Is the Product Photographer You Should Be Studying Right Now

There is a particular kind of photographer whose work stops you mid-scroll. Not because the image is loud or chaotic, but because something in your brain quietly registers that what you are looking at required a level of intention you have not quite seen before. I had that experience the first time I came across Peter Lippmann’s portfolio, and I have gone back to it more times than I can count.

You Don't Need a $7,000 Camera to Shoot Great Product Photos — Here's How to Use Your iPhone 17 Pro Like a Pro
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You Don't Need a $7,000 Camera to Shoot Great Product Photos — Here's How to Use Your iPhone 17 Pro Like a Pro

My most-liked Instagram photo was taken on a $200 phone. I used to be almost embarrassed to admit that, but it ended up launching a whole series of articles about what gear actually matters versus what we just think matters. So when I saw Peter McKinnon sit down with the new iPhone 17 Pro and a $7,000 Canon R5 to shoot the same products side by side, I had to pay close attention.

How to Light and Shoot Large Furniture Products (Without a Full Studio Setup)
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How to Light and Shoot Large Furniture Products (Without a Full Studio Setup)

Every time someone in one of my workshops asks about product photography, the conversation lands in the same place: tabletop setups, white seamless paper, and a couple of speedlights pointed at a coffee mug. That’s genuinely useful to know. But what happens when the product is a sofa? A dining table? A chair that’s taller than your lighting stand? I ran into this exact wall a few years back when a small furniture brand reached out asking if I could shoot their line for a product catalog.

How to Cut Out Large Product Photos and Place Them on White Backgrounds in Lightroom
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How to Cut Out Large Product Photos and Place Them on White Backgrounds in Lightroom

If you’ve ever had to shoot something bigger than a cereal box for a client, you already know the tutorials aren’t exactly lining up to help you. Most of the product photography content out there covers small objects on a tabletop with a couple of speedlights. Clean, tidy, easy to find. But the moment a client asks you to photograph a sofa, a dining set, or a king-sized bed frame, you’re mostly on your own.

How to Photograph Clear Liquid Bottles Without the Mess (A Pro's Step-by-Step Breakdown)
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How to Photograph Clear Liquid Bottles Without the Mess (A Pro's Step-by-Step Breakdown)

Product photography has a way of humbling you fast. I learned this the hard way the first time a friend asked me to shoot a few spirits bottles for their small-batch gin label. I figured: clean background, good light, done. What I got instead was streaky water droplets sliding down the glass, a label that looked flat and washed out, and a reflection so doubled-up it looked like the bottle had a twin.

Luxury Vehicle Design Shows Us What Photographers Should Learn About Innovation
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Luxury Vehicle Design Shows Us What Photographers Should Learn About Innovation

Luxury Vehicle Design Shows Us What Photographers Should Learn About Innovation I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where innovation actually happens in our creative fields. Recently, I learned about Genesis’ new electric SUV flagship, and it got me reflecting on an important photography lesson: breakthrough moments often come from unexpected places. Why I’m Paying Attention to Car Design You might wonder why a photography website is discussing vehicles. Here’s my perspective: understanding how luxury brands innovate teaches us something crucial about visual storytelling.

How to Shoot Lifestyle Photos That Actually Feel Alive (Not Like Ads)
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How to Shoot Lifestyle Photos That Actually Feel Alive (Not Like Ads)

I had a client ask me once why their product photos looked “too perfect.” At first I thought that was a strange complaint. But I knew exactly what they meant. The images were clean, well-lit, technically correct, and completely soulless. Nobody looked at them and thought, I want to be in that moment. They looked at them and thought, that’s a shoe. That gap, between a product shot and a lifestyle shot, is something I’ve spent years learning to close.

Why a Golf Ball Might Be the Best Lighting Teacher You've Never Used
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Why a Golf Ball Might Be the Best Lighting Teacher You've Never Used

I’ve been photographing products on and off for years, mostly to supplement travel work during slow seasons. And the thing that tripped me up the longest wasn’t gear or editing. It was learning to read light before I set anything up. I’d arrange my softbox, place the subject, take a test shot, and then spend twenty minutes moving things two inches at a time wondering why it still looked flat. What I was missing was a simple, unforgiving subject that would show me exactly what the light was doing.

How Pro Beverage Photographers Light a Beer Shot (Breaking Down Rob Grimm's Studio Setup)
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How Pro Beverage Photographers Light a Beer Shot (Breaking Down Rob Grimm's Studio Setup)

Product photography has humbled me more than once. I shoot lifestyle and travel almost exclusively, so when someone asks me about tabletop product work, I used to quietly change the subject. The lighting logic is different, the margins for error are smaller, and glass and liquid together are basically a nightmare for reflections. So when I came across this Aaron Nace (PHLEARN) tutorial featuring St. Louis beverage photographer Rob Grimm, I watched it three times in a row.

How to Use Ultraviolet Light to Make White Clothing Pop Against a White Background
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How to Use Ultraviolet Light to Make White Clothing Pop Against a White Background

There is a specific kind of frustration that comes from trying to photograph white clothing against a white background. On paper, it sounds elegant and minimal. In practice, you end up with a muddy gray garment that looks like it came out of the wrong laundry cycle. I have run into this problem more times than I care to admit, and for a long time my workaround was to just add more light and hope for the best.

How to Light a Product Shot Like a Pro (Using Scrims, Softboxes, and a Piece of Foil Card)
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How to Light a Product Shot Like a Pro (Using Scrims, Softboxes, and a Piece of Foil Card)

Product photography has a reputation for being intimidating, and honestly, for a long time I avoided it. I’m a lifestyle and travel shooter at heart. Give me golden hour on a mountain trail and I’m happy. But clients don’t always want mountains. Sometimes they want a bottle of whiskey looking like it belongs in a magazine spread, and that used to send me scrambling. What changed things for me was watching how working commercial photographers actually think through a product setup, not just the gear list, but the logic behind every decision.