How to photograph your product with a phone

Six things that decide whether a phone photo is usable. No equipment needed.

A usable product photo needs three things: the item in focus, a plain background behind it, and soft light with no hard reflection. Everything else — the surface, the mood, the movement — can be added afterwards. This guide is written for shops selling small, shiny, high-value goods, where a bad photo hides exactly the detail that sells.

The six steps

1. 01

   Shoot next to a window, never under a ceiling light

   Daylight from the side wraps around the object and shows its shape. A ceiling lamp comes straight down, flattens the piece and puts a hard white dot on every shiny surface. Turn the ceiling light off.

2. 02

   Put a plain sheet behind and under the item

   White or mid-grey paper, a folded cloth, anything without pattern. The background will be replaced anyway, and a clean one makes the cut-out precise. Patterned surfaces bleed into the edges of the product.

3. 03

   Soften the light with paper or a curtain

   Hang a sheet of baking paper or a thin white curtain between the window and the item. Direct sun makes a hard highlight that burns out engraving and stone detail; diffused light keeps it.

4. 04

   Tap the screen on the product to lock focus

   Phones focus on whatever is nearest by default, which on a counter is usually the surface, not the piece. Tap the item, then slide the exposure down slightly if the highlights look white rather than bright.

5. 05

   Move back and zoom in slightly

   Holding the phone very close bends straight lines and makes the near edge look larger. Step back half a metre and use a little zoom: proportions stay true, which matters on watches and frames.

6. 06

   Shoot from the angle the buyer will hold it

   Slightly above and to the side reads as natural. Directly overhead flattens depth, and eye level hides the top face. For rings and watches, tilt the piece so the light travels across the surface rather than bouncing straight back.

Four mistakes that make a photo unusable

• Flash. It puts a hard white spot on metal and glass and kills every surface detail behind it.
• A busy background. Wood grain, patterned fabric and shop shelves all bleed into the product edge.
• Shooting in a dark corner and brightening afterwards. Noise appears where the detail should be.
• A dirty or fingerprinted surface. The camera sees every mark, and so does the finished video.