Overview I hope that Part A gave you some helpful insights as to style types and customer conversions. As promised, in Part B I will now detail the actual techniques for achieving my current, and highest converting photo style. A post shared by DeBrosse™ (@debrosse_nyc) on Dec 17, 2017 at 10:57am PST Some links are affiliate, meaning I'll make a small commission if you make a purchase, but this is at no cost to you. Materials I used to think I would never be able to achieve the photos I wanted without a professional photographer, an expensive camera, and a fancy light room. That's simply not true. Below is a list of what you will need to shoot at home with your phone. Tripod Phone Adapter Bluetooth remote Lighting Kit A white wall or backdrop VSCO app (phone) Photoshop (desktop) or Canva Pro Lighting Natural light goes a long way, but it can be temperamental and hard to come by. Aim to shoot in morning light, finishing prior to the hour that the sun streams directly into your windows. In addition to harnessing the natural light, I recommend supplementing with lightboxes. The following setup has worked for me, but you'll want to account for other variables that will differ between your context and mine (natural light direction, overall tones of model and product, etc.). Use this as a guideline, and then iterate by shifting light locations and distances to achieve the strongest photo. Stand 2-3 feet away from white backdrop. Standing too close to the backdrop will result in dark shadows. Set tripod and first light, 2-3 feet in front of you. Light should sit directly above camera, aimed straight on. Place second light at a 45 degree angle, 2-3 feet to your left or right. Natural light can pour in from behind light 1 (as is the case in my home), or from either side of subject. Iterate lightbox locations to find your best lighting. While light 1 may seem obvious, side or side angled lighting (light 2) goes a long way to add shadows and depth to the photo. Note the below example from Lauren Aston Designs. The left is front light only, and the right is side lit. And a couple final notes: Connect your bluetooth remote to your phone or camera, and click with hand not in shot or your big toe! (I'm not kidding.) Take photos directly within VSCO app for quick editing in the next step. I personally don't wear makeup in general, but I do wear makeup for shoots. Consider wearing or increasing your normal makeup for more of a pop. You still want to feel like yourself, but I have found that the camera and lighting tend to wash out my natural coloring and features, so makeup essentially neutralizes that effect. Editing After you've taken infinitely more shots than you'll ever use, it's time to narrow down and start editing. I'll share my entire Photoshop flow in great detail below, but I first want to mention that Canva Pro offers a background remover option that is less expensive and easier to execute (win win!). I'm starting you at 4:52 so you can dive right into removing backgrounds. And for those still interested in Photoshop, here is my flow... 1. Original Skim through all your shots, looking for a combination of the "face" you're looking for (serious, smile, smirk, etc.), and where the product is well styled. Below is an original shot that meets both of those requirements. 2. VSCO Edit Once you've confirmed that the content of the shot is up to par, edit the photo directly in the VSCO app. (If you took the photos within your basic camera app, you'll be able to see or easily import them over to VSCO.) Once you've applied your desired adjustments to one photo, you can copy and paste these edits onto future photos. Regularly test your shots throughout your shoot to confirm you have what you need before moving on to the next product. Filter: A6 Exposure: around 0.5 (this will vary based on product color and how the light has hit) Contrast: up to 0.5 Saturation: Sometimes your product color and/or time of day (lighting) will create a warmer or cooler tone than your desired aesthetic. Increasing saturation will add warmth to an otherwise cool/blueish photo, and decreasing saturation will take out warmth/yellow and cool down the photo. (Not applied in this case). 3. Photoshop Edit After the entire shoot, comb through and confirm you've applied VSCO edits to all shots with the desired content. I don't scrutinize too much at this point, but rather apply the edits to any good photo, knowing that I'll narrow down to the great photos once I'm on the computer and can better review. Sort the VSCO app by edited shots and save them to your camera roll. Bluetooth or otherwise transfer all shots to your computer. From there, give a more thorough review and narrow down to your final 3-5 shots per product. Bring the first of these final shots into photoshop. Unlock and rename the layer "original" Duplicate the layer, and name it "edited" Create a layer in between both layers and use the paint bucket tool to fill the artboard with your desired background color. This process will call for something in the family of off white, soft gray, or light beige. A stark white, or a dark color will not work. With your "edited" layer selected, locate the eraser tool. Set it to a hardness of 50% for the duration of the edit. Set it to an opacity of 100%, and erase only the outside edges of your photo. You should be able to see your "background color" layer begin to show through. Note the recommended brush size as shown in the photo below. Keeping your eraser brush at a hardness of 50%, reduce the opacity to 30%. Begin erasing closer to your subject. Note the recommended brush size as shown in the photo below. Finally, reduce your eraser brush to 10% opacity. Erase the remaining shadows surrounding the very edge of your subject, until you like the way your subject meets the background. Note the recommended brush size as shown in the photo below. Optional: Create a new layer, and name it "light". Locate your brush tool, set it to a hardness of 0%, opacity 100%, and a size of 700px. Draw on top of your subject where you would prefer additional light, or a highlight. With the "light" layer selected in your layers palette, open the dropdown menu labeled "normal." Choose "Linear Dodge (Add)". Then, set that layer to a fill of 3%. If you click this layer on and off, you'll be able to see the difference that this layer makes. Consider playing around with this last step to apply the light to different locations, and alternate fill percentages to best accentuate your photo. Save + Upload (+ rejoice) To achieve the appropriate sized .jpg to upload to your website(s), use the following guidelines: File > Export > "Save for web (legacy)" In the bottom right corner, set your image width somewhere in the ballpark of 1500px. This maintains quality, but cuts file size considerably down. All files should be saved as both .psd files, and .jpg files. Your .psd will remain editable for future changes, and your .jpg will be the correct file type and size to upload to your site. Take a moment to look at your new shot next to the original and feel a rush of satisfaction. Boom. With every new edit and upload, check in and watch your storefront transform (that sounds melodramatic, but it will quite literally transform, and I still remember how exciting it was). The process is tedious, and requires practice to truly perfect, but the transformation often provides the fuel you'll need to keep going. Organization I won't dive too deep into file management, but I want to quickly touch on the folder structure I use to organize this process. Folder: Product Name > Sub Folders: Product color(s) >> Sub Folders: Inside each color, create 1 for each photo type: Original photos (.jpg files - saved from VSCO) Edited photos (.psd files - edited in photoshop) Final photos (.jpg files - saved for web + ready for upload) Flat Lays All my flat lay photography is achieved in the same editing fashion. Actually taking the photo is always a much quicker process as it doesn't require make up, supplemental lighting, or the difficulty involved in capturing the right face. Single Product Shoot product on white background (white table, posterboard, etc.) Place in front of window, where natural light is hitting object from the side. No need for supplemental lighting. Edit shots in VSCO as done previously. Bring chosen shots into photoshop and edit out the background, allowing your "background color" to show through. Resize and center product in your file. Optional: Add text to the image ("Available in 3 colors", "Ships free!", "Reversible", etc.) Save and upload. Multiple Products To merge multiple images together (both flat lay and/or modeled) in the same photo: Create a new file. Create a "background color" layer in this file, as done previously. Open the individual .psd files of each previously edited flay lay photos that you want to merge together. In the each of those files, right click on the "edited" layer, and select "duplicate." Choose the new file as it's destination. Resize and rearrange your products in this file. Optional: Add text to the image. Save and upload. In Review It's good to keep in mind that you won't achieve perfection on your first try. A healthy goal is simply improvement, because regular improvement is always attainable. With time, I hope you are able to make great strides implementing this editing process, and perfect it to your own liking and aesthetic.
