Creating good product photography can be very challenging and different than other types of photography.  Generally speaking, the goal with product photography is to be able to product clear images of your product/products.  In other words, you want to be able to show off the product as someone would see it, with as much detail as possible.  Furthermore, many times clients will want to use the product shots in advertisements but will not know exactly how they want to use them yet, so they will want to be able to ‘cut’ the picture of the item in Photoshop and then play around with it digitally. 

How can you create clear, perfect looking product photography?  Simple: purchase/build a good studio light box, and then practice, practice, practice.  If you are just starting out and are a little bit handy, then I would suggest to simply build your first light box.   This option is not only quick and easy, but is also inexpensive.  However, if you don’t have the time and only need a small light box (i.e. you are mainly going to create product photography for smaller items), then you can easily purchase a decent studio in-a-box kit for between $50 and $100 from Amazon that will do. 

If you do decide to create the box, here is a list of materials that you need:

Foam Board

White Tape

Lamp/Light bulbs

Razor Knife

Straight Edge

I’m not going to go through with step-by-step instructions however, simply because you can find instructions on several different websites that I think are very good.  What I do think is important to talk about, is how you can generate income by producing great product photography.

Obviously, you can find companies and individuals that need a photographer to take pictures of their own products.   Advertising on the internet and word of mouth are great ways to get your name out, but you need to produce great shots and do so consistently if you want to grow your business this way. 

Another way to make money with product photography is to use stock photography sites like istockphoto.com.  While you won’t be able to use your product photographs of specific products due to copyright laws (unless you can get approval from the original owners of the products), you can create what I like to call ‘generic’ product photographs and sell them on stock photo sites.  Furthermore, you can use these sites to get your name out by allowing people to see your product photography and your skills.