How to Take Product Photos for Cosmetics & Beauty Products

There are many things cosmetic and beauty products business owners have to know. One of the most important of them all is knowing how to take product photos for cosmetics. 

It is an important aspect and can be a wide difference in making it in the ever-competitive beauty and cosmetics industry. If you don't take quality pictures of your products, you risk losing your prospective and active customers to other brands. 

You can't and should not let that happen. Hence, you should take advantage of this article which comes packed full of tips on how to take product photos for cosmetics. 

It doesn't matter if you are a new business owner, product photographer, professional, or newbie to the cosmetic and beauty industry. Here, you will find valuable tips to take your product photography skills to the next level. Read on to discover more!

Why is Product Photography for Cosmetics Important? 

If you own a beauty and cosmetics business or have an eCommerce brand that sells such products, product photography is a key part of your business. You can only show the products you sell on your website, adverts, or eCommerce channels via product photography. 

If your product pictures are not of good quality, you will not attract customers. First impressions matter in the world of beauty and cosmetics. And, no matter how good your products are, poorly taken photos will not tell their true story. 

A well-taken photo of your cosmetics and beauty products is reflective of your brand. It also makes your customers confident about your products and your brand. 

Besides these, here are other reasons why quality product photography is important for your business:

• It boosts your conversions.
• It lets your customers imagine the value they will get from the product. 
• It builds your customers' confidence and trust in your brand and business.
• It keeps visitors on your page for longer periods. 

With quality photographs, your customers can see and understand how your beauty products will look on the end-user. Hence, they will feel a lot more confident about purchasing from you. 

What Do You Need to Take Product Photos for Beauty Products?

When taking product pictures for your beauty products, you will need some equipment. These include but are not limited to: 

• A camera
• A white background 
• A tripod
• A table
• A lightbox
• White bounce cards
• Tape
• A suitable room or environment

One misconception people have about cosmetics photoshoots is the need for an out-of-the-world camera system. This is not always the case. It is awesome to use the highest quality cameras for your shoots. However, you can use whatever camera you have handy. The camera type is just one aspect of the various choices that make up a good product photograph. 

When you set your camera on a tripod, it allows you to have the most field depth your camera can have. Again, you don't have to spend so much on a tripod. A basic one can do the job. 

For your white background, many options exist. If you are doing multiple shoots, it is best to get a white sweep. You should get a pure white sweep and not an off-white or creamy white one. 

Bounce cards are flat pieces of material that have reflective surfaces on one side. These surfaces are independent of any light source. You can create a broader, directional light source with bounce cards if there is no sufficient ambient light for your photographs. 

A standard folding table measuring 24 to 27 inches wide is suitable for your photographs. Depending on the table you use, you may use tapes or clamps to secure your board. This ensures that it sweeps well enough. 

With a lightbox, you can give your pictures an illuminated background and translucent surface. You also need a suitable room to take your photos. Rooms that have windows next to walls are perfect. You will get more natural light in if the windows are bigger. 

If you take pictures closer to the window, it creates a softer light with softer, darker shadows. On the other hand, if you take pictures far away from the window, it offers more balanced lighting with sharper, lighter shadows. 

Can I Use My Smartphone for Cosmetic and Beauty Product Photography?

One of the questions people ask on how to take product photos for cosmetics is whether or not they can use their smartphones. Well, the answer is yes, you can. Most new phones come with excellent cameras and photographic capabilities. 

With such phones, you can capture great product images. 

There are also multiple photo editors available on these phones. With them, you can finetune your pictures to suit your taste. Photographs are not always about the camera but the processes involved before, during, and after taking them. 

Related Article: How to Get the Best DIY Product Photography

Tips for Photographing Beauty Products

The following tips will help immensely when taking product photographs of cosmetic and beauty products: 

Understand Your Brand's Peculiarities

One of the critical things you must know before any photoshoot is the brand's peculiarities. You have to know what a beauty product or beauty brand is all about before doing a photo shoot. 

Also, know what audience the product or brand is for and what idea the pictures convey. This way, you can create images that match customer expectations. 

Know More About the Target Audience

Another tip on how to take product photos for cosmetics is knowing the target audience. Answer questions regarding your brand's clients, their age bracket, average income level and more. By realizing your brand's target audience, you can take product photos that will appeal to them.

Plan the Photoshoot Adequately

You should be well prepared for a photoshoot. It is not something you should just rush into. If you do that, you end up doing a poor job. A poor job will risk you losing customers to your competitors.

If possible, look for examples of previous cosmetic and beauty product photography shoots. Note the different styles used. If there is one that suits your brand's shoot, you can creatively use it as a reference and even come up with something even better. 

Choose a Colour Scheme

Colours play a critical role when it comes to an image's general perception. If you choose a perfect colour gamut, it will help accentuate the key elements of your picture. You should take time to define what the overall mood is. 

Will a bright image highlight your cosmetic or beauty products in the best light? If that is the case, you should go for colourful backgrounds and bright tones. 

If you want a more classic look, combining black and white props may be the best way to go. If your brand has a fixed colour scheme, you must go for something suitable and stay true to the style. 

Keep to a Style

While there is no exact best way to take product pictures of beauty items, it is always good to keep to a particular style. All the props you use for your beauty products photography should merge to tell a story. Therefore, all the composition's elements have to match each other in terms of style, colour, size and shape. 

You can create a sense of motion and display some textures. You may also combine various elements to produce an exciting composition. Whatever you do, these varied elements should merge to form quality images that show your products are top-notch and quality. 

Shoot from Different Angles

An essential tip on how to take product photos for cosmetics is to shoot from as many angles as possible. If you continue to take pictures from a single angle, they will become too similar and somewhat boring. 

However, when you use different angles, you will get diversified photos that your customers can scroll through. 

Use Varied Beauty Product Photography Props

In cosmetics and beauty products photography, props play an important role. This is because they help in showing how customers can use the product. With props, you can also accentuate a product's key features, convincing potential buyers of its quality. In a way, they are the final element to creating an exciting product photo with a definite story. 

When choosing props for your beauty product photography, you should account for their size, colour, shape, and material. The props should not take attention away from the product you are shooting. 

They are in the photograph to single the product out and not take attention away from it. Also, props should not clash with your brand's general colour scheme. 

Your Chosen Background Should be Perfect

Your background plays a significant role in the outcome of your photo. The background you use for your cosmetics photoshoot shouldn’t clash with the product. 

Most times, monochromatic backgrounds work best. Neutral colours and light tones help in bringing beauty products into focus. When you use more colourful backgrounds, you have to choose the lighting for your beauty product photoshoot carefully. 

The best option to use for online stores is the white backdrop. You can use varied backgrounds and combine multiple materials if shooting for social media. Meanwhile, you can try using different hues if shooting for catalogues and magazines. 

Consider Diagonal Lines

One good step to take product photographs of beauty items is staying mindful of diagonal lines. Cosmetic product photographers usually employ a trick of placing objects along diagonal lines. This simple trick helps you to get shots that are smoothly balanced out. 

Such lines give the picture more depth, leading the customer’s eye line right to the products. Hence, you can employ the diagonal line principle in arranging your products. 

Don't Lose Focus

The principal aim of taking cosmetic product photos is to showcase your products to customers. Hence, don't get distracted with other techniques, props, and other things necessary to create a perfect image that you forget the main aim. All these aspects and additional elements used in the picture-taking process should not divert attention from your product but highlight it. 

There are many ways in which you can showcase your product in pictures. Whichever way you choose should be in tandem with your brand's style. Beauty product customers pay attention to minor details. You should too!

Highlight Your Beauty Products With the Best Photographs 

In this informative article, you have learned tips on how to take product photos for cosmetics. With these tips, you can go on to take great photographs of your beauty products. If you don't want to do it yourself, you can employ the best product photography services. 

If you need professionals to do the job for you, look no further than our product photography services. Here at Style Photos, we will help you bring your beauty products to life through pictures, ensuring you exceed your customers' expectations and outpace the competition.