Photo How To

Product photography is a lot harder than it looks. Consequently, many photographers may think they know how to photograph products when they really don't. This results in some serious product photography mistakes.

Peter McKinnon is someone who has lived and learned as a product photographer and in the below video he shares five mistakes to avoid in product photography. In the quick, easy and fun tutorial, McKinnon demonstrates his still-life tips and tricks while capturing images of a set of custom-made knives. (If you follow McKinnon, you know that hand-crafted pocketknives are one of his things.)

Watch below as he explains why these are five things to avoid in product photography:

#1 Don't Light the Surface

"It looks weird. It takes focus away from the product. It puts detail underneath the product, which makes it too busy."

#2 Don't Fill the Entire Frame

"That's way too big unless you're trying to show some macro details of this product and needs to fill the scene, that's a different story."

#3 Don't Settle for the Light

"If it's too harsh and you want it softer, don't shoot the photo and drop the contrast in post. Bring in a modifier; actually modify the light. Make it work."

#4 Don't Use the Wrong Lens

"If you want to show a lot of detail in a product, maybe don't shoot it on a 15mm. If you want to highlight a scene, maybe don't use a 300 mil."

#5 Don't Show Too Much Detail

"I've taught a lot about top-down photography, flat lays, using props to highlight an image to build a scene. But sometimes you can get a little carried away and add too many things to the scene."

After you check out the video, make sure to subscribe to McKinnon's channel, which is one of the best things on YouTube.