Product Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Props and Styling | Rose Nene | Skillshare

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Product Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Props and Styling

teacher avatar Rose Nene, Photographer and Videographer

Watch this class and thousands more

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Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

12 Lessons (45m)
    • 1. Class Introduction

      2:35
    • 2. Class Project

      3:29
    • 3. Product Styling: What and Why

      3:43
    • 4. Storytelling

      2:47
    • 5. Planning and Gathering Inspiration

      4:55
    • 6. Choosing a Theme

      3:01
    • 7. Selecting and Sourcing Props

      5:31
    • 8. Setting up and Styling

      3:16
    • 9. Demo: Light and Comfy

      3:10
    • 10. Demo: Bold and Colorful

      3:11
    • 11. Demo: Fun and Adventurous

      3:38
    • 12. Final Tips

      5:20
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About This Class

What if you can transform your product photos from "boring" to "eye-catching"?

Product photography styling is the art of making the product look as appealing and inviting as possible. We can do this by intentionally choosing props to tell a story. And that is what we are going to unpack in this class!

Hi! My name is Rose, I am a food and product photographer from the Philippines. I created this class to demystify Product Photography styling because It doesn't have to be complicated, in fact it’s best to start simple. Your setup doesn't need gazillion props to stand out. You can start by showcasing the special qualities of your product through intentional styling. It does not matter what digital camera you are using, may it be a DSLR, mirrorless or smartphone you can definitely join this class. 

What you'll learn:

  1. What is product styling and why it's important in product photography.
  2. Why storytelling is the key ingredient in effective product styling.
  3. Best practices in planning for a product photoshoot.
  4. How to use brand adjectives to choose a theme.
  5. Tips and best practices when sourcing product photography props.
  6. My personal and “go to” setup and styling tips.
  7. More styling tips and techniques from actual product styling demo for different themes and vibe. 

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Who is this class for?

-Product Photographers

-Beginner Photographers

-Aspiring Product Photographers

-Bloggers

-Influencers

-Online Sellers

-Social Media Influencers

-E-commerce Business Owners

-Anyone who wants to learn more about adding props and style to a product photoshoot

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By the end of this class you will be more confident in styling your scene. You will have structure and clarity when choosing props and backgrounds as well as how you want to create your photos. :) 

The main focus of this class is product photography props and styling but if you need help and guidance on lighting, composition and iPhone product photography, I highly recommend these other classes: 

Product Photography: A Beginner’s Guide to Lighting

Product Photography: How to Use Composition for Impactful Photos

DIY Product Photography Using an iPhone

I can't wait to see your styled product photos :) I hope to see you in class!

Meet Your Teacher

Teacher Profile Image

Rose Nene

Photographer and Videographer

Top Teacher

Hi there! My name is Rose :) I am a Photographer, Videographer and Online Course Creator from the Philippines. My work is focused on events, food and product photography and creating classes to share practical tips from my experiences. I made so many mistakes and bought gear and props I haven't used up to this day. In my classes I share everything. From mistakes to avoid and techniques to help develop your photography and videography skills. :)
 Why I teach?

I believe that education makes the world a better place and our generation is so blessed with the availability of information specially online. Over the past years I have immersed in studying and researching and that’s when I discovered my calling for tea... See full profile

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Transcripts

1. Class Introduction: What if we can transform your product photos from, "oh, that's nice" to "wow, I want to buy that"? Product styling is the art of making the product look as appealing and inviting as possible. Our audience is already bombarded with thousands of images online, so creating an eye-catching product photo through styling is our chance to make a great first impression. [MUSIC] Hello and welcome. My name is Rose. I am a food and product photographer. Most of my work is dedicated to helping small businesses increase sales and online presence through scroll-stopping product photos. I also do workshops for online sellers who want to DIY their photo shoots, and earlier this year I had the honor and privilege to become one of Skillshare's top teachers. I created this class to demystify product photography styling, because it doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, it's best to start simple. Your setup doesn't need gazillion props to stand out. You can start by showcasing the special qualities of your product through intentional styling. and that is what we are going to unpack in this class. We will begin with why you need to style your product. Then we will move on to storytelling, which is the key ingredient to effectively style your scene. Then we will start our creation process with planning, gathering inspiration, and choosing a theme. Then we will select and source props. Finally, I will show you a demo of how I will set up and style. By the end of this class, you will be more confident in styling your scene. You will have structure and clarity when choosing your props and backgrounds, as well as how you want to create your photos. This class is perfect for beginner photographers, small business owners who want to DIY product photo shoots, for bloggers, social media influencers, and absolutely anyone who wants to learn more about adding props and style to a product photo shoot. You can either use your smartphone, DSLR, or any camera to join this class. Now, if you're ready, let's get started. 2. Class Project: [MUSIC] First of all, I am so glad you're here and I will do my best to make it worthwhile for you and for you to really get the most out of this class. However, that involves your active participation. In order for you to get the most out of this class, you need to see the beauty and essence of styling in product photography through your very own photos. With that said, I strongly recommend that you participate in the class project. Don't worry, I will do my best to take you through the process step-by-step so you can be more intentional and confident in styling your product. To do the class project, you just need to, first, plan and do a little inspiration gathering. Next, choose a theme or a color palette that best describes your brand or product. Then select and source props. A quick side note, your props do not have to be all fancy. As you will see in the demo lessons, I will be maximizing things I already have and very simple backdrops. Finally, number 4, setup and style. In the following lessons, we will be dissecting each step and I will be sharing tips, and my workflow to really help you succeed in doing the class projects. Next, what are the materials that you will need to do the class project? First, a product to photograph. It could be your product, a client's product, or any product that you recently bought. For example, for me, I will be photographing this new pair of shoes that I bought last month as my subject. Next, you just need a source of light. This could be natural light from the sun or artificial light from lamps and LED lights. For my setup, I will be using an artificial continuous light. This is quite big because this is my all-in-one light source for my videos and photo shoots. If you will be photographing a smaller product, you can definitely use a smaller and simpler source of light. Of course, you need a camera to take photos. It could be your smartphone camera, a DSLR, or mirrorless. Finally, you will be needing a few props. These include your backdrops, which will serve as your main background, supporting objects like magazines, accessories, dried leaves, and absolutely anything to help you tell your brand or product story. I also made sure that most of the principles and techniques that I will share in this class are general, so you can apply it to whatever product you are photographing. I really want for you to succeed in doing the class projects, so I also included a downloadable product styling guide under resources. You can share your work with us by uploading it in the class project gallery. You can just go to Projects and Resources and click on the "Create Project" button. You can upload multiple photos and choose your favorite one to be the class project cover. [MUSIC] I am super excited to see how you will put the learnings from this class into practice. Good luck and have lots of fun. 3. Product Styling: What and Why: [MUSIC] Why is product styling important in product photography? Product styling is the art of making the product look as appealing, interesting, and inviting as possible. We can do this by intentionally choosing backgrounds and props to create a story that can capture our audience attention. It's important because our audience does not know that our product is amazing yet. The best way for us to showcase our products is through our photos. The first thing that our visitors see when they reach our website or page are the images. Your product photos reflect your brand image, so it pays to put more effort in product photography. Now, there are different things to consider when creating high-quality product photos. But there is one that greatly influences our viewers' emotion, and that is styling. Photos are not like videos. There is no dialogue or music, so we need to activate our viewers' desire to know more in our images alone. You've probably heard this already, but winning photos are photos that tell a story. Styling can greatly help with that. For example, this is a product I shot for a brand that sells organic skincare. This photo of the lotion is nice, and looks good on an e-commerce website. But observe the difference when we add a bit of product styling. For me, this is an example of a photo that I can smell. Just by looking at the photo, I have an idea that this product could have a pleasant berry scent. I can still remember my first meeting with the owner of this brand. Their brand message is food for the skin. That is where I got the idea to use fruits as part of my main props for this photo shoot. This is another example. This product is also organic. This is a healthier alternative to crab paste. Instead of using crab fat, the creators of this product used plant-based ingredients to make a coconut paste that tastes like crab paste. I'm not sure if you're familiar with crab paste, but in our country this is a delicious side dish. However, it's not very healthy. When I styled for this product, I made sure to include all the natural ingredients as props. With just one look, my client's customers already know a lot about this product, like the main ingredients and what to expect from the product. If you will notice too, I used a lot of wood and brown props in this photo shoot because the product was inspired by my client's grandmother. They told me that their brand message, aside from promoting healthy eating, is to bring the feeling of warmth and comfort to their customers whenever they consume their product. They wanted their customers to feel their grandmother's love. I tried to keep that in mind when I chose the backgrounds and props for this product photo shoot. That's my favorite part when styling products. I love bringing my client's ideas to life. I love seeing their reaction when they see the final photos. The success of my styled photo shoots came from the goal to deliver the brand message through storytelling. That's what we're going to talk about in the next video. See you there. 4. Storytelling: [MUSIC] We live in a time when the quote, a picture is worth 1,000 words is more accurate than ever before. This is the reason why I believe that product styling is a crucial part in making sure we present effective and high quality images to our audience or target customers. In the previous lesson, I mentioned that styling helps in storytelling. But what is storytelling in photography anyway? A story is a message that you want to share with your audience. It's what you want your viewer to know about your product or the product. This is important because storytelling helps in delivering your brand message. A brand message helps in reaching your target customers. When we style to tell a story, our product photos are more relatable. Imagine looking at this photo of my client's S'mores pie. It looks nice and clean, but I honestly don't see anything special. It doesn't activate that desire for me to know more about the product. But just a bit of styling can make a big difference. Just by adding these two ingredients into the scene, I now feel a bit of curiosity. Now I am a bit intrigued and interested. I take it a bit further. I include shots of the sliced pie and a fork with a tiny piece of the pie. Aside from seeing the layers of the pie, these photos are honestly making me crave for this product. This is how we tell a story through our photographs. We could show the ingredients, we could show a setup that brings back memories, we could use colors to intensify emotions. We can use props to enhance the story. When styling to tell a story, we could also use these questionnaire. Number 1, what is so special? Number 2, what is happening? Number 3, what emotions are you evoking? The idea is that your product styling has to have meaning. It needs to tell a story. This is a great opportunity to showcase your product's strengths, and your brand's message and values. A top tip in storytelling through photos, if your product story doesn't fit in just one photograph, you can create a series of photos to tell a story. [MUSIC] Now it's time to put what we have learned so far into practice. In the next lesson, we will start our creation process with planning, inspiration gathering, and choosing a theme. See you there. 5. Planning and Gathering Inspiration: [MUSIC] Now that we know more about storytelling, and how we can use it in styling, it's time to start creating our photos. You heard that right. The creation process doesn't start in the studio. It start as soon as you start planning for your photo shoot, you perceive the image in your mind first. The exciting part is we are going to bring those ideas to life. So how do we do it? First, we need a solid plan for our photo shoot and it needs to be written down. This is probably one of the most underrated advice, but one that saved me from a lot of overwhelming photo shoots. In my experience, the planning day is different from the photo shoot day. So what usually happens when my client finally sends their product, is that I get stuck and overwhelmed. I had to learn it the hard way. I now have notes and a shot list for every photo shoot, even the one that we will do for the class. I mentioned that I will be photographing this pair of shoes. If you're like me, the moment you find out that you will be doing a photo shoot, you suddenly get a ton of ideas. My top tip is to write down those ideas. I have this sketch book that I use for almost everything. This is where I put my brain dump and ugly photo shoot drawings. So yes, it does not have to be perfect and pretty. For this photo shoot, I started with writing the things I like about the shoes so I can try, and show that in the photos. First is the color, I love that I can pair it with a lot of outfits. Next is versatility, when I first saw it, I knew that I could wear it on almost all occasions. I could wear it on casual meetings, dinner with family, adventurous trips with friends, etc. Finally, I love that it is comfortable to wear. I love odd numbers so my idea is to do three different setups to show what I like most about this product. I wanted to tell a story that this product is light and comfortable, that it's also versatile and can match any outfit, and that it can also be worn in travels and adventures. To help me with selecting props and backgrounds my second step, and best practice in the planning stage is to gather inspiration. I do this by checking Pinterest, Canva, Pexel, Instagram and magazines. Basically, any resource that can show me pictures. I say this a lot in my classes, but this step is important because it helps so you don't have to start from scratch. For example, I got an idea of how I can show light and comfort from this photo, from Pinterest. My idea is to create a setup that looks like a bed with a fluffy blanket to deliver a message of comfort. For my other setup, I got excited when I saw these photos from Canva. I rarely use two bold colors as my background so I wanted to try it to show that the color of these shoes is versatile. I initially thought of using pink and green for the background, but after seeing this page from a K-Pop magazine, I decided to use pink and yellow instead. I actually ended up using this magazine as props too. Getting inspired does not end on Pinterest, Instagram and magazines, observing nature and your surroundings can also get your creative juice flowing. For example I am always fascinated by the dried leaves in our backyard and thought of using it as props one day and finally that day came. I searched for outdoor shoes on Pinterest, and got these results. The outdoors always showed rocks, grass, plants, and leaves. I wanted all my photo shoots to be simple, doable and indoors so I had an idea. Instead of shooting outdoors I will try and bring the outdoors inside my studio and that is the story behind this photo. From these examples, you'll see that your source of inspiration is endless. I also love that inspiration hunting brings me so much joy and appreciation for life. I also feel accomplished when I can turn someone else's masterpiece into another creation with my unique touch to it. So I encourage you to do the same thing. Plan ahead, write your ideas, write what you want to achieve, and get inspired. In the next lesson, I will use the ideas I wrote, and inspiration to choose a final theme. See you there. [MUSIC] 6. Choosing a Theme: Choosing a theme is simply deciding on what story you want to tell. To get your viewers heard, you've got to have them in mind when you create your photos. What would you like them to know about the product? What is the most important part? Another way to approach the story is to ask yourself, how do I want my viewer to feel? If you are having a hard time deciding, write a few words about how the product makes you feel. Then think about how you can trigger these emotions when creating your images or your photos. A tool that really helps me in this stage of crafting my image is the brand adjective cheat sheet. From here you can choose 1-3 adjectives that best describe your product or 1-3 adjectives that you want your viewers to feel when they see your product photos. Do you want them to feel calm, excited, fearless, or whimsical? We can use 1-3 adjectives as our main theme for the photo shoots. This theme will also serve as our guide in selecting prompts and backgrounds. Ideally, you can just choose one theme for your product and photo shoot to get started. But to show you lots of examples, I will be using three different themes in my photo shoot demo. Remember the characteristics of the shoes that I wrote in the planning lesson, I will use that in choosing my main theme. First, I want to show that it is lightweight and comfortable. To make it cute, my first theme will be light and comfy. Next, I wanted to show lots of color patterns and I want my viewers to feel excited when they see my product photo. I also wanted to appeal to K-pop fans after getting inspired by this K-pop magazine, so my second theme will be bold and colorful. Finally, I wanted to show that this product is not only cute, but can be worn outside and is a reliable footwear, so my third theme is fun and adventurous. One of the recurring questions I got in my product photography workshop is, where and how do I start? My clients are often overwhelmed with gazillion ideas, and it is causing more damage than good. Tons of unorganized ideas can be paralyzing, so choosing a theme can be a lifesaver. When you decide on a theme, your ideas are being narrowed down. You will be intentional with choosing prompts. You will immediately know what belongs and what doesn't. You have a clearer goal. For example in my case, how can I photograph these shoes when my message is light and comfy? We'll answer this question and slowly but surely bring our ideas to life in the next lesson. See you there. 7. Selecting and Sourcing Props: [MUSIC] Now that we have a theme, we can move on to selecting and sourcing props. But before we proceed, what are props anyway? These are objects that we can add to our scene as a supporting element. I consider backgrounds as props too, anything I put in the scene that is not the product or the subject is considered as props. When selecting props, I have three considerations, color, size, and purpose. First, let's talk about color. When it comes to persuasion, emotion is the driver, and nothing appeals more to a viewer's emotions than color. When selecting the props to support your product, you can maximize colors to convey a certain feeling or emotion. For example, if you want them to perceive a feeling of confidence with your product, you can use yellow props. If you want to convey a natural feeling you can use green props. If you want to convey a pure balanced and positive energy, you can maximize white props. If you want to evoke passion and energy you can use red props, and the list goes on. My top tip is to stick to a maximum of 2-3 color combinations, make sure that the color of the props you choose will not confuse or distract your viewers. Next is the size. To be safe, I like using smaller props. I actually learned this [LAUGHTER] the hard way. I have props I haven't used to this day because they are too big for my scene. If you have a big prop that you think will really help tell your product story, my suggestion is to capture just a part of it and not show the whole thing. The goal is to give your viewers an idea. For example in this photo, I did not have to show the whole magazine, just showing a part of it is more than enough to support the story. Finally, when choosing props consider the purpose. Whatever I throw in my frame, it needs to have purpose. Is it there to suggest something? Can I use it for a better composition? Can I use it as a leading line? This it contribute to the story. For example if you're creating a bathroom scene, what are props that can contribute to that story? It could be towels, a marble background, a soap, etc. If it's an afternoon snack theme, you can use table napkins, plates, and cutlery as your props. My top tip is to make it subtle. Choose props to make it look as natural as possible, make it look authentic and emotionally focused. Now, let's apply these three considerations and use props for our product photoshoot. Since we already have a theme, it will be easier to choose props. Let's start with the background. The first theme is light and comfy, so I'm thinking of using this fleece blanket. I wanted to create a bedroom vibe, and a want to convey a message of comfort and coziness, so I think it's a perfect background. For the Kpop theme or the bold and colorful, I will be using this pink felt paper and this yellow poster paper as my background. I wanted to make something like this, and I found the pink and yellow color combination from this magazine really eye-catching. So I got this poster papers from a bookstore near our house. Finally, for the fun and adventurous theme, I want to create an outdoorsy feel, so I think this brown poster paper can really help me achieve that. [MUSIC] So these are our backgrounds. Moving on to props, here are all the props that I collected through the years plus a couple of normal household items. For the light and comfy, I thought of using black and white props to stick to the theme and match the white fleece blanket. I think these air pods and reading glasses can be good supporting props for that bedroom vibe. I wanted to use a newspaper or magazine to add texture and layers, so I will be using this page to add to the black and white color combination. Next, for the Kpop inspired bold and colorful theme, since I got the idea from this magazine, I thought of using it as props as well. I think this chain necklace with a bold design will also help in creating the image I have in mind. I will also add these accessories just in case. I am sticking to colors, pink, and black to support the theme. Finally, for the fun and adventurous theme, I thought of using these dried flowers, but it doesn't feel right, plus I really wanted to create an outdoorsy scene. So I went outside and picked dried leaves, I also got this branch with dried leaves to make it really interesting. If you will notice I only have 2-3 props per scene. I have learned the hard way that even if you have a very few props in your setup, as long as they serve their purpose and genuinely support your story, it is more than enough. Now, moving on to the exciting part, the next lesson is about setting up and styling. See you there. 8. Setting up and Styling: [MUSIC] Now that we have a theme, a background for each theme and props, it's time to set up and style. I will be showing you my usual setup when photographing products for clients, as well as for my personal projects. I will not dig deep into lighting, composition, and settings because I have classes dedicated to those topics, so you can definitely check them out if you need guidance on that too. First, is the light source. I mentioned that I am using my all-in-one continuous artificial light, but you can definitely maximize other light sources, as well as natural light from a window. The main goal is to make sure that your setup is properly lit and exposed. My go-to setup is light at the side of my setup or side lighting so I can create a three-dimensional effect because of the form and texture created by side shadows. I also position my light this way to spread the light because I will be photographing from a top view angle. You can achieve this by setting up near a big door or window if you're using natural light from the sun. Next is the surface. This could be anything flat or you can place your background, product and props. I use this table for most of my photo shoots. Next is prepping the product. Styling is not limited to playing around with colorful backgrounds and props. Styling includes cleaning, and making sure that the product is picture perfect. In my case, since I am photographing shoes, I use this scrap paper to fill the shoes and give it a fuller shape. This is with and without the scrap paper. You can do the same thing with bags or any product that needs a little lift and volume. You can also use tissue paper, or any type of material that can serve the same purpose. I also checked for marks, dirt, or any imperfection that doesn't help the story. If you're photographing perfumes or products with a glass or glossy material, watch out for smudges. You can use lint free towels, paper towels, and gloves to avoid leaving marks and smudges. I also have different brushes to clean up my scene before taking photos. We want our viewers to be captivated by the beauty of our product photos and simple mistakes like a smudge, dirt, or distracting shapes can ruin that experience. Although most mistakes can be corrected in post-processing or editing, it can slow down my workflow, so I prefer to create photographs that require minimal retouching and editing. Our product is now pretty and ready. It's time to style for each theme. We will start with the light and comfy theme. See you in the next video. 9. Demo: Light and Comfy: [MUSIC] Here are the final photos for the light and comfy theme. The cozy appearance and texture of the fleece blanket really helped in giving that soft feeling. The AirPods, reading glasses, and magazine help in suggesting that homey vibe, and the positioning of the shoes made it clear that it is the main subject. Now, let me walk you through the process of styling for this theme. First is the background. This is very important because it gives a story context and gives a real opportunity to embellish a story. I wanted to stage a bedroom look. If my viewers can see and believe the environment I am portraying, the story becomes all the more immersive. I am intentionally creating these folds to add more interest and form to our background. Shadows can be trapped in those folds and can help make it look more realistic and dramatic. Next is the magazine. When I first glanced through it, I knew that I wanted the page showing only blacks and whites. I am placing it at the very back, so it will only show a part of it in the photo. Next is the product or the pair of shoes. There is no standard way to do this, but since my subject is not fragile and does not change appearance over time, like food, I can experiment and play around with the arrangement. The goal for me is to make it look like an organized mess. I also want the shoes to look pretty, so I'm positioning it as if it's posing for the camera. As you can see, I continuously adjust the folds to form a line leading to the shoes to help in my composition. Next are the remaining props. My go-to guide when arranging is visual weight. I spread out the props to make it look balanced. [MUSIC] Since I want a light and comfy look and I am getting dark shadows on the left, I will be using a whiteboard to fill in the shadows by reflecting light. Then I take a test shot. This is also an important step because looking at the final photo can expose mistakes, imperfections, and awkward arrangements. Because I took a test shot, I have a chance to make final adjustments before I get carried away taking photos. Again, here are the final results for the light and comfy theme. To show more examples, I also tried photographing other products using the same setup and props, and here are the results. In the next demo, I will walk you through in styling for the bold and colorful theme. See you there. 10. Demo: Bold and Colorful: [MUSIC] Hi again. Here are the final photos for the K-pop inspired bold, and colorful theme. I love the bold, and vibrant colors that I see from these images. I want my viewers to feel excited when they see my bold, and colorful photo and I feel that I was able to achieve it with my very simple styling for these images. Although I use very few props, I feel that I was able to create a K-pop vibe because of the bold design of the chain necklace, and the added ribbon accessory. The magazine really helped in the composition, and the overall look too. Now, the exciting part; the styling process. First is the background. I place the pink felt paper on top of the yellow poster paper, simply because the edges are straight. My yellow poster paper has a different texture, and has wrinkles on the edges, so I covered it with the pink felt paper. The positioning of the pink felt paper though is a bit of trial and error. I wanted to create a diagonal lines, so I am just experimenting with which side. Next is the magazine. Again, looking for that page with the bold pink, and yellow text to match my background. Since this prop is quite big, I am placing it at the back so it won't distract, and steal the spotlight from the subject, which is the product. Next is the product. I am arranging, and positioning it in a way that compliments the line that was created by the background. I wanted to create inches, and movement, so I am positioning the shoes this way instead of just putting them beside each other [MUSIC] Next are the remaining props. Same guidelines; I am positioning each prop to balance both sides of the frame [MUSIC] Then I take a test shot. I notice that the shadows are darker than what I intend, so again, I am using a whiteboard as a reflector to fill in the shadows. I also notice that the pink headband, and necklace look a bit out of place, so I am trying to experiment with the arrangement [MUSIC] It worked out for the necklace, but the pink headband is not helping my composition so I decided to just remove it [MUSIC] To show more examples, here are other products I shot using the same props, and styling. Now for our final theme, we will try, and create an outdoor vibe for our fun, and adventurous theme. See you in the next video. 11. Demo: Fun and Adventurous: We are almost done, for the final theme. Here are the final photos. I love how cool and badass this photo looks. It actually exceeded my expectations. I used exactly three props for this style, the brown poster paper, the dried leaves, and the tree branch. But I feel that I was able to deliver the message that these shoes are not only cute, stylish, and comfortable, but reliable even in adventures. The styling process is quite different for our fun and adventurous theme. The first two setups are flat lays, while this setup is showing a bit of the background because I wanted to achieve something with the tree branch. To achieve this, I am using a T stand to hold my background, then the tree branch. I was a bit nervous and wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off. But thanks to this tote, I was able to position the tree branch the way I envisioned it. Next are the dried leaves, [MUSIC] then the product. I got ideas with the positioning of the shoes from Pinterest, the ones that I showed you earlier in the planning lesson. Again, I am taking a test shot to see how it looks when photographed, then making final adjustments to the dried leaves. A top tip when arranging prompts is to maximize lines. You can use them as leading lines to create a powerful composition. Finally, it's time to take photos. [MUSIC] For more examples, here are other products using the same props and styling. [MUSIC] That is it for our styling demos. I hope you enjoyed them, and found lots of helpful tips that you can apply in your very own product photography styling. Just remember to consider your target audience when styling and choose a theme that will be most appealing, and relatable to them. You can also stick with your brand message and transform it into a theme, and from there you can attract your future loyal customers. The goal is to create eye-catching photos that deliver a clear message. In the next lesson, I will be sharing my final product styling tips. See you there. 12. Final Tips: [MUSIC] You did it. Congratulations on finishing this class. We have learned about why styling is important in product photography, as well as the key ingredient to effective product styling, which is storytelling. We went through the four steps to creating a scroll stopping product photos. Step 1 is planning and gathering inspiration. Step 2 is choosing a theme. Step 3 is selecting and sourcing props and Step 4 is setting up and styling. You've seen how you can maximize a few props to support your product, as well as how to choose a background to help tell a story. Now, for my final five tips, first is to think outside the box and be resourceful. Product styling needs a bit of troubleshooting. There are times that you can't get the image that you have envisioned the first time. But with a couple of tweaks, you might end up exceeding your expectations. Be creative in finding solutions such as putting, tack it on a stubborn sandal strap, or using scrap paper to create a fuller shape for your product. Next tip is to style for the angle. When photographing products, you can do a top view angle, three-quarters or straight on. Choose which angle will show off the best and important component of your product. For example I use this straight on angle for the fun and adventurous theme. The top view angle is more graphic, so I maximized it in the bold and colorful theme. Finally, for the light and comfy, I use the three-quarter angle because this is how we usually see things and our eyes are more accustomed to. For me, photographing it in a three-quarter angle, added to the homey vibe. Next tip is to handle shapes and lines with care, quite related to styling for the angle, you want your lines straight. Avoid built-in objects that look awkward. To troubleshoot issues with tilted objects, you can either reposition your props and product or adjust your camera angle. Next tip is to apply basic editing before posting or sharing your styled photos. Although our smart phones and cameras are advanced and smarter than ever, our human brains and eyes are still superior. It pays to do a bit of post-processing with your images. Most of the time, cropping, adjusting brightness, adding contrast, and adding vibrance can make a difference. Finally, don't wait until the end results to be happy. Enjoy every stage of the creation process. Explore your imagination in the planning stage. Let no limitation stop you from bringing your vision to life. Have fun selecting props, arrange your scene like it is a work of art because it is. Forget about perfection and get lost taking photos. Rearranging and experimenting camera angles, and know that as soon as you take the shot, and you are staring at it on your cameras screen, you have created something out of nothing. That photograph is unique, and was created by you. While you are looking at it I want you to remember this ear to ear smile. This is me telling you that I am proud of you and I can't wait to see those photos. Again, you can share your work through the class project gallery by clicking the Create Project button. Thank you so much for sticking around, and for choosing this class to learn more about product styling. If you want to know more about lighting your setup, as well as techniques in arranging and composing your shot, I have in-depth classes related to those topics. If you want to know more about the camera settings I use and the reason behind it, my next class is about product photography, a beginner's guide to camera settings. Make sure to hit the Follow button above so you will be the first to know when it's published. If you are sharing your photos on Instagram, please feel free to tag me and Skillshare. My handle is at @rosellenene. I hope you had fun and found this class valuable. But either way, please leave a review so you can help me and your fellow students in deciding if this is the class for them. You can do this by going to Reviews. Then click on "leave review" Just answer this short and sweet questionnaire and finally, "submit review" Don't underestimate leaving a review because I personally enjoy reading them and really positive ones make my heart flutter. That is it for me and this class. Thank you again, and I hope to see you in my other classes. Bye.