As Seen In Magazines: Luxury & High-End Product Photography Ideas

Did you ever see a photo online and feel like it talked to you? As if every detail was taken out of your daydream? Did you also click “Buy” directly due to that feeling? You’re not alone. There isn’t a single soul immune to effective visual marketing—or a strong photo.

Luxury product photography takes some skill and finesse, but we’ll get you there. Take a look at the key elements that make these photos pop and learn how to set a scene, use effects, get the details right, and use other tricks that professional photographers hide as a secret.

What Makes High-End Product Photography Stand Out?

So, what is that X factor that makes high-end product photographs stand out?

It’s not just one thing but a combination of factors. Professionals put a lot of care into every single detail when planning for product photography, and thorough research is carried out. They know their target audience almost intimately, so they simply show them what they want.

Of course, successful brands use professional photographers, scene dressers, and state-of-the-art equipment. Even then, they spend a lot of time editing and in post-production.

The main thing, however, is creativity. If you are creative, you can do a lot with just a little. There are AI camera apps that can help you achieve the polished look that high-end brands have, but you need to follow some unwritten rules of product photography. Such as:

• Avoid the generic photography look and aim for something original.
• Make it look polished by learning key photography and editing tricks.
• Always photograph your product from multiple angles—at least three.
• Show how your products are used through the power of storytelling.

Now you’re feeling slightly overwhelmed and don’t know where to start? Don’t worry. As promised, we have a list of beginner’s tips for creating stunning product photography.

Tips for Luxury & High-End Product Photography

1. Go That Extra Step

Let’s get one thing straight before we start—high-end product photography is not a typical Amazon pic. It incorporates all the basics, such as the quality and applicability of the item, but it uses these elements more originally. This type of photography exudes exclusivity.

You can hardly capture exclusivity if you’re not ready to go the extra step.

So here’s a piece of advice before we start—buy yourself a few high-end magazines for research and pay attention to the lighting, effects, and placement. They create a stealth-wealth aesthetic and give off a rich-person vibe that you need to recreate without breaking a budget.

2. Create a High-End Product Photography Environment

Okay, so here’s what you need in terms of tools and photo equipment:

• Solid camera or a smartphone with a powerful camera.
• Tripod that doesn’t need to be too fancy or expensive.
• White paper sweep or poster board for the background.
• Any kind of table or desk that is of regular height and size.
• Empty corner with white walls and plenty of natural light.

Product photography shows only items, so you don’t need much space. Honestly, you only need an empty corner with white walls and big windows to get the most out of natural light and shadows. You don’t need to pay studio rent to shoot professional images.

The same goes for the equipment. If you have the budget and you want to splurge, go ahead! But the truth is that nobody will notice the difference between a $3,000 Nikon and a Samsung Galaxy camera but you. There are more creative things to invest that money in.

Read more: best camera for jewelry photography

3. Luxury Product Photography Focuses on Logos

Think Disney, Nike, or BMW. A logo isn’t just a visual representation of a brand – it’s so much more than that. It triggers a sense of longing, respect, or pure joy, acting as a powerful tool that succinctly tells your brand story and instills consumer trust, making a product more desirable.

So naturally, you would want to incorporate it in your product photos.

There are several ways to do this right. If your product includes a logo, you’ll want to make it shine. Beauty products are an excellent example of this. Clothing brands sometimes include a separate photo of a brand logo on the inside of a T-shirt or the sole or the side of a shoe.

4. Make It All About the Product

Here’s the golden rule of product photography—always make it about the product. The item you’re trying to sell should grab attention and linger on. Professionals make the product pop by using background colors, lighting, and textures to create contrast.

Now that you have the customer’s attention, you must get their trust.

The best practice for this is to show your products from as many angles as necessary and include a photo story that involves a model. Zara does this beautifully—after a series of product shots and closeups that show the material, there’s often a model on a location.

5. Use Splash Photo Effects

We love it so much that we’ll never grow tired of it—the splash effect.

You know what we’re talking about. The splash makes icy drinks irresistibly refreshing. It envelopes cosmetic products in a revitalizing cloud of hydration. The splash is everyone’s favorite shooting technique because it shows the item as fresh, clean, and juicy.

6. Create Exclusive Lighting

Lighting is tricky for product photography because you need to get it right. The tiniest lighting mistake can make the product look cheap and unappealing, while perfect lighting can elevate your photo to brand-new heights. Unfortunately, lighting isn’t easy to master.

First, professional photographers use different types of lighting for different products because some items must be presented with clarity while others benefit from a dash of mystery. So to adjust the light and create shadows, you need to understand the product.

Then, what? You have a picture of a product in your mind. Now, let’s shoot.

Product photography lighting is manipulated through a combination of natural and artificial lighting, such as overhead lights, strobes, ring lights, and flashguns. The use of background and reflective or light-soaking surfaces is also important. They are all part of the light setup.

You may also like: Jewelry photography lighting setup

7. Luxury Product Photos Are All About Details

You can buy a plain white T-shirt in the basic section of any e-commerce shop. It’s an instant buy because you know what you can expect. You don’t need ten photos of it.

But what about an artisanal blouse made of cashmere? It’s about $400.

If you’re going to find an online buyer for something handcrafted or expensive, your product pics must be very convincing. In addition to showing the item from multiple angles, you need to pay special attention to little details that make this item unique and valuable.

Quality and attention to detail set high-end brands apart from the sea of others. The job of luxury product photography is to translate that exclusivity to the screen.

You may also like: how to photography T-shirts

8. Consider Packaging Images

Packaging photography is a type of product photography that follows the same rules we’ve mentioned throughout this text. Like with products, the setting, lighting, effects, and other configurations depend on the type of packaging and the brand.

As a photographer, you must consider the material and its texture to avoid semi-professional results. Placement, or how you stage products and packages, should maximize the subject’s impact, but it must also be eye-pleasing and invoke a brand’s identity.

9. Use AI Tools for Exclusiveness and Authenticity

There’s a lot to take in, we know. High-end product photography is not easy, especially if you are a rookie and you don’t want to spend more time and money than necessary.

If so, you will want to hear more about AI product photo generators.

Artificial intelligence can help you automate the technical aspect of product photography so that you can focus on creating a story for your audience. Aperture, exposition, field depth, different types of lighting, curvature, angles—you don’t have to worry about any of these.

Wondershare VirtuLook is one of the best AI-based generation tools for product photography. It allows you to create perfect product photographs in seconds without a studio or special equipment. The only thing you need is a good camera. A high-res smartphone camera will do just fine.

Creating luxury product photography with Wondershare VirtuLook is a walk in the park:

Step 1. Open the Wondershare VirtuLook website on your browser. Click “Get Started”.

Step 2. Upload your original image and left click on the area of the cloth or product you wish to keep. (Please note that it is recommended to use the try-on generation function for mannequin images and the product photo generation function for product images). For optimal output images, it is advisable to review the basic requirements for the original photos first.

Step 3. Change your background by Using Template/Custom Editing.

Change the style and background by selecting the different template. This option will change the areas of the picture that you don't want to keep to your preferred background.

Alternatively, if the template does not currently have the scene you need, you can try using the Custom Editing feature to generate your own customized photo.

Step 4. Lastly, you can download or bookmark the photos you like. We also appreciate timely feedback from you regarding any issues with image quality or any other concerns you may have.

You can use Wondershare VirtuLook for clothing, shoes, furniture, cosmetic products, different types of packaged goods, and more. The best thing is—you can use these images right away.

Conclusion

Luxury product photography can polish your brand image and make it more appealing to high-end buyers. Unfortunately, it is not the easiest craft to master. If you’re struggling to achieve the desired effect, AI tools like Wondershare VirtuLook can help you make magazine-worthy product pics.