Creating the Perfect White Backdrop for Product Photography

Have you ever wondered how to take your e-commerce product photos to the next level? It can be incredibly exhausting having to come up with different themes or backgrounds for every product you sell.

However, you don’t have to do that, and you can still have incredibly well-done and professional-looking photos by using a white backdrop for product photography. Moreover, such setups don’t have to be as complicated as you might think, especially in today’s age of AI.

Stick with us to learn more about white background product photography and see how you can make the entire process more straightforward.

What Is White Background Product Photography?

As the name suggests, white background product photography is a style for shooting commercials, ads, products, and other similar things on a white background. The technique is commonly used for various products on e-commerce platforms to create a professional and trustworthy-looking product and increase its sales.

Why You Should Use White Background Product Photography

Photographers love this style, and it’s used in various industries because it has many advantages. Some of those advantages include the following:

• Easier editing – It’s safe to assume that most professional product shoots are followed by a post-production editing session afterward. That’s precisely where white background product photos shine, making editing much more straightforward while creating high-quality images.
• Inexpensive shoots – Although white background product photography might require some professional equipment, it can be one of the cheapest shooting styles. That’s why it’s a safe choice for many online sellers, as these photos are professional yet affordable.
• Consistent photos – Photos of white background products give a feeling of consistency, add another layer of professionalism, and increase trust in your brand, boosting your product sales by a significant margin.
• Attention-grabbing pictures – Think of how Apple does commercials and how many people love their products. It’s because photos of products on white backgrounds scream minimalism and simplicity, making them attractive and visually appealing. Such images make your products pop.

These are only some benefits you gain by using white background product photography, but there are many other advantages, making this style of shooting product photos an excellent choice.

Equipments Needed for Shooting Product Photography on White Background

If you want to try product photography with white background, you will need a few professional tools to get started. Those include the following:

• Camera – Getting the best white background product photos will require a proper camera, and you might need to invest in a high-quality DSLR and a good lens. However, our phone’s cameras have significantly advanced in the past decade, so if you’re on a tight budget but already have a decent smartphone, you can take these pictures with it.
• Tripod – Perfect white background product photos will require setting the camera to the smallest possible aperture allowed, meaning such pictures will take longer. That’s why you’ll need to hold the camera incredibly still for as long as possible, which is where a tripod comes in.
• Lighting equipment – Unless you’re using natural lighting, you’ll need to invest in different light bulbs, reflectors, white foam boards, and other similar things, which can increase the cost of your shoot.
• White background – It’s an essential part of white background product photography: the scene itself. You can use a well-lit white wall or create an artificial white background with paper or a sweep.

Depending on the types of your product photography, you might need additional items like clamps, tape, tables, chairs, etc.

Lighting Setup for White Background Photography

Adequate lighting is one of the most challenging aspects of getting the right photos of your product on a white background. Namely, this style of shooting product photos will likely require a well-lit room with a large window and a white wall or backdrop.

However, if you don’t have such a room, you can use different lighting tools to create excellent lighting conditions. Items such as 100-watt tungsten, 15-watt fluorescent, and 60-watt incandescent bulbs are highly recommended. When money’s tight, foam boards are a decent substitute for reflectors.

More tips:

• Lighting setup for cloting photography
• Lighting setup for jewelry photography

How To Set up White Background

Setting up the white background will depend on whether you’re using natural or artificial lighting and whether it’s a white wall or a custom-made white background. Most photographers typically set up a table, add a sweep, and strap it in place. You can do that by taping the sweep to the wall and adding clamps to the table.

After that, you’ll need to set up your lights and reflectors. The position of your lighting equipment will depend on what you’re working with. In general, you don’t want the light hitting your background directly, and that’s why the light source should shine in the opposite direction while reflectors guide the light toward your subject.

Finally, set up your camera and add your product. Adjust the lights, camera, and subject to your personal preference.

Placing Products When Shooting With White Background

Depending on what you’re shooting, product placements can either be relatively straightforward and done in a few seconds or take hours to set up correctly. Remember that post-production can significantly improve default photos.

In general, you want the product to be in the center of your image and the product’s label to be turned directly to the camera, but this is up to the photographer. Try out different styles and product placements and see what works for you.

How To Create a White Background in Photoshop

Adding a white background for your products isn’t a process that is limited to a studio or doing it with a camera. You can do the same thing with Photoshop, but it might take some image-editing skills. Here’s one of the ways to do that:

• Step 1: Open your image in Photoshop, add a new layer by clicking Layer > New > Layer, and rename it.
• Step 2: Head into Image > Adjustments > Levels and adjust the sliders to make the layer white.
• Step 3: Duplicate the original image by repeating the first step to create a Layer Mask.
• Step 4: Rearrange the layers on the right side and put the white background layer between the original image and its copy from Step 3.
• Step 5: Add a Layer Mask by selecting the button in the bottom right corner. You should see the layer with the white background attached to the duplicated original image from Step 3.
• Step 6: Choose a Hard Round brush from the Brush Tools Panel, set the opacity to 100%, and change the color to black in the Tools Panel.
• Step 7: Select the Layer Mask, and use the brush to paint the mask and reveal the white background. Paint the background around your subject by resizing the brush and zooming in. Hit the X button on your keyboard to switch to white, and paint over your mistakes if you make any.
• Step 8: After painting the white background, save your photo by pressing CTRL + S on your keyboard.

It’s worth noting that the Photoshop method will require prior photo-editing experience and can be overwhelming for product photography beginners due to its numerous options. However, there are various visual tutorials you can follow.

How To Use AI for White Background Product Photography

If the methods above seem too complicated or the tools seem too expensive, you’ll be pleased to learn that various AI product photo generators can do this much faster and cheaper. Such AI tools include Pixelcut, Vue.ai, Zeg.ai, Google’s Product Studio, Adobe’s Sensei, and arguably the best one, Wondershare VirtuLook.

Let’s take Wondershare VirtuLook, for example, and see how you can create perfect white background product photos:

• Step 1: Head to the Wondershare VirtuLook website, hit Get Started. Log in or create a free VirtuLook account.

• Step 2: Select Product photo generation on the left side and hit the step 1: click to upload button to upload high-quality images of your product.

• Step 3: Segment your uploaded product photos, and click the OK button to move to the next step.

• Step 4: After adding your product, hit Using Template in the top right corner to choose the background settings. Then press Cast the Spell and confirm. In a few seconds, Wondershare VirtuLook will generate pictures of your product in your chosen setting.

And that’s all it takes to use AI for white background product photography. Try Wondershare VirtuLook for free and see how this process can be shortened and done in minutes instead of hours or days.

Conclusion

Perfect e-commerce product photos take a lot of time and effort, but using white background product photography can eliminate the need for a fancy setup with different themes and backgrounds for each product. Moreover, your photos will still look professional and well-made while giving away that feeling of minimalism and simplicity.

We’ve covered the various requirements of white background product photography and shown you how it’s done, but you can also do it in Photoshop instead of in a studio.

However, when all that seems too complicated or expensive, you can try AI tools, such as Wondershare VirtuLook, and create magnificent, professional, and well-made product photos on a white background in seconds.