We will all have read about the fundamental rules in photography, often finding sources that argue against those rules to make it even more confusing. As a result, it can be difficult as a product photographer or packshot studio to move away from standard, safe rules that people live by such as the rule of thirds, colour theory or lighting.

It is our task today to highlight some of those rules and explore how they can be broken to create some exciting product photographs.

The rule of thirds

Quite possibly the oldest, most widely shared rule between each and every product photographer, and in our opinion one that can often be broken. We understand the reasons behind the rule, as it helps with the composition of a shot, keeping it in line with the majority of other images that your packshot studio has created for clients.

However, there are situations where this rule of thirds isn’t applicable such as close up shots for beauty product photography. With such a focus on a persons face, forget having to be perfect with the composition and see how you can discover different angles, points of view and focus.

Lighting

Lighting for a product photographer is possibly the number one consideration on every shoot and as a result, the rules are very clear. The go-to guidance is often to choose a soft and diffused light source to really make the image visually attractive. However, in some forms in product photography, a packshot studio will want to consider hard light and different types of reflection.

For example, when working with jewellery photography hard light can help to pick out the intricate, delicate details that your client and their customers will want to see. The main idea we want to get across here is that there isn’t a single lighting setup or list of equipment that does the job, being creative and using different tools leads to a more creative and unique result.

Cropping and editing

Let’s start here by saying that as a product photographer, you shouldn’t lose track of taking the very best shots possible. Editing images, such as cropping them can’t entirely repair or replace a poorly thought out photoshoot. However, there are some significant advantages to spending time in the editing room after you’ve taken an array of images.

With the advances in technology, both in terms of cameras and software you can retouch, crop and edit an image and it helps lift your product photograph up to a whole new level. It may be you want to really focus on a product and so cropping more of a photograph than normal actually boosts the results, as opposed to feeling fake or over-edited. Play around and you will discover some fantastic results.

Summary

This article is all about looking at standard, safe rules and seeing how they can be bent or broken to truly transform your product photographs. As a packshot studio or professional product photographer, you should always be searching for those small improvements, creative differences that help you stand out from the crowd.