Each retail or online store picture needs to feature a fantastic product. Although composition and lighting are important, deft use of a backdrop may turn a plain product photo into an eye-catching image. See the various ways you may use backdrops and where to acquire them without paying a fortune. There are so many unique possibilities available.
Why Use Different Backgrounds For Product Photos
White backgrounds make products stand out and make it easier for people to shop. Although social media, marketing, and online shops could call for more distinctive images that arouse emotion and draw customers.
Thus, even if Amazon photography calls for a white background, you may get creative with your website or other digital platforms. For instance, Shopify has far fewer limitations on product photos than Amazon.
To design images for a more artistic finish, photographers frequently add eye-catching or complimentary backdrops. Knowing the goal of the shot and the intended audience will make picking a background easier.
Best Product Photography Background Ideas
The most common alternatives, as well as the typical applications for each backdrop design and color, are listed below. If you would rather edit your backdrop digitally, you may either hire a professional photography studio like POW to take your images or change the background color in post-production.
1. Plain White Background
There’s a reason why 76% of the e-commerce product photographs Pixelz AI modified asked for a completely white background. Several websites use plain white as their standard for e-commerce photos even though Amazon mandates it. White backgrounds provide your website with a unified appearance and focus the customer’s attention on the goods.
For your next product photo session with a white background, choose one of the following:
For your next product photo session with a white background, choose one of the following:
display board
a foam board
continuous paper roll
Vinyl
reflector in white
V-flat
White canvas or a comparable material in plain,
Depending on the characteristics, photography lightbox prices can range from less than 1646.91 to more than 24703.65.
While you may use a variety of textiles and fabrics, such as muslin, you must be careful to avoid wrinkles because you may need to edit them in post-production.
2. Off-White or Gray Background
Every product may not look best on an entirely white background, especially if the object itself is white. Off-white, light grey, and other colors of white can provide just the right amount of contrast to make the product stand out while keeping the overall design simple, neutral, and product-focused.
In a lifestyle shot, the eco-friendly cleaning product company Meliora displays its washing powder container against a simple light grey background. The background’s simplicity and lightness may also conjure feelings of freshness, which is appropriate given the brand’s product assortment.
Off-white backgrounds are another option for giving your product photographs a slight sense of separation and depth. Fur, a natural skincare company, employs a white backdrop as its primary color and a flat grey background beneath the items. The “floating look” that a pure white backdrop produces is eliminated by the addition of gray, and the overall finish nevertheless makes bright objects “pop” against such a neutral setting.
You may choose from a selection of materials suitable for the task of creating an off-white backdrop for your products:
If you wish to prevent difficult-to-work-with reflections or gloss, use a matt surface for your A3 (or larger) craft paper or cardboard.
packaging paper
Wall art
PVC or foam boards
The fabric should be considered in addition to tablecloths, linens, and tablecloths since it will give your photographs more texture than a flat board or piece of paper would.
other fabrics, such as a felt sheet
3. Black
For premium items like watches and jewelry, black backgrounds frequently work well because of their dramatic effect.
The most crucial factor when utilizing a black backdrop is to ensure that your product stands out clearly from it to prevent it from merging in. It might be challenging to photograph black objects on a black backdrop since black absorbs all light whereas white reflects it.
Chicago-based coffee company Metropolis uses a black cup filled with beans on a plain black background. The rim light around the cup and coffee beans separate it from the backdrop, and the reflection at the bottom of the photo adds dimension.
Norwegian design watch company Nordgreen employs a material with minute ribs and light reflections for contrasting surface detail to give black backgrounds additional texture. Although the background isn’t completely black, it nevertheless gives the picture a sense of luxury. The dotted material coordinates with the brand’s whole watch lineup, which also makes use of related materials.
You may use: to add a black backdrop.
Black paper or cardboard of any kind.
V-flat boards, which are made of two foam boards and are often painted on one side with black and the other with white
textiles and fabric, including a velvet
Black on one side and white on the other muslin backgrounds or double-sided (or two-in-one) photographic reflectors
Vinyl
Acrylic board, which enhances reflections and is especially effective for glass, jewelry, and electrical items
chalkboard or board made of dark slate (you can also replicate the effect by creating your own using wood and chalk paint)
4. Bright or bold solid colors
Do you have a brand with a distinctive color scheme or desire an eye-catching image to promote your goods? As long as the color doesn’t overshadow the product, you can use vivid or strong solid colors as a product backdrop.
Colors may be used to a brand’s benefit in marketing and advertising since they are an effective visual tool for evoking various emotions. Research demonstrates that color-emotion correlations are mainly global, making color an efficient means of expressing specific emotions to a global audience base without even including language in the picture.
Colors may be used in two different ways: as a vivid contrast to your product photos or as a complementary hue that blends in with the brand’s or product’s color scheme. For instance, supplement vendor Double Wood employs a backdrop that is the same shade of green as the label on the product.
Use Adobe Color capabilities to create contrasting color backdrops for your items, as seen in the image below for Milo’s coffee goods. Use the Adobe Color Wheel and choose “Complementary” from the color harmony option sidebar to get the ideal color for your product. The color wheel will provide you a complimentary color opposite on the wheel once you identify the color that matches your product’s or its packaging the closest.
You may also look at other color palettes or current popular color combinations used in the creative sector for inspiration. When you’re prepared to locate a background in the color of your choice, use:
thicker craft paper or colored paper
display board
textiles & fabric
Metallic, vinyl, and PVC sheets
If you use a speckled canvas, it could also provide some texture to your photographs.
Wallpaper
packaging paper
Create your own by gluing and painting with acrylics on canvas or seamless paper (you can also buy already primed paper or canvas which you can use for painting straightaway)
5. Patterns and Geometric Shapes
Use patterns or shapes for your background to give your images some fun and personality. If it’s simpler for you (or if you forgot to plan it at the time of filming), you may either do that during the shoot or afterward. The result might be anything from a subdued marble backdrop to spectacular forms (or a marble pattern duplicated on PVC or another material).
The backdrop of a zip sandwich bag marketing shot for the sustainable home care firm Full Circle is a subtle marble design. The design may be a PVC sheet, yet it seems like a kitchen counter or dining room table surface.
You may improve your images for high-end or fashionable items like accessories, cosmetics, skincare, jewelry, and others by combining various bright shapes to generate patterns. Just combine various colored pieces of paper, cardboard, vinyl, and other materials, as seen in the promotional image shared by the skincare and cosmetics company Florence by Mills.
Use this when the backdrop has patterns or shapes:
Paper, craft paper, and poster board cutoffs and sheets in various combinations.
textiles & fabrics with patterns
Wallpaper
packaging paper
Tiles
Marble surfaces for lay-flat shots or marble-effect PVC or vinyl sheets
flooring remnants with distinctive patterns
6. Natural Elements
Simple, inexpensive, yet effective ways to add interest to images include using elements inspired by nature. elements such as stone, leaves, mud, sand, wood, and others. The greatest thing is that you can discover these quickly and cheaply because you probably already have some at home (don’t forget to look in your garage, cellar, or attic for unused items).
From furniture makers, flooring firms, lumber mills, and any other company that generates waste you may reuse, you can obtain inexpensive or free wood and other cut-offs or boards. Free materials may be offered in certain local advertisements if you can pick them up or arrange delivery.
The usage of plants compliments the brand’s theme because natural and organic skincare company Luxurious Heavenly Bodies stresses the use of botanical substances in its products. To enhance photo backdrops, emphasize the natural quality of your items, or evoke connections with vacations, holidays, and tropical themes, you may utilize live or artificial greenery and flowers.
On the other hand, wood will assist in giving your items a warm, cozy environment. Wooden backdrops work well for images of food and things like DIY equipment. If you don’t have access to natural materials, you may purchase printed backgrounds made of cloth, PVC, and other materials from specialty photo shops. Just do a simple web search for your favorite content and include “photography background” in your search phrase.
7. On-Location Backgrounds
You may use the existing natural backdrops as your product image backdrop while taking lifestyle photos in a location. In addition to any existing windows, furniture, or walls in the space, you may employ a mirror, the floor, and a carpet or rug. Finding the many backdrop options you may utilize may require several glances around the area.
A room’s blurred background in the image below provides context for the items.
Don’t be afraid to try out new perspectives and creative compositions, such as shooting on the ground. You may also use your laptop and television to take smaller product photographs if you’re at a loss for inspiration or the setting isn’t what you had in mind.
7. Stock Images
You may digitally integrate your items to stock pictures in lifestyle composites to save time, or you can outsource the work to a photography studio like POW. You may photograph the product on its alone with a white background, clip it out, and choose a stock image to add as the background in post-production without having to set up a lifestyle session.
You are not constrained to plain backdrops in colors. You may select pictures of individuals or certain settings, like the living room set-up with models in the picture below. To create and photograph a lifestyle photoshoot like this, you would typically need to hire a professional model, a location, and a team.
8. Gradient Background
There is a subtle shift from one color (or picture) to another on a photographic background with a gradient effect. Multiple-color gradients are also an option. A common option is a gradient that begins in one corner of the image and moves to another color diagonally, as well as a straightforward top-to-bottom or left-to-right transition. You may also move from darker to lighter if you only use one color.
A circular (or rectangle-shaped) gradient, for example beginning behind a product and merging into another hue filling the whole of the image, are further imaginative choices. Also, you may blend vibrant LED lights or gels to add fun, utilize studio lights to make a soft halo around the goods for a straightforward gradient effect, or both.
Although you may purchase gradient backdrops from specialized backdrop shops, adding them in post-production is the quickest and cheapest option. You can paint a canvas if you want to make your own, however, it could be challenging to precisely regulate the gradient.
9. Bokeh
Jewelry, fragrance, watches, and technological devices are frequently enhanced in images using bokeh. The effect also works well for photographs of items with a holiday theme or of food and beverages in a cafe environment.
You may simply make a bokeh by using a camera lens with a big aperture, or f-stop, like f/1.8. Despite the name “large aperture,” you want to focus on the number immediately following the f-stop. For instance, despite the larger number, f/22 is a tiny aperture and won’t result in artistic bokeh.
If you have the option, use a prime lens rather than a zoom lens because the former typically allows you to have a bigger aperture. Longer focal length lenses, like 85mm lenses, will also produce bokeh more effectively than broader 24mm lenses. Check to see if you can change the settings on your smartphone from auto to manual, aperture, or portrait so you can control the aperture manually.
Each lens’s aperture blades, which can be either circular or polygonal in form, are what give photographs their whimsical appearance. If you want to spend money on a new camera lens, ask if you can test it out beforehand or go online for example photos to see whether it produces the desired effect.
Be sure to place your product in a position where there is enough space between it and any background, such as a wall, piece of paper, cloth, or the surroundings of a studio or house. The blur increases with the distance between your goods and the background. The converse is true while setting your camera; try to go as near as your lens will allow before it has trouble focusing.
Installing a light source or using a window light to generate those little circles of light behind your merchandise can assist. For this, fairy or holiday lights are fantastic, but you may also use reflective materials like aluminum foil or shiny glitter.
Where To Get Product Photography Backdrops
There are several alternatives available for various price ranges. The most straightforward but probably most costly choice is to purchase backgrounds from websites that are dedicated to photographic backdrops, such as:
Accent Express
Greatest Backdrops Ever
Poppy Bee is seen
Object Face
Fake Surfaces
You could have a certain item in mind. For long-term usage, materials including cloth, MDF boards, vinyl, and PE-coated paper are often coated or treated. They may be located by searching for them using one of the following phrases and your preferred color:
“Solid picture background”
“Fabric background for photography”
“Flat lay photography background”
But, you don’t need to spend money on expensive backgrounds as you can find many of the supplies at your workplace, home, or in discount/DIY/hobby and craft stores. The costs might quickly mount if you decide not to create a variety of backgrounds.
Finding product picture backgrounds need not be expensive, as in some of our aforementioned instances. You may create a diverse variety of backdrops for product pictures by using the resources you currently have and even by looking through a local classified advertising or retail establishments. Although certain background designs are more specialist than others, many internet retailers still provide such.
To find backgrounds, check out:
Things you have at home or work
Inquiring with friends, relatives, or coworkers, particularly if they have just had any renovation or redecoration
advertisements around your neighborhood for inexpensive or free products that are left over or that have been cleared out
Use natural elements found outside as your source of inspiration.
Online merchants including Alibaba, Walmart, and Amazon
Hobby, DIY, and craft supply stores
websites with specialized backdrops
How To Make Your Product Photography Backdrop
You may make your basic white backdrop for merchandise at home. Some of the materials could even be on hand already. Your background can be made of:
a paper roll that is seamless (or a large sheet of paper)
poster board in white
Cloth (be careful to smooth out wrinkles) (make sure to iron out creases)
Canvas
a foam board
a plain wall
picture lightbox (sometimes they are also called portable studio boxes or shooting booths
If you choose fabric, you may connect it to furniture with common pegs or a wall with soft wall adhesive. You may also buy a cheap backdrop stand with clips to make quick work of the shooting setup.
For some of the other material kinds, such as paper, stands will also work, although clips may be used with anything in your home, place of business, or studio. For instance, in a video, photographer Laredo Montoneri demonstrates how to make a continuous curve or paper sweep indoors using thick white paper. Post-production is simpler since you don’t have to edit the horizontal line where the background meets the surface under your product, giving the impression that the thing is floating.
If you want to shoot outside, keep in mind that you’ll need to weigh down the stand in addition to waterproof material, such as sandbags or a large camera bag. Within, paper can be a quick background option, but outdoors, it will be challenging to deal with.
Use whatever other white items you may have, such as poster boards or foam boards, for photos that require natural light. They function as reflectors, and the light is directed by adjusting their angles. Use a diffuser or even a white cloth or fabric to soften the light coming in through the window if it is too bright.
Maximize Sales With The Right Product Photography Background
For your marketing, product photography backdrops are like a white canvas. You’re free to paint them whatever you like, from the most basic e-commerce listing photo to a unique artistic visual statement that distinguishes your company. Even the cheapest backdrop options may be sufficient to completely change the look of your product images.