7 Products to Improve your Small Business Photography

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

You may know that I’ve had various businesses for the last 10 years or so. In my experience, especially when advertising or selling on social media, I’ve found that quality photographs and graphics can make a WORLD of difference. Think about it, if you are buying a shirt from an online boutique, wouldn’t you like to be able to tell the color of the shirt without having to ask the business? Isn’t it nice to be able to see a print clearly instead of trying to decipher a grainy, out-of-focus photograph taken in bad lighting? In this article, I’ll be going through some of my favorite products for producing quality photos of the products you sell. dget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

1. Lighting Kit (https://amzn.to/2QbxN8a)

  When I was selling clothing online, I found that this lighting kit fit my needs perfectly. It hardly takes up any room when it’s in storage and is very easy to set up. In my opinion, lighting is super important when taking photos or doing live video. Excellent lighting lets your viewers/shoppers see the product/you well and I’ve found that often results in more sales. At $52.99, this lighting kit gets the job done without making your wallet cry. Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

2. Light Bulbs (https://amzn.to/2CV0SkI)

 Lightbulbs are SUPER important for making sure you’re able to get a true color when you’re taking an indoor photograph or video. If I have sunlight available during the day, I’ll take photos without the lightbulbs. If I’m taking a photo at night, these daylight light bulbs are amazing. I always get so many compliments and praises that my colors in my photographs are true and I give my daylight bulbs all the credit. Invest in some daylight light bulbs and you will be thrilled with the difference they make in photographs and video. Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

3. Background for Photos

Now, this is kind of a personal preference (and, will also depend on your branding, but we’ll get there in another post), but I prefer a clean, crisp white background for my clothing photos. If you’re following the Caffeine & Fist Bumps Instagram or Facebook Page you won’t see many white backgrounds just because the blog is more for sharing information and life with kids, but, when I’ve previously ran businesses that focused more on selling product, I preferred a plain white background. Why do I like white? For one, it’s clean and doesn’t distract the potential buyers from any background “noise.” Plain white backgrounds are also super duper easy to edit when cleaning up your photos afterwards. Foam boards are very cheap (I’ve purchased them from the Dollar Tree!) and I definitely appreciate that. Sometimes the foam boards can get creases, but, I swear, that is not the end of the world. Those creases are super easy to edit out afterwards (more on that soon). Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

4. WebCam (https://amzn.to/2JtZOp3)

 This is the exact web cam I use. It’s super easy to set up; it literally just plugs into your desktop or laptop with a USB cable. The picture is clear and crisp and the actual webcam is tough and sturdy. I *may* have knocked it over a few times. Maybe. I know plenty of other reps selling through social media that use web cams that are not as cost effective as this Logitech camera. I recommend it to everyone. Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

5. Folding Table (https://amzn.to/2QcEw1U)

 I love this table for a number of reasons. I love that the height is adjustable, I love that the table folds up, and I love that there’s a little handle to carry the table when it’s folded up. While this isn’t absolutely necessary for taking photos, having an elevated surface will help to ease some of the strain on your back. When not in use, the table folds up pretty compact and does not take up a ton of space (small home owners rejoice!). Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

6. Tripod (https://amzn.to/2Qgehrv)

 A tripod will come in handy when you go to set up your tripod for a live video. Worth it’s weight in GOLD, I love that this one is able to adjust in height up to 60″. On top of the tripod, there is a base where you’ll be able to screw in the base of the web cam. Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom photo

7. Bluetooth Remote Shutter (https://amzn.to/2Dg9xz3)

 I LOVE THIS THING!! You know how it can get super awkward taking selfies with your phone? You try to hold the phone up, but it keeps slipping and you end up with a blurry photo? Or, you want to get a full-body photo, but you don’t want to wait for someone else to be available to take it? Or, you want to take a photo of an item, but your hand keeps shaking your phone *ever*so*slightly* and that totally screws up the photo. This Bluetooth Remote Shutter is a godsend. I am so serious. It connects to your phone and, instead of having to say “smile!” or actually press a button on your phone to take the photo, you put this little disk in your hand and, when you’re ready to take the photo, just press it. I’ve taken so many full-body selfies with this and will position my hands on my hips or have a hand in a pocket or holding a cup of coffee. I bet you never realized that I do that to hide my little remote, did you?? My secret has been revealed, but it’s all good because I KNOW this is going to be a huge help for you. Caffeine and Fist Bumps photography budget friendly small business direct sales diy work at home mom mom photo

There are SO MANY products out there that are advertised as “must have” for taking photos, but I completely believe this is a pretty solid list of wallet-friendly products that can make a big difference in the quality of the photos you take for your business. Did I not include one of your favorite products? Do you have experience using any of the products I recommended? Let me know in the comments!