I know that hiring a professional product photographer may not be in the cards for everyone financially. And that’s okay. That being said, I think small businesses should have good photos of their products as well. In order to help some of my fellow small business owners, I wanted to share 5 tips for better cell phone product photos.

1. Clean your lens(es) for better cell phone product photos

This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t clean their cell phone camera lens(es). This simple step can take your images from looking blurry or dull to looking crisp and vibrant. Here are some tools I recommend for cleaning your lens(es). 1. Lens wipe/lens pen: This is literally like a wet wipe for your lens(es). You can order them online from places like Amazon (affiliate link) or in stores like Best Buy or your local camera store. 2. Microfiber cloth: This is a cloth that shouldn’t scratch your lens(es) or leave lint. You can find them online (affiliate link), at like Best Buy, or your local camera store. Using these two tools will make your lens(es) extra clean.

2. Find better lighting

Lighting can make or break your images. If you want to have better images, find good lighting. What is good lighting you ask? It honestly depends on what look you’re going for, but I would say for most people, it is a large diffused light source. You don’t need fancy photography equipment to get that kind of lighting. You can use a window (the larger the better) and a thin white sheet covering the window to diffuse the light.

3. Learn about composition

You want to learn some basic rules of composition. This is especially true if you are going to have multiple items in your photos. One of the first rules of composition most people learn is the rule of thirds. This is where you imagine a grid broken into three sections vertically and horizontally. A lot of camera phones these days have it so you can actually add the grid to your screen. You generally want to place your main object along one of those lines instead of just the center of the screen.

This also means taking your background into consideration. Make sure the background for your images is not super busy or junky. They can make your images look a bit more unprofessional and amateur. Once you get better at composition, your images will be more aesthetically pleasing.

4. Color theory is your friend

Now, this may be a little extra, but learning about color theory can be very useful. Color theory is essentially the rules and guidelines for creating visually appealing color schemes. By learning color theory, you’ll know what colors work best with your products and what color combos to use depending on the vibe you want to present to the world. You don’t necessarily need to learn color theory for all the colors, but if your brand colors are purple and yellow, you can focus on learning color theory regarding those images.

5. Spend time learning to edit

Learning how to be a good editor can elevate your photos from meh to wow. Now, I’m not saying you have to learn to be a photoshop pro, but there are plenty of easier editing apps that can help you have more refined photos. Check out some apps like Lightroom, VSCO, and Snapseed. When editing, you don’t have to go to any extreme, but maybe your image is a little dark because the light was fading. Use your editing app to make the image a little bit brighter.

So there you have it. There are my 5 tips for better cell phone product photos. I just wanted to share these tips with you to help you take some better photos. (Also, feel free to check out my post about 3 ways to use your product photos.) If you’ve decided that you would rather have a professional handle your product photos, jump on my calendar by clicking the button so we can talk about your vision.