Top 3 Skills When Starting Product Photography | #25

Willingness To Learn

You need to have an eagerness to learn. Being open-minded and knowing that there is a lot to learn will take you farther than anything else when you’re starting out in product photography.

I knew nothing about lighting, composition, technical requirements, or photoshop when I was starting out. I studied chemistry in college. What I did have was a willingness to learn. I consumed YouTube video after video. I read lighting guides. I practiced what I learned, failed, and tried again.

I was a sponge absorbing all the info I could. Eventually, I got better and better. Now I get paid thousands to take product photos. You can too.

Problem Solving

A lot will go wrong in your product photography shoots. You have to be able to solve these problems to get the best photos possible.

What happens when you get an ugly reflection on a glass bottle you haven’t seen before? Do you angle the bottle? Adjust the light stand? Remove it in photoshop?

What about clients that have a creative direction you’ve never attempted? Do you say no to the project, or do you accept their proposal and figure it out along the way?

You’ve got options, it’s up to you to pick the best option for the problem at hand, implement that solution, and yes, learn from it.

Patience and Perseverance

I sucked when I started product photography. I recognized that’s part of the process. I knew that if I put in the hours I would get better over time.

Having patience got me to where I am today. I persevered through the tough times and it paid off.

There will be days when your shoots don’t go as planned. There will be photos that need 20 takes to get right. If you can have the patience to make it through this, I promise you will come out the other side a better product photographer.

Where’s Creativity?

Notice how creativity didn’t crack the top 3. You don’t need to be creative. Your willingness to learn will eventually make you more and more creative. You can draw massive inspo from other photographers and other brands. Just try and copy them when you’re starting out to get good. Creativity will be learned along the way.