5 Basic Tips for Styling a Product Shoot

Behind every cake there’s a mess you can’t see and what might seem like a perfect photograph when you’re scrolling through Instagram, clearly doesn’t start that way. Here are a few things we like to keep in mind while styling products and shoots for our clients, to tell their story as best we can:

Product styling for Homegrown brand Nangoo Coffee; Photographed by Studio Pyxis

1. Brand Colours are always a good idea

The most important thing to keep in mind while choosing the mood for your shoot is your brand’s colour palate. Using brand colours as backdrops set a great base to style the rest of the shoot around and ensure a cohesive look for photographs. Keeping a clean background and adding in a pop of colour through props is another way to do it.

Highlighting the product using luxurious accessories to convey the essence of the brand; Photographed by Studio Pyxis

2. Bring out your Brand Aesthetic

While picking props for a shoot, remember, all that shines isn’t gold. It’s easy to get carried away by anything that looks good on its own but doesn’t convey the look and feel of what your brand really is. Whether your brand is minimal or eclectic, modern or traditional, incorporating that in the set-up for your photographs is a great way to convey the essence of your brand.

3. Hero the Product

Your product should be the focus of the shoot, and that’s that. Before adding anything to the frame, asking the simple question, ‘Does this help highlight the product in any way?’, is an easy way to constantly check that the product remains the focus of the shoot.

Festive shoot for an Indian Jewellery brand; Photographed by Studio Pyxis

4. Stick to a theme

To ensure that there exists some level of cohesiveness between images of similar products, but each image doesn’t end up looking the same, pick a theme for each shoot. It helps to take inspiration from the product’s usage as well as your surroundings. Photoshoots can be a reflection of an individual’s moods, seasons or even festivals. Having an overall theme also ensures that the consumer can distinguish between a variety of products.

Product styling for artisanal food brand Gouri’s Goodies; Photographed by Studio Pyxis

5. Less is more

Last but not the least, less is almost always more. While it’s important to make each image eye-catching to grab the attention of people waiting to scroll past it, it’s easy to overpower the product with too many stylistic additions. Constant adding, subtracting and playing around with props can sometimes overcrowd the frame. Make sure that there is sufficient breathing space around the product and that the product itself is never overshadowed by the props.

We help you tell your brand story in all that we do and make sure that each image we style conveys it. Click here to check out some of the shoots and products we’ve styled!