Quality candle photography is essential to growing your candle business within the competitive market. Whether the content is for social media, eCommerce websites, or email marketing, great photos set your brand apart from your competitors. We’ve compiled a list of tips on how to make the most of your candle photography.
Start with Your Brand Vision
When your audience sees your candle photography, it’s important that they feel in tune with your brand. What feelings should your customers experience when they see your candle? When do they smell it and place it in their home? Keep these questions in mind as you start planning photoshoots for your business.
Candle photography may aim to make an audience feel happy, nostalgic, or warm. The photos can make people calm or perhaps portray a romantic setting. Product photography can follow many avenues, and the first step is to define one.
Make a Plan
Your candle business may need different types of photography for various channels and purposes. A plan of action here could consider blog images, email marketing campaigns, and social media. Your eCommerce site, too, needs several simple photos for each product.
Before you begin any photoshoots, it’s best to prepare. We suggest making a list of product shots that your business will need. A good list helps organize your ideas and ensures the photography process is done thoroughly.
Simple eCommerce Candle Photography
On your eCommerce site, your business’ candles should be the #1 focus of their individual product pages. Feature images here often include a basic, white background that draws all attention to your candle.
Flat lay and lifestyle photos may spruce up a product page and entice more customers. However, the first image shown should be a product-focused photo as mentioned. On listing pages where many candles appear in a grid, these white-background images also aid in consistency and page legibility.
Flat Lay Candle Photography
Flat lay photography produces images from a bird’s eye view of the subject. You can use this style to take stunning photos of a candle, or multiple, sitting among various props. Common items seen in flat lay candle photography include books, clothes, and flowers. Your brand vision should help you decide on the items to photograph alongside your candle.
By taking photos from above a nice surface, you get a flat, textured background to complement your candle. If you don’t have access to a suitable table or background, it’s no problem. Home improvement stores typically sell tile samples that make for great photo backgrounds.
Flat lay candle photography may work particularly well for your email marketing campaigns. The flat nature of the photos tends to make them good as header images. If you use design templates like those from Mailchimp, your emails begin with a captivating and professional photo.
Lifestyle Photography
You may also consider capturing some lifestyle photos for your candle business. Lifestyle photography shows your audience more than just the business side of your candle. More specifically, the photos show how your candle may look in your audience’s homes. Pairing the product with a cozy or familiar environment entices customers by attaching a personality to your product.
Though you may not want to use inventory, lighting candles for lifestyle photography may be well worth it. The images are more personable and captivating with the flame.
Lifestyle photography is great for social media & blogs. In these spaces, you may see more engagement by showing a relatable brand and personality, as you can with lifestyle photos.
Other Photography Tips to Keep in Mind:
- Shoot in good lighting: The colors of your candle and its surroundings should translate well to the final photo, which requires proper lighting. You may use studio lighting or natural lighting, though the former may be easier to plan for. However, ring lights are relatively cheap to purchase on Amazon and other eCommerce sites.
- Invest in a reliable camera: This one goes without saying; quality cameras make for quality photographs. Find cameras that suit your candle photography needs on this list.
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- Use a tripod: Clear and distinctive product photography is a must. Tripods reduce blur that would otherwise appear in freehand photography; this helps ensure your pictures are professional.
- Capture multiple angles: Especially when shooting in batch, it may be tempting to take just one or two photos of each product before moving on. To avoid the burden of a photoshoot re-do, make sure to take more pictures than needed.
- Show off the details: Aesthetic details, like light refraction off candle glass, can make a good picture a great one. This tip also implies that you should make sure your candle and props are clean before shooting. No smudges on the candle glass!
Conclusion
For your candle business, you’ll surely need a lot of photography. Between product photos for your online shop and lifestyle photos for your socials, there are plenty of assets to create. Remember to prepare a list of photos you need in advance—and let the brand vision guide your lens.
Interested in learning tips on starting a candle business? Check out our blog that covers scents, types of candle wax, and more.
