So you want to take amazing product photos of your handmade goods, but you don’t have a DSLR.

Can you use your trusty iPhone or Android Smartphone to take Etsy-worthy photos?

The answer is ‘yes, absolutely’ and here to tell you exactly how to do it today’s guest, Chaitra Radhakrishna.

She is the founder of Pinkpot, a design and photography studio for creative handmade businesses.

She thrives on helping makers and product sellers grow their shop sales, revenue and impact through strategic, conversion-focused website design and product photography.

We had an in-depth discussion about all the apps, tricks, and outside-the-camera strategies to make sure you can create stellar product photos for your online shop with just your smartphone!

Listen below…

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Quotes and highlights from this episode:

• You can definitely use your phone to take photographs that are good enough for your shop.
• Not all phone cameras are equal – check your specifications.
• Two great apps to turn your phone camera into a DSLR are:
  • Pro Camera 
  • Camera +
  • Also – Camera FV-5
• “If you are just using the automatic mode the whole purpose of using a DSLR is negated” {Chaitra}
• F/Stop defines the focus of your photos. A lower F/Stop (1.2-1.8) creates a crisp focal point in the foreground with the background blurred. 
• ISO assists with exposure and lighting if your photos. Increase the ISO on cloudy days (400-800) and for brighter days use a lower setting (200).
• Be aware if you increase the ISO too far your images will be grainy.
• White balance ensures your colours show correctly. Use natural lighting (or a good artificial lighting set) where possible and avoid having any other electric lights on as these create a colour cast. 
• “No amount of editing can fix a poor-quality photo” {Chaitra}
• Combat shaky hands and keep your product photos crisp by using a tripod. 
• There are two main styles of photos you will need for your business – studio and lifestyle.
• Studio shots are the image you will use in your store. Keep these images as simple as possible.
• Lifestyle shots show customers how they can use your product in their lives. These images can include props that support your product in the picture.
• “Save yourself a lot of time and workflow by editing your photos on your phone” {Chaitra}
• Snapseedis a great app to edit phone photos with.
• Tools to explore in Snapseed include Tune Image, Brush and Healing.
• Avoid using zoom on your phone photos as it decreases the resolution of your photos.
• Use the camera on the back of your phone for product shots as the front camera resolution is lower.  
• Clip lenses: Ollo.
• Get Chaitra’s free product photography course!

When you sell online, you simply cannot afford to have anything less than stellar photos of your work.

The Create & Thrive Guide to Product Photography has been written for the beginner-to-intermediate product photographer.

Written by a professional photographer, specifically for makers with little photography experience, this e-book will teach you all you need to know to get started on your product photography journey.