Taking Product Photos in the Living Room

Friday 2 October 2026, 13:31 by Rob Zwart | 68 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

It all started this afternoon with two perfume bottles, a camera and a simple idea. Taking professional product photos, right there in the living room and with just one simple flash.

But to be honest, the first shots were far from perfect.

Fierce - f/7.1, 1/160s, 200 ISO @ 85mm

Wood - f/7.1, 1/200s, 100 ISO @ 85mm

Because of the strong backlight, the photos were initially too dark and the bottles disappeared into the shadows. Sound familiar?

Don't throw away that 'failed' photo straight away! With a good dose of creativity and a few clever Photoshop steps, I turned them into what might well be professional advertising images.

The Transformation in 3 Steps

This is what I did with the photos above. In 3 steps.

Step 1: Dare to manipulate
Instead of fighting the harsh backlight, I embraced it. The dark photo of the Naturally Fierce bottle got a sparkling bokeh background and gold coins.

For Original Wood, I chose a rugged wilderness as the background and placed the bottle on a real wooden beam.

Step 2: Pay attention to the depth of field (Depth of Field)
Elements you add afterwards, such as the running woman or the eagle, are often too sharp. By applying a subtle Gaussian Blur to the edges, they blend in with the blurred background.

Step 3: Shadow is key
A product standing on a surface must cast a shadow. By painting a soft contact shadow beneath the Wood bottle, the product no longer 'floats', but stands firmly anchored in the scene.

The result?

Two high-end visuals that, if you ask me, could go straight into a magazine. Proof that you don't need an expensive studio to shoot great images. Do you also have a 'failed' photo sitting on your hard drive? Open Photoshop and bring it to life!

So the question is: what did it become?

DSC2058 kopie - f/7.1, 1/160s, 200 ISO @ 85mm

Fierce (result) - f/7.1, 1/160s, 200 ISO @ 85mm

DSC2048 kopie - f/7.1, 1/200s, 100 ISO @ 85mm

Wood (result) - f/7.1, 1/200s, 100 ISO @ 85mm

What do you think of the results? What would you have done differently? Let us know in the comments.

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About the author

My motto is: being a bit good is not good enough. I try to learn something new every day so I can do it better next time.

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