6 Everyday Household Items You Can Use As Backdrops For Product Photography

June 8, 2015 ·Laya Gerlock4 Comments

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Having a nice backdrop for your product shots really add interest to your product. I still prefer keeping it simple by using my trustyGranite Tile and myDIY Wood Table but I wanted to see what other everyday items I can use for backdrops in my photography.

The general setup:

I wanted to make this tutorial as simple as possible so I was using only 1 light, the modeling light of my studio strobe shot through a white acrylic sheet (white cloth or normal softbox would also do) and a DIY reflector made out of silver wrapping paper for the fill light.

I was shooting with aFuji xe-2 and a 18-55 kit lens for the shot. Settings were ISO 1600, f4, at around 1/60sec.

1. Found Rocks

I wanted to illustrate how tough and durable the watch was, I also wanted some kind of camouflage look so I went outside and got some rocks from our garden.

Setup Shot

2. The Carpet

I have this furry carpet that I use in my studio and it was the perfect backdrop for this white jewelry box. Went with a white on white setup for this product.

Setup Shot

3. Sand

Not really an everyday household item but I had some in the back of my car. Me and the girlfriend love to go to the beach and we had a bag full of sand so it was the perfect backdrop for this sunglasses shot.

For this shot I pulled the acrylic sheet very close to the subject to get a really soft light on the product. While we only used a little bit of sand the feel of the shoot is as if it was taken on a beach.

Setup Shot

4. Coffee Beans

These coffee beans are always in my studio in case I need to shoot anything that has to do with coffee.

Setup Shot

5. Carbon Fiber Sticker

I used this carbon fiber sticker in one of my projects a while back  making my lenses acarbon fiber lens hood, and I still had some stock.

Setup Shot

6. Leather Jacket

And lastly, this brown leather jacket.

Setup Shot

So those are 6 really easy household items you can use for product photography and really easy lighting technique that you can use. What do you use?