Planning a product photography shoot can feel like a lot at first.
What products do you need photographed? How many images should you get? Do you need models? Props? Multiple locations? What happens when the kids you’re photographing aren’t exactly thrilled about being in front of a camera?
I recently photographed a product shoot for TealBee at Blush Door Studio, and it was a perfect reminder that the best commercial shoots usually start with a really good plan—but still need room to adapt.
Start With What You Need the Photos For
Before you schedule a photographer, make a list of everywhere you plan to use your images.
Your product photos might be used for:
- Your website and online shop
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Product launches
- Advertising
- Blog posts
- Packaging or printed materials
This matters because the type of image you need for a product page isn’t always the same image you need for Instagram.
A product page might need a clean, straightforward image that clearly shows the product. Your social media might need something more lifestyle-focused that shows the product being used.
Knowing how you plan to use the photos helps us build the shot list around your actual marketing needs.
Build a Shot List Before the Shoot
A shot list keeps everyone on the same page.
For each product, think about what you need to show.
Do you need:
- A full product shot?
- Front and back views?
- Close-up details?
- Different colors or variations?
- The product being used?
- Lifestyle images?
- Images with models?
- Vertical images for Pinterest and social media?
- Horizontal images for your website or ads?
You don’t necessarily need every type of image for every product.
The goal is to figure out which photos will actually help your customers understand and want the product.
Decide What Kind of Photography You Need
Product photography can look very different depending on the brand.
You might need clean white-background images.
You might want lifestyle photography that shows your product in use.
You might need styled flat lays with props.
Or you might need a combination of all three.
For a brand like TealBee, incorporating real people and real-life interaction can help customers picture how the products fit into their own lives.
That’s where commercial photography becomes more than simply documenting what a product looks like.
We’re showing what it feels like to use it.
Choose Your Location Intentionally
Your location should support your brand.
For this TealBee shoot, we photographed at Blush Door Studio, which gave us a controlled environment while still allowing us to create a lifestyle feel.
A studio can be especially helpful when you need consistency, flexibility and control over lighting.
But you don’t always need a traditional studio.
Depending on the product, your shoot could happen in a home, outdoors, at your business, or anywhere that makes sense for your brand.
The important part is choosing a location because it supports the photos you need—not just because it looks pretty.
Plan for the Humans, Too
This is the part brands sometimes forget.
If your product photography involves children, families, employees, or models, you’re not just planning for the products. You’re planning for people.
And people are unpredictable.
During the TealBee shoot, the kids were not exactly having their best modeling day. We had to work with their moods instead of expecting everyone to magically become perfectly cooperative the second the camera came out.
That’s real-life commercial photography.
Sometimes we change the activity. Sometimes we take a break. Sometimes we move on to a different shot and come back later.
A good shot list gives us direction, but flexibility is what helps us actually get the images.
Bring Everything You Might Need
Before shoot day, gather all of the products, props, wardrobe, packaging, accessories and other details you’ll need.
I recommend creating one checklist and doing a final inventory before leaving for the shoot.
It sounds obvious, but forgetting one important product variation can mean you don’t get the complete gallery you were hoping for.
If we’re working with models, make sure everyone knows what to bring and what to wear ahead of time, too.
The more prepared you are when the shoot begins, the more time we can spend actually creating great images.
Give Yourself More Images Than You Think You’ll Need
A product shoot shouldn’t just give you enough photos to fill your product listings.
Ideally, it gives you a library of content you can use throughout your marketing.
You might photograph one product in several different ways and then use those images for months.
That’s one of the biggest benefits of planning your shoot around your broader marketing strategy instead of thinking about photography as a one-time task.
A Good Product Shoot Has a Plan—and Room to Pivot
The TealBee shoot was a good reminder that commercial photography is a balance.
We had products to photograph, images we needed to create and a plan for the day.
We also had kids who weren’t particularly interested in cooperating.
And that’s okay.
The goal isn’t to make every shoot go exactly according to plan. The goal is to walk away with a gallery of images that gives your brand what it needs.
If you’re planning a product launch, updating your website, or simply realizing your brand needs a lot more usable content, reach out to me, Cait, and let’s build a product photography shoot around exactly what your business needs.
Cait is a Weber County photographer and mom of two who brings warmth, humor, and genuine kindness to every session. She loves helping even the camera-shy feel comfortable in front of the lens.
She specializes in family, newborn, kids and baby photography, headshots, personal branding, product photography, and real estate throughout Weber County and Northern Utah. When she’s not photographing, you’ll probably find her at home with a book club or working in basketball shorts.
October 26, 2026
Cait Montgomery
