Insight
What makes product photographywork on Instagram.
Catalogue photography answers one question: what does it look like? Instagram photography has to answer a harder one: why should I stop? The two are shot differently.
Shoot for the crop you will post
Most product photography is composed for a square or landscape frame and then forced into nine-by-sixteen for stories and Reels covers. Compose vertical from the start, keep the product in the middle third, and shoot a wide and a tight of every setup so the same session serves the feed, the story and the marketplace listing.
Context beats white
A white-background pack shot is essential for marketplaces and nearly useless in a feed. Put the product in the moment it is used: the oil going into the pan, the bra under a shirt, the treat in a dog's mouth. On the FMCG account we run, every one of the top 15 Reels shows the product in use, none shows it on white.
Light for the material
Glass, foil, matte paper, fabric and food each need different light. Glossy packs want large soft sources and careful reflections; fabric wants direction so texture reads; food wants a hard-ish key from behind and to the side so it looks fresh. Getting this right is most of what people mean when they say a photo looks professional.
Consistency across the range
When a brand has twenty SKUs the feed is judged on how they sit together. Fix the camera height, background, colour temperature and shadow direction for the whole range, then vary the styling. Consistency is what makes a grid look like a brand instead of a warehouse.
Colour has to match the product in hand
Customers return products that do not look like the photo. Shoot with a grey card, calibrate the monitor, and check the pack against the screen before delivering. It is unglamorous and it is the difference between a professional shoot and an expensive one.
Plan stills and video in one session
Every setup that works as a photo works as a three-second clip. Shoot both. A single well-planned day at Touchwood Team produces stills for the catalogue, covers for Reels and the b-roll that makes those Reels watchable.
Tell us what the brand needs to say.
One team for strategy, creative, production and social. Send a brief and we will come back with what we would do first.