How to Shoot E-commerce White Background Product Photos

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White background product photography is a must-have skill in the toolkit of any brand, photographer, or content creator selling online. Whether you’re aiming for a clean e-commerce look, Amazon-ready images, or editorial-style product shots, mastering the white background setup is essential. It highlights your product, minimizes distractions, and delivers a professional polish that helps drive sales.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to shoot white background product photos like a pro—without the guesswork.

Why White Background Works

Before diving into techniques, it’s worth asking: why is a white background so effective?

White background product photography remains the gold standard for e-commerce platforms, with Amazon mandating it for all merchants. A pure white backdrop is an effective way to make sure that your product steals the show, with no visual noise meaning there’s no other place for the spotlight to be than on your product.

Key Benefits of White Background Photography:

Universal Platform Compatibility: Works seamlessly across Amazon, eBay, Shopify, and social media
Enhanced Product Focus: Eliminates distractions and highlights product details
Professional Brand Consistency: Creates cohesive visual identity across product catalogs
Cost-Effective Marketing: Single images work for multiple marketing channels
Higher Conversion Rates: Clean, professional appearance builds customer trust

The key is achieving that clean, crisp look without over-editing or losing detail.

What You’ll Need

The great news? You don’t need a full-blown production team to get professional results. At FD Photo Studio, all locations are fully equipped with everything you need:

Seamless white backdrops or cyc walls
Continuous lighting and/or strobes
Light modifiers (softboxes, reflectors)
Product tables or pedestals
DSLR or mirrorless camera (or a high-end smartphone)
Tripod for stability

Explore our Studio Locations to find a setup that suits your shoot.

Camera Settings and Shooting Tips

Whether you’re using a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or smartphone, manual control is your friend.

ISO: Keep it low (100-200) to reduce noise
Aperture: f/8 to f/11 for sharp focus
Shutter Speed: Adjust based on lighting (use a tripod to avoid blur)
White Balance: Set manually to match your lighting temperature
Shoot in RAW: For better control in post-processing

Composition Tip: Frame your product with a bit of extra space around it for easier cropping and editing.

The Ultimate 3-Light Setup for White Background Photography

Lighting is where the magic happens. Even if you have a pure white backdrop, it won’t look crisp on camera without proper lighting. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building a professional lighting setup:

1. Key Light Placement (Front Lighting)

Position a large softbox or umbrella light directly in front of your product, slightly above and angled down at about 45 degrees. This helps reduce harsh shadows and evenly illuminates your subject.

If you’re using continuous LED lighting, ensure it is daylight balanced (around 5500K) for color accuracy.
Adjust the light’s distance to control the softness—closer for softer light, farther for more defined shadows.

2. Fill Light (Side Lighting)

Place a second soft light or reflector on the opposite side of the key light to fill in any shadows. This prevents one side of the product from looking too dark and maintains balanced exposure.

A white foam board can also work as an affordable fill if you’re shooting solo.

3. Background Lighting

Use two additional lights pointed directly at the white background (cyc wall or paper roll). These should be set up symmetrically, one on each side, slightly behind the product and aimed toward the background.

These lights ensure the backdrop is exposed a stop brighter than your product, which helps it appear pure white (RGB 255/255/255) in-camera.
Watch out for light spill onto the product—use flags or barn doors to control beam spread if necessary.

Tips:

To eliminate unwanted shadows under or behind your product, add a bottom reflector or use a light table or use a hair light or top-down fill to lift shadows from the top
Use diffusers to soften harsh LEDs or strobes.
Use lighting ratios (e.g., 1:1.5 key-to-fill) to keep your product dimensional.
Keep all lights at the same color temperature to avoid color inconsistencies.
Take test shots and fine-tune the position and power of each light.

Advanced Lighting Techniques for Different Product Types

1. Reflective Products (Jewelry, Electronics)

Challenge: Avoiding unwanted reflections of lighting equipment

Solution:

Use larger light sources positioned further away
Employ white cards or light cone to create clean reflections
Position lights at extreme angles to avoid direct reflection

2. Dark Products (Black Electronics, Dark Clothing)

Technique:

Increase background light intensity by 1-2 stops
Use white reflector cards on opposite side
Use white cardboard for dark and shiny objects while black increases contrast of very bright objects

3. Transparent Products (Glass, Perfume Bottles)

Approach:

Backlight the product to show transparency
Use gradient lighting from background
Position lights to create rim lighting effects

Conclusion: Mastering White Background Product Photography

Professional white background product photography combines technical expertise with creative vision. By presenting your products in a visually appealing and professional manner, you increase the likelihood of customers adding them to their carts and completing a purchase.

The key to success lies in:

Investing in proper lighting equipment for consistent, professional results
Mastering camera settings for optimal image quality
Developing efficient workflows that scale with your business
Staying current with platform requirements and best practices

Whether you’re launching a new e-commerce store or upgrading existing product photography, these techniques will help you create images that convert browsers into buyers.

FD Photo Studio offers affordable, professional photography spaces in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Our flexible booking options and affordable rates make high-quality studios accessible to photographers and content creators at every level.

Feel free to head over to our website, check our online calendars for availability, and fill out our reservation form. That’s it! Our streamlined booking process makes it very easy to book your creative session in under a minute.

Call us at +1 (323) 454-2323, or email us at info@fdphotostudio.com. We also have a live support chat on our website where you can get directions, request help, or ask questions.

by Leslie Le

Categories: Blog, Photography Blog

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