A plain guide to the types of product photography

"Product photography" covers a lot of very different jobs. When a brand gets in touch, one of the first things I figure out is which kind they actually need. Here's a quick, jargon-free guide.

E-commerce

Clean, clear, and accurate. Usually a plain background, the product from a few angles, and close-ups of details. The goal is simple: show shoppers exactly what they're buying so they can buy it with confidence. It's not glamorous, but it's the backbone of most online shops.

Lifestyle

The product in a real-life moment: a mug on a sunny breakfast table, a bag on someone's shoulder. Lifestyle images help people imagine the product in their own life. They're great for social media and ads.

Food

Food has to look good enough to eat, and it often has to stay looking that way for hours under lights. It takes a lot of styling: the right crumbs, the right drip, the right moment. As someone who cooks every day, this is one of my favourite kinds of work.

Beauty and cosmetics

Lipsticks, serums, creams, and palettes. Here it's all about texture, colour accuracy, and a little bit of desire. Swatches, smears, and drips show what the product feels like. This is where I've done a huge part of my commercial work, for brands from Maybelline to Glow Recipe.

Fashion and accessories

Clothing, bags, and jewellery. Styling and fit matter a lot, and the images need to say something about the brand's attitude, not just the garment.

Tech and electronics

Precise and clean. Lines, reflections, and finishes are hard to light well. The look is usually sleek and controlled.

Interiors and home

Furniture, decor, and homeware shot in a room or a built corner of one. This leans on interior styling: how things sit together in a space.

Conceptual

This is the fun one. Conceptual product photography uses ideas, metaphors, and built sets to make a product memorable: phones wrapped in paper butterflies, lipsticks playing chess, a serum floating in a cloud. It's what most of my work looks like, and it's what brands come to me for when they want something nobody else has.

Where prop styling comes in

Whatever the type, the props and set do a lot of the talking. They add colour, context, and a story around the product. Sometimes that's one perfect surface. Sometimes it's a whole little world. At Sunny East Side, the sets are built by hand from thrifted, flea-market, and found objects. We're for the colourful, the loud, and the playful.

Not sure which kind you need? Have a look at the portfolio, then say hej. We'll work it out together.