5 Essential Photography Equipment for Beauty Bloggers
In the world of beauty blogging, producing stunning product photos is absolutely crucial. Readers go to beauty blogs to read about the latest trends and the newest products on the market, but the content they look for in these blogs is not confined to the blogger’s thoughts and opinions. Readers want to see the visuals. They want to see makeup swatches that provide an accurate representation of the colors. They want to see what the products look like. And of course, they want to see what the product looks like when it is actually being worn or used.
Some of the most successful bloggers in the beauty niche make the effort to incorporate beautiful, high-quality photos to go with every single blog post. This is because, as a beauty blogger, it is your job to provide these stunning visuals to keep your visitors happy—and to ensure that they remain in your readership.
But contrary to popular belief, a camera isn’t the only photography equipment you will need to make this happen. You will need a few other essentials (which you can purchase at your nearest electronics store or from online camera retailers like Adorama) to take the best beauty product photos for your blog:
- DSLR
There’s nothing wrong with using your smartphone, point-and-shoot, or mirrorless camera to shoot photos for your beauty blog. But if you want to produce great-quality images that show every minute detail in the products that you will constantly be featuring on your blog, a DSLR is your best bet.
For beginners who are new to photography and aren’t willing to spend too much, you can never go wrong with the well-loved Nikon D90. It’s an older (and therefore budget-friendly) model, but packs quite a punch in terms of power and performance. If you’re more of a Canon fan, the 60D is a comparable alternative.
As for the more advanced photographers out there, a good mid-range DSLR like the Nikon D7200 is a great choice.
- Interchangeable Lenses
Beauty bloggers need only two lenses for product photography: a macro lens and a prime lens. Of the two, the macro lens is the more important lens to have in your arsenal, so if you are on a tight budget, get a macro first. This lens is used for extreme close-ups, such as when you are photographing makeup swatches on skin. It will help show not just the color of the product but even the other factors that only a macro lens can capture such as texture, evenness of application, etc.
A prime lens, meanwhile, is a multi-purpose lens that you may also find useful. It is faster and offers higher image quality than that of zoom lenses. They are good for regular product photos that don’t require you to zoom in, as prime lenses have a fixed focal length and cannot be adjusted.
- Lighting Equipment
When it comes to shooting product photos, lighting can be very tricky. You can rely on natural light, but unless you work only during the daytime, that isn’t always available. You can also take advantage of desk lamps or any other lighting equipment you have at home, but this usually takes some guesswork since you have to place them at just the right spot and adjust the light bulb to the right angle to ensure that whatever you are photographing gets the best lighting possible
The most optimal solution is to invest in a Tabletop Photo Studio Kit. It’s basically a mini studio that gives you consistent, accurate, and perfectly even lighting. It’s an easy solution that takes all the guesswork out of product photography lighting, ensuring that you get the same, stellar results each time.
- Tripod
Using a good, sturdy tripod is key to taking the cleanest, crispest product images possible. Since beauty items (especially makeup) have certain aspects that need to be showcased in the sharpest detail, it’s beneficial to use a tripod when photographing products for your blog.
Having your camera mounted on a tripod allows you to easily tilt and adjust your camera’s position, which is extremely convenient for when you want to try various shooting angles without having to walk around your subject and contort your body just to get the perfect shot.
- Photo Editing Software
While photo editing software is technically not considered equipment, it is still a photography must-have for every beauty blogger. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom are both powerful editing tools that almost every photographer uses for post-processing, but you can really choose whatever you feel most comfortable with. After all, in product photography, you will rarely have to perform extreme photo edits. It’s usually just cropping, color correction, and resizing it to the optimal file size for websites.
GUEST BLOGGER: Liz Pekler is a travel photographer with almost 10 years of experience in the field. When she is not out exploring the world, she likes to share her knowledge about photography and travel through writing for blogs.