Joy Yagid's Top Tips for Photographing your Product

1. Always know what the main subject of your photo is and what background it looks best against.

2. Use a tripod to get the sharpest shot.

3. Consider your light source. Tungsten or incandescent lights will give your photograph an orange/warm cast. Overhead fluorescent (non-photo specific) lighting will give an ugly/green cast. Learn how to use the auto white balance on your camera.

4. Your photographs will look better if you use a soft light. To get a soft light tape foam packing sheets to the window that is your light source.

5. Flash is harsh. You can soften the flash by taping a piece of tissue paper or thin foam packing sheet to your flash unit. This diffuses the light.

6. You will get the best color if you DO NOT use flash.

7. Wear a white shirt to reflect the light.

8. Use a shallow depth of field to add interest. Part of your image will be in focus, part will be blurry.

9. The depth of field on your camera is the opposite of what you would expect it to be... For a shallow depth of field with a blurry background or "bokah" use an f stop of 1.4 to 3.5 (large opening). To have everything in focus use a large f stop of f22 to f32 (small opening).

10. If you are buying lights, Westcott is a very good brand for inexpensive lighting gear.

11. Go to http://www.kenrockwell.com/ for camera manuals written in plain English.