Guided Product Photography Workflow for Beginners

Workflows eliminate decision fatigue and ensure consistent results. Follow these exact steps in order every time you shoot products, and you'll get reliable, professional-quality results even as a complete beginner. No guessing, no creative decisions required—just execute the checklist.

Step 1 - Environment Setup (10 minutes): Find the window with best natural light in your home—usually large windows facing north (diffused light all day) or east (soft morning light). Clear a 3x3 foot area on a table, floor, or counter near this window. Gather materials: white poster board or bedsheet, tape, phone, phone tripod or stack of books, products to photograph, cleaning supplies.

Step 2 - Lighting Configuration (5 minutes): Position your shooting surface perpendicular to window so light comes from side (not front or back). Tape white poster board to a chair positioned opposite window to reflect light back onto shadowy side of products. Verify lighting by placing your hand where the product will go—you should see soft shadows, not harsh dark shadows or no shadows. Harsh shadows mean direct sunlight (wait for clouds or shoot during different hour). No shadows means insufficient light (move closer to window).

Step 3 - Product Preparation (2 minutes per product): Remove all packaging, tags, stickers, and price labels unless they're permanent product features. Use lint roller on fabric items, microfiber cloth on hard surfaces, blow dust from crevices. Check for fingerprints, scratches, or damage. Remember: camera sees every tiny flaw your eyes might miss. 2 minutes cleaning prevents 20 minutes editing later.

Step 4 - Phone Camera Settings (1 minute): Open regular Photo mode (not Portrait, not filters, not special modes). Turn off flash. Turn off HDR if available (creates more natural results for products). Enable grid overlay (Settings > Camera > Grid) to help with composition. Clean your phone lens with microfiber cloth—fingerprints create hazy images.

Step 5 - First Product Positioning (2 minutes): Place product on surface about 3 feet from window. Position product's 'good side' toward camera. If product has front/back, angle it 45 degrees so camera sees both front and side—this creates dimension. Step back to phone position and check composition using grid: product should fill roughly 70-80% of frame with breathing room around edges.

Step 6 - Shooting Sequence (5 minutes per product): Stabilize phone on tripod or book stack at product eye level (crouch down, don't shoot from standing height). Use 2-second timer to avoid shake from tapping shutter. Capture this sequence: (1) front view straight-on, (2) 45-degree angle from right front corner, (3) 45-degree angle from left front corner, (4) straight side view, (5) back view, (6) top-down view, (7-10) detail closeups of textures, labels, unique features. Take 2-3 shots of each angle as backup.

Step 7 - Quick Review (1 minute): Before moving to next product, review shots on phone screen. Tap image to view full size. Check for blur (reshoot if blurry), check that product is fully in frame (reshoot if edges cut off), check for weird shadows or glare (reposition and reshoot). Catching problems now prevents reshooting entire batch later.

Step 8 - Batch Transfer (5 minutes after all products shot): Transfer all photos from phone to processing location. If using Dreamess mobile app, photos stay on phone. If using desktop workflow, transfer to computer via AirDrop, cable, or cloud service. Organize into folders by product name for easy management later.

Step 9 - AI Processing Setup (10 minutes first time, 2 minutes after): Open Dreamess, select photos to process, choose preset or style. First time: experiment with 2-3 different presets on one sample product to find your preferred aesthetic. Save winning preset with memorable name ('My Amazon White,' 'My Etsy Lifestyle'). Future batches: just select saved preset. This front-loaded decision-making makes all future sessions faster.

Step 10 - Batch Processing (2 minutes active, 5-15 minutes processing): Select all photos from shooting session, apply your saved preset to entire batch, start processing. Processing happens automatically—go handle other tasks. AI removes backgrounds, adjusts lighting, color corrects, and generates marketplace-ready variations without your involvement. Return when processing completes.

Step 11 - Quality Review (10 minutes): Review AI-processed results. Check that backgrounds removed cleanly (especially around hair, fabric, or intricate edges), that colors look accurate compared to real product, that lighting looks natural not artificial. AI gets it right 90-95% of time. For the 5-10% that need refinement, adjust settings and reprocess just those images.

Step 12 - Export and Organization (10 minutes): Export processed images at correct sizes for your needs: 2000x2000px for Amazon, 2048x2048px for Shopify, 1080x1080px for Instagram. Name files descriptively: ProductName-Angle-Size.jpg. Create folders: originals (unedited phone photos for archive), processed (AI results), and marketplace (final sized versions). Good file organization prevents 'where's that photo?' confusion later.

Step 13 - Upload and Deploy (varies by platform): Upload images to product listings following each marketplace's requirements: Amazon (main image white background in slot 1, lifestyle/details in slots 2-7), Etsy (strongest lifestyle image in slot 1, details after), Shopify (multiple angles in sensible order). Write image alt text describing what's shown for SEO and accessibility.

Workflow timing: expect 2-3 hours for your first batch of 10 products including learning and setup. By batch 3, you'll complete 10 products in under 90 minutes total. By batch 10, you'll process 20 products in 90 minutes. Speed comes from eliminating decisions—you follow the checklist automatically without thinking about each step.

Checklist customization: as you gain experience, modify this workflow to fit your specific products and brand. Maybe you always need 15 angles instead of 10, or your products photograph better with back lighting instead of side lighting. The core workflow stays constant while details adapt to your needs. Document your customizations so you can follow your personalized process consistently.