How to Style Photos That Work All Year-Round

Imagine if you could save hours of camera time by creating \r\nmultipurpose product photos that work as hard for your business as you \r\ndo. With just a few simple changes to the way that you style your \r\nphotos, you can build a growing photo catalog suitable for any season. \r\nYou’ll attract not only your customers’ attention, but that of bloggers,\r\n journalists and curators too. Hurray for multi-tasking!

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1. Use Seasonal Colors and Textures

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While you might offer special products specific to a holiday (like \r\nadvent calendars for Christmas or love-themed gifts for Valentine’s \r\nDay), many products are available throughout the seasons. Often when \r\nstyling photos to attract holiday gift buyers, the instinct is to hunt \r\nfor holiday props to set the scene. However, using holiday-specific \r\nprops, such as Easter eggs or Christmas decorations, may limit your \r\nphoto’s versatility. Instead, you can evoke a feeling of the season with\r\n more subtle prop choices that can fit into other season stories as \r\nwell.

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Imagine the colors and textures – and related props – that remind you of a season. Here are some ideas:

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• Spring: For a spring palette, consider fresh earthy tones and pastels. For props, try herbs, flowers, plants, citrus and linen fabric.

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• Summer: For a summer palette, consider bright \r\ncolors or neon. For props, try fresh cut flowers or motifs like dining \r\nal fresco, travel and adventure.

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• Autumn: For an autumn palette, consider rich, warm\r\n shades. For props, try tweed, felt, dark wood, leather, old books, \r\nberries and apples.

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• Winter: For a winter palette, consider cool, muted\r\n tones, greys, blues, whites, gold, silver and a splash of red. For \r\nprops, try weathered wood, fluffy and cozy textures, glitter, twigs and \r\nlogs.

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Use your chosen color palette for guidance when selecting props and \r\nbackgrounds. Or, keep the backgrounds neutral if the palette colors are \r\npresent in your product. Introducing color to your photos can be as \r\nsubtle as selecting a particular shade of ribbon to wrap around a gift \r\nbox in the background.

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Tip: People who create magazine gift guides often follow color themes\r\n too. Try not to mix too many colors in your scene to increase your \r\nchance of selection.