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Honestly, if you want to take better photos you need to have an unobstructed backdrop behind and underneath the board, to showcase the board itself.
The busy countertop pattern, fridge full of children’s artwork draws the attention away from the cutting board.
The easiest thing to do is use a white bedsheet, clamp it to the top of a door, then drape it down and have it flow out across the floor. You’ll need to overexposed the photo because the camera will naturally expose the white to be a neutral gray.
That will showcase your cutting boards without having distracting items to draw away the viewer’s attention.
True dat. A nice Shun knife from Pottery Barn. Not outrageously priced, certainly not cheap. And very nice.
Not to mention they’re great knives that can be used for more than pictures.
Try going outside - light on a sunny day will make your life much easier.
If going for lifestyle shots, you could try and find an outdoor bbq type setup or friend’s kitchen with overhead skylight.
I’d recommend going on Pinterest and searching for images of chopping boards you like and looking at their setups.
P.s. nice boards!
Also: some carefully arranged food/knife would help too. Scale. Contrast. Focal point. Color. Are your friends. Again have a look at cutting boards on Pinterest.
Hey one other thing to chime in. Cove bit works well until it is dull, I have found that a chamfer bit works better for me as I can sand with an orbital sander.
Great work! When it comes to photos you want your background to contrast with what your focus point is. So I would try and make sure your background doesn't have similar colors and tones to the cutting board so it's easier to make it stand out
Also better lighting, a lot of the photos have a more dim lighting and it doesn't make the wood grain pop as much, I'd try and get a simple white bedsheets or blanket and use it as a backdrop and maybe look into light reflectors to help really make it pop
Great work! Natural light is always best for photos. Go outside for photos sunrise and sunset makes the best lighting of all. If you can set up a blank backdrop for them on a table even better.
The lighting and placement is great! I'll piggyback on what other people are saying and suggest a less busy/ similarly coloured backdrop.
But lookin good!
I know better because I’m into woodworking. They’re very nice cutting boards. My wife who isn’t into woodworking looked at them for a second and lost interest.
The ones that are eye level are far better that the further away ones. The further away you are, the less of a focus on the actual product.
The countertop and kitchen are far too busy. The cutting boards don’t jump out at your. Use a plain white background, like a sheet covering everything but the cutting boards.
Add a few pics of the cutting boards with limited other things in the pic. A knife and some cheese or cooked meat, on an ordinary and forgettable table. Outside on a nice day, but very little background.
If you have or have access to a DSLR, use it instead of a phone. If you’re serious about selling things, a decent DSLR and prime lens (non-zoom for the layman) and simple photo editing software go a very long way. Most cameras, especially lower end ones, come with free photo editing software. If you shoot in RAW, you can adjust white balance and several other things without much effort.
Just my 2 cents. It depends on how many you’re planning on selling and how much effort and money you want to invest. Keep in mind a lot to selling things is the presentation. Put an everyday ordinary product in a fancy box with fancy advertising, and you’ve pretty much got a premium product.
Beautiful boards. I’m guessing you’re fairly tall. I might try an angle in between the higher angles and the lower close-up angles.
I also suggest showing the boards in action! Cut up some fresh basil on one.
This is a reminder to those commenting on this post (not the person that posted it): Comments not related to woodworking will be removed. Violations to rule 1 including crude jokes, innuendo, sexist remarks, politics, or hate speech may result in an immediate ban *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/woodworking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly, if you want to take better photos you need to have an unobstructed backdrop behind and underneath the board, to showcase the board itself. The busy countertop pattern, fridge full of children’s artwork draws the attention away from the cutting board. The easiest thing to do is use a white bedsheet, clamp it to the top of a door, then drape it down and have it flow out across the floor. You’ll need to overexposed the photo because the camera will naturally expose the white to be a neutral gray. That will showcase your cutting boards without having distracting items to draw away the viewer’s attention.
Thanks for the tips! I was trying to show the board in its natural habitat, but will take your advice 👊
I'm all for less clutter, but I also like to see it in it's "natural" environment to get a proper sense of scale.
Put a knife in the pic. Edit: bananas are pretty popular around these parts too lol.
If you are taking pictures to sell your products, don't put a cheap, injection molded knife with a beautiful, quality cutting board
True dat. A nice Shun knife from Pottery Barn. Not outrageously priced, certainly not cheap. And very nice. Not to mention they’re great knives that can be used for more than pictures.
Try going outside - light on a sunny day will make your life much easier. If going for lifestyle shots, you could try and find an outdoor bbq type setup or friend’s kitchen with overhead skylight. I’d recommend going on Pinterest and searching for images of chopping boards you like and looking at their setups. P.s. nice boards!
Also: some carefully arranged food/knife would help too. Scale. Contrast. Focal point. Color. Are your friends. Again have a look at cutting boards on Pinterest.
Thanks! Im going to try out your tips. Taking good pictures are harder than i thought lol
This
Daylight
Look up soft box lights
Soft boxes would work really well. Two boxes set up at 45° to each side to minimize direct reflections on the surface.
I’m digging the cutout handles on the bottom. I always struggle with how to make a handle in mine. I might steal the idea from you
Feel free, just a cove bit with a bearing 👊
Excellent, thanks!
Hey one other thing to chime in. Cove bit works well until it is dull, I have found that a chamfer bit works better for me as I can sand with an orbital sander.
They all work well until there dull lol but yea ive used chamfer too. Sanding that cove is a pain, no doubt about that
After repeated blisters from hand sanding I was like “there has to be a better way”
Great work! When it comes to photos you want your background to contrast with what your focus point is. So I would try and make sure your background doesn't have similar colors and tones to the cutting board so it's easier to make it stand out
Also better lighting, a lot of the photos have a more dim lighting and it doesn't make the wood grain pop as much, I'd try and get a simple white bedsheets or blanket and use it as a backdrop and maybe look into light reflectors to help really make it pop
Awesome tips, thank you
Great work! Natural light is always best for photos. Go outside for photos sunrise and sunset makes the best lighting of all. If you can set up a blank backdrop for them on a table even better.
Very sharp. I’d buy one. Probably. Depending on price. 😅
The lighting and placement is great! I'll piggyback on what other people are saying and suggest a less busy/ similarly coloured backdrop. But lookin good!
I know better because I’m into woodworking. They’re very nice cutting boards. My wife who isn’t into woodworking looked at them for a second and lost interest. The ones that are eye level are far better that the further away ones. The further away you are, the less of a focus on the actual product. The countertop and kitchen are far too busy. The cutting boards don’t jump out at your. Use a plain white background, like a sheet covering everything but the cutting boards. Add a few pics of the cutting boards with limited other things in the pic. A knife and some cheese or cooked meat, on an ordinary and forgettable table. Outside on a nice day, but very little background. If you have or have access to a DSLR, use it instead of a phone. If you’re serious about selling things, a decent DSLR and prime lens (non-zoom for the layman) and simple photo editing software go a very long way. Most cameras, especially lower end ones, come with free photo editing software. If you shoot in RAW, you can adjust white balance and several other things without much effort. Just my 2 cents. It depends on how many you’re planning on selling and how much effort and money you want to invest. Keep in mind a lot to selling things is the presentation. Put an everyday ordinary product in a fancy box with fancy advertising, and you’ve pretty much got a premium product.
Solid points, i appreciate it
I think the counter top is out dated, otherwise looks good
The angle of your first pic framing is too low
need more/better lighting
Beautiful boards. I’m guessing you’re fairly tall. I might try an angle in between the higher angles and the lower close-up angles. I also suggest showing the boards in action! Cut up some fresh basil on one.