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How important is sneaker photography these days? With social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter making picture sharing as easy as a simple click (with a filter here and there), sneaker pictures have become more important than ever – and who wouldn’t welcome more “Likes”? With that said, it’s important to step your sneaker photography game up if you want to be at the top percentile of Tweeters and IGers, and for those of you who are struggling to take a decent photo with your smartphone, this quick tutorial on how to take photos of sneakers should give you some help. We’ve got tips for photographers shooting on-feet photos on the street or setting up makeshift studios at home (all with smartphones, no heavy duty DSLRs needed), so read on below for some basic tips.
LIGHTING
We’ll start things off with the most important factor in taking good photos – lighting. The those of “what you see is what you get” rings especially true for photography, so if, by your own eyes, your kicks are too dark to see, it ain’t any better through a camera lens. Sunlight is the most effective provider of lighting, but sometimes it can work against you. Make sure the sunlight is hitting your shoes and NOT the camera lens.
The photos are taken during the daytime without sunlight hitting the shoes or the camera. The photo is well-lit, providing Rick Owens DRKSHDW Sneakers RICK OWENS DRKSHDW x Converse Toni neutri.
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The photos below are taken with the sunlight directly hitting the shoes. It provides a nice clear shot of what’s on feet, but Undercover s latest collaborative ISPA OverReact sneakers.
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Sneakers HOFF Empire 12106001 White Variety powerful eg shoe – the left (LunarGlide 4) is taken during nighttime, while the right (Space Jam XI) is taken indoors in a dimly lit area with a poor angle. You can see what the shoes are, but Hogan leather embossed-logo sneakers Blau.
ANGLES
We all have a “good” side and a “bad” side, correct? So do sneakers. If you want to show off your kicks or present them fairly, it’s best to get something as close to a side-profile as possible. The shots below are an aerial toe-box shot and the blurry sticking-your-foot-out angle – both photos don’t do the shoes justice!
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SETTING
The focus of the photo should be your sneakers. Pick a clean, neutral backdrop to place emphasis on your shoes and not on what’s surrounding it. A basic floor shot works best – the top of your bed or the floormats of your car don’t.
THE “NEW PICK-UP” PHOTO
We know you like to show off your recent pick-ups. If you’re gonna share with the world the newest pair to hit your collection, take a quick second to take the shoes out and present them cleanly against the wall instead of keeping them in the box on top your carpet (or worse, your Spongebob bedsheets).
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AN INEXPENSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY “STUDIO”
If you really want to take your sneaker photography to the next level, but want to do so on a budget, it’s a lot easier than you think. All you need is some basic equipment to build a make-shift studio. All the photos below have been taken with an iPhone 4s.
All you’ll need is pictured below, and it’ll cost you anywhere from $50-60, and can be potentially cheaper if you purchase items in-store.
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This is a photo of the basic set-up of the equipment. You can add construction paper (we chose a flashy metallic silver) for the backdrop. You can point the light directly at the shoes or above it to create more ambient light. Play around with the positions of the lamps to create a lighting style that you prefer.
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Here is the photo taken with the photo studio set-up. Untouched, unprocessed, and taken with an iPhone 4s.
