Setting up a product photography studio | Omi.so

Jan 31, 2025

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Setting up a product photography studio | Omi.so

Clear, eye-catching visuals are an essential part of the customer journey. They engage potential customers and facilitate their purchasing decisions, which means a larger audience and increased conversions for you. Because of this, good product photography isn’t just beneficial — it's non-negotiable.

Behind every scroll-stopping image is a well-designed product photography studio: a space that helps you capture consistent, high-quality visuals that reflect your brand, highlight key product details, and engage your audience.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through setting up a photography studio, plus discuss a transformative virtual alternative to a physical studio.

How do you set up a product photography studio?

A well-organized and equipped product photography studio gives you the tools you need to create visuals that generate revenue. Here are our tips and best practices for setting up your own.

Invest in quality camera equipment

The quality of your images hinges on the quality of your photography equipment, starting with your camera. A DSLR or mirrorless camera will help you capture high-resolution images that showcase your product in its best light.

There are some really high-quality cameras on the market, and budget should be a serious consideration when doing your research; you can easily spend thousands on camera equipment, but a simpler, more bare-bones model may meet your needs just fine.

But a good camera is just the beginning. Lenses mark the difference between an average photo and one that gets a customer to convert. However, different lenses serve different purposes:

If you’re capturing fine details like the stitching on a handbag or the sparkle of jewelry, a macro lens (such as a 100mm) is your go-to. It allows you to highlight small, intricate features with a razor-sharp focus.

For broader lifestyle shots that tell a story, you need a lens with a wider angle (such as a 35mm). It helps you capture the product in context — whether staged in a home setting, on a table, or alongside complementary props.

Versatility is key. Investing in a range of lenses ensures you’re ready for both clean packshots and creative visuals. And don’t forget to pair your lenses with a sturdy tripod to keep your camera steady and your shots consistent.

While professional camera equipment is essential for traditional photography, Omi’s Virtual Photo Studio eliminates these upfront investments entirely, allowing you to achieve professional-quality shots without purchasing or maintaining expensive gear.

Prepare a variety of lighting setups

Lighting transforms ordinary shots into professional photos. But what’s the secret to achieving the perfect lighting for the image you’re trying to achieve? Variety. Having multiple lighting options allows you to experiment and find what works best for each shot:

Natural light, for example, is perfect for lifestyle shots that aim to feel organic and warm.

For clean and crisp packshots, a lightbox offers controlled, shadow-free lighting that makes products pop against white or neutral backgrounds.

When dealing with reflective surfaces like glass or metal, light tents diffuse the light evenly to eliminate harsh reflections.

Investing in adjustable lights, reflectors, and diffusers allows your product photographer to tailor each shot and maintain consistency across your visuals.

Of course, in a virtual environment, perfect lighting is achievable with a single click — no physical equipment required. Lighting setups can be saved and reused instantly in the Virtual Photo Studio, then applied across all your product visuals for consistent lighting, every time.

Discover a quicker, more scalable approach to product photography

Easily create, update, and test new content with Omi’s Virtual Studio while saving up to 90% on photoshoot costs.

Explore the Virtual Photo Studio

Purchase multiple backgrounds

When managing a professional product photography studio, you need to have a variety of backgrounds on hand. A product photography background sets the tone and context for your visuals. For example, a simple white background is a must for online stores, as it keeps the focus on the product and ensures a clean, professional look.

However, you might want different options when creating shots for social media or marketing material — when backgrounds become an opportunity to showcase creativity and establish brand identity. Think monochrome aesthetics to match your Instagram grid or seasonal backdrops for your holiday campaign.

Having a variety of materials — like paper rolls, vinyl backdrops, or wood panels — means you’re prepared for any shot. Consider investing in a portable backdrop stand, which makes switching between setups quick and easy to save time during shoots.

Virtual photography takes this flexibility even further, allowing you to instantly switch between countless background options without any physical setup or storage concerns.

Make sure you’re able to shoot from various angles and in different formats

Your studio needs to have the right equipment to capture multiple angles and formats. For example, you need tripods for stabilizing shots — whether you’re shooting a flat lay or close-up details. Adjustable tripod heads or boom arms can help you switch perspectives quickly and capture a variety of shots.

Tools like a Steadicam stabilizer help create smooth, professional visuals for video or dynamic content. And if 360° displays are on your list, a turntable allows you to capture seamless, rotating product shots that showcase your product from every angle.

In contrast, Omi’s Virtual Photo Studio allows you to capture any angle instantaneously, with precise control over camera positioning that would be challenging to achieve in a physical space.

Don’t forget about props and accessories

Props and accessories help set the scene so you can tell a story that draws customers in. Staging materials, like plants, furniture, and complementary items, help you achieve lifestyle photos that resonate with your audience. For example, a coffee cup beside a laptop adds context, and dinnerware on a kitchen table helps customers imagine dining with your plates in their own home.

Practical tools are just as important. A large staging table gives you space to set up for your shoot, and adhesive tape or clamps keep products and props securely in place. Organizing these materials in advance saves time during shoots and helps you stage clean, polished, and on-brand photos.

Virtual prop libraries offer an even more extensive selection of accessories that can be added, removed, or modified instantly — no physical storage or organization required.

Moët Hennessy created a custom library of delicious scene accessories to complement their selection of wine bottles. This guaranteed both creative freedom and on-brand assets every time.

Keep your brand and image in mind

Your brand identity should guide the decisions you make when setting up your studio. If your visuals rely on natural light, make sure your studio space has large windows or skylights. For brands focused on lifestyle imagery, consider a flexible setup with props and furniture that can adapt to different scenarios.

If dynamic videos or animations are key for your content, ensure you have enough space for smooth camera movement and adequate lighting. And soundproofing is essential if you’re incorporating audio or recording live video.

Always think ahead and ask yourself how your studio aligns with your creative needs and goals. Having the right setup from the start makes it easier to achieve the exact type of visuals your brand needs to draw in customers and make more sales.

Virtual studios simplify brand consistency by saving your exact specifications, making it easy to maintain perfect alignment with your visual guidelines across every shot — and every platform.

Create a people-friendly space

A productive photography studio is one where people feel comfortable working. Start with ergonomics; for example, a spacious setup with adjustable desks and chairs makes long shooting days manageable. Make sure that there’s easy access to a bathroom and a break area with food and water to keep teams refreshed and comfortable.

For inclusivity, consider accessibility. Pathways need to be clear for people with mobility challenges, and lighting setups should be secure to avoid accidents. Climate control — whether heating, cooling, or ventilation — is another must, especially when working with powerful lights that can heat up a space quickly.

While physical studios require careful consideration of working conditions, Virtual Photo Studios eliminate these logistical challenges entirely, allowing team members to create professional product shots from anywhere, anytime.

Do you even need a physical studio? A Virtual Photo Studio scales production & lowers costs

Glimpse how our 3D scanning expert Valentin turns a physical flower into a 3D object (also known as a 'Digital Twin'). This is how it works even for your products. Imagine that!

When you set up your product photography studio correctly, you’ll probably be able to get the product shots you need. However, traditional photography often struggles to keep up with fast-paced customer demands.

A single product shoot requires weeks of planning: coordinating teams, shipping products, hiring a crew, and sourcing props. Your pictures also need to be edited. By the time visuals are ready, trends may have shifted, campaigns may be outdated, or competitors may have already captured customer attention before you had a chance to.

The traditional photography process doesn’t allow you to improvise and adapt, meaning you can’t create on-trend visuals today for a social media post you want to publish tomorrow — one that helps keep you relevant and at the front of customers’ minds.

Omi’s Virtual Studio changes that. The platform allows you to create new product images (and even video) in minutes, not days or weeks. Omi also enables you to test multiple creative concepts simultaneously so you can optimize performance faster.

With Omi, you get 3D models of your products that you can access in our Virtual Studio to:

Create visuals from scratch or choose from hundreds of templates
Upload your brand assets for consistent imagery
Adjust camera angles with the click of a button
Insert accessories and props to set the scene
Export visuals to share on any channel you’d like

You can even generate videos using the Virtual Studio:

These videos would cost thousands to produce in a physical studio. With Omi, however, it's just an add-on to your subscription. Who doesn't want this for their IG Reels?

Omi users reduce photoshoot costs by up to 90% compared to traditional photography. And there’s no need for reshoots or new campaigns — just tweak visuals to create endless variations. You can swap out backgrounds, add in different products, test new lighting, or add seasonal elements effortlessly.

Best of all, Omi is accessible to everyone, so you don’t need professional photographers to produce polished visuals. Anyone on your team can use the platform to create consistent, high-quality images that align perfectly with your brand.

"We now work around three times faster, saving us a lot in annual shooting costs every time we release new bottles to the market."
– Clémence Bessieres, Social Media & Content Assistant at Moët Hennessy Wine Estates

Create product images at scale without stepping foot into a photography studio

If you plan on setting up a physical photography studio, follow these recommendations to set yourself up for success. Invest in quality equipment, lighting setups, background options, equipment for shooting at different angles, and props and accessories. And don’t forget to keep your brand in mind when designing your studio, as well as comfort and accessibility.

But if you’re looking for an alternative to the long planning cycles, costly logistics, and limited scalability traditional photography brings, consider a virtual photography studio. When Omi customer Moët Hennessy Wine Estates — a global luxury wine brand — turned to Omi’s Virtual Studio, they saw:

3X faster content creation
Over 100 approved visuals produced in weeks
The ability for local teams to create consistent, on-brand content independently, cutting annual shooting costs dramatically

Plus, many brands that use Omi to create product images see 19% higher conversion rates.

Whether you’re launching new products, running a seasonal campaign, or optimizing ads with A/B testing, Omi helps you respond quickly — no more waiting weeks for reshoots and editing. With the ability to create new visuals in minutes, you can keep up with customer demands and deliver fresh, engaging content across all your channels.