To avoid odd color casts (green, yellows, blues, magenta, etc.) on your white backgrounds when shooting in natural light make sure you are not near anything that will throw a color tone on your background. What am I talking about? I am talking about things like grass or trees from outside, brightly painted walls and even the clothing you are wearing (I try to wear a white t-shirt when shooting).  At my old studio /dining room I

And because I get asked this about 200 times a day (I send out a lot of emails, no wonder I haven’t taken over the world yet, hmmm) and it has only taken me four years to add this (and I promise I will add it as an easy reference link in the near future), this is what I shoot with:

For my product shots I mostly use my 50mm 1.4 lens, it’s not the best lens for product photography (but not the worse either).  I have been saving up my pennies for the 100mm macro.  I have rented that lens from here and it not only shoots beautiful product shots but is an excellent portrait lens too. If you only have the 18-55mm kit lens (usually comes with your camera), don’t fret that lens actually has nice up close capabilities but you will want to make sure your set-up is well lit as the aperture doesn’t open very wide. If you want to upgrade to a good prime lens the nifty 50/50mm 1.8 is usually around $100 and is such a great deal. I do use a tripod, as much as I feel it’s a hassle, I find it a necessary evil. I have mentioned the Lowell Ego lights for years, I haven’t tried any other lights but I promise that no one can ever tell the difference in my photographs from the ones that I’ve taken in natural light versus the ones I have shot in a darkened room with the Lowell ego lights. I have found the least expensive place to buy them is on Amazon and that’s true for all the products above, it’s a competitive marketplace so you will find multiple prices for the same product and have the added security that if you are unhappy with a purchase they will take good care of you. Sheesh, I sound like a commercial.  I do want to try the large continuous lights but they aren’t in my budget.  I went to a workshop hosted by sweet Dani, the woman that hosted it had an Etsy shop for vintage clothing she had the continuous lights and a permanent mini photo studio set-up at all times; her shots + set-up made me coo coo with envy.