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Product & catalogApr 20, 20267 min read

Phone product photography: 8 settings that look studio-grade

White balance, grid, exposure compensation, and three cheap natural lighting setups.

By Tim ShopTopia

Good product photos don’t require an expensive camera. Most Indonesian sellers use phones, and with the eight settings below the result can match a small studio with zero gear spend.

Camera app settings

  1. Enable the 3×3 grid in camera settings. Composition gets instantly cleaner.
  2. Use 1:1 or 4:5 for social feeds, 3:4 for product pages.
  3. Turn off the flash. Phone flash is flat and harsh, always bad.
  4. Tap the subject to focus, then drag the exposure slider one notch down for richer color.
  5. Avoid digital zoom. Move your feet, not your fingers.

Three cheap lighting setups

  • Side morning window (07:00–09:30): soft, warm, low contrast. The best default for almost any product.
  • White curtain + household LED: the curtain becomes a diffuser, the LED becomes a key light. Total budget Rp 50K.
  • Overcast outdoor: the flattest light there is. Great for fashion or large items.

Background and styling

A single flat color in the background beats a busy pattern. Pick white, off-white, or your brand color. Buy a 2×1.5m cotton fabric from any market, hang it straight, shoot the subject 30 cm in front. The result already looks like commercial work.

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