Christmas lifestyle product photographs, images and video content ideas (without using AI) with easy festive props for small businesses
How to make awesome Christmas product photography that boosts your festive sales
Christmas is the time you should be reaping the rewards of your marketing, product development and social media to maximise sales and get your wonderful product to as many ideal customers as possible. It’s probably also the time you’re rushed off your feet with the selling and answering questions, as well as wondering about your own Christmas plans. So when it comes to social media posting, adding a festive banner to your website or printing a poster for your next market outing - faffing about with what image to use isn’t ideal - in fact it’s a time suck you don’t need at this manic time of year.
Whether you’re investing in a professional photographer to handle all this for you, or are looking to spend a couple of hours of your own valuable time as efficiently as possible, here are 3 ideas that will serve you well throughout Christmas and which you can use again and again across socials, website, print advertising and even make into Christmas cards for your best customers. Trust me, these will look MUCH better than trying to frantically AI your product into a cheesy American Christmas scene that won’t connect with your customers at all.
1) Present wrapping flat lay
Help your customers visualise your product as part of their Christmas process with this simple set up using wrapping paper, cards and a few simple decorations. It’s super easy to set this up, and for bonus brand points choose wrapping paper and decorations in your brand colours and match the vibe to your brand mood board. The great thing is that once you’re set up you can simply switch products in and out to get coverage of a wide range of products quickly.
2) Christmas Tree Twinkle
This works great with both video and stills and gives pretty much any scene a Christmassy feel. The further away from the lights you the product the more blurred the lights will be. You can use a tree, or a wreath or really anything you can weave some cheap lights through. You can simply hold a product in front of the lights or use a table and get the product right in amongst the foliage. Don’t be afraid to have your hands in the shot, or even your face. Christmas is about people and showing yourself, your staff or even your dog in a festive setting with some sparkly lights is a simple and effective scroll stopper.
3) Glorious gift boxes
If you don’t already offer a gift box with your product, it’s time to get that sorted! Time poor shoppers will be drawn to ready wrapped or easy to wrap options, so a gift box is perfect. My top tip for photographing them is to ensure you pad the inside so that the productssit on top rather than getting lost in the depth of the box. This helps them catch the light and avoids it looking like it’s all box and no product.
I use napkins to create the height in the box and then cover them with whatever packing material the customer will actually receive. Tipping the box towards the camera also helps it appear fuller and adding a few simple tealights or Christmas decs gives a warm festive look. Advent calendars are also a great way to showcase smaller products and are becoming a popular option for taster sets.
While I normally recommend my clients to get their Christmas photos sorted by October at the latest, even up to the last shopping day, any one of these Christmas photo ideas is an excellent investment in your Christmas sales. You don’t need a ton of props, a few simple pieces that align to your overall brand are all you need to create a festive atmosphere that feels authentic and connects with your perfect customer right when they are looking to spend. I’ve added a useful props list below but feel free to choose items from your own Christmas decoration box or items that are culturally appropriate for your brand.
Don’t waste time faffing about trying to AI your existing brand photos into a festive marketing campaign - trust me, this is much more fun and will help you stand out amid all the computer generated content that customers will undoubtedly be flooded with this year.
Wishing you a successful Christmas selling season!
Sian
Sian’s Suggested Christmas Photo Prop List
small Christmas lights, ideally with a twinkle setting
faux Christmas tree
natural decor such as pine cones, cinnamon sticks, wicker decorations, holly, ivy etc (faux looks fine!)
decorative toys such as gonks and nutcrackers
wrapping paper in your brand colours
clean, simple scissors
ribbons, string and cards
napkins for padding boxes
wrapped boxes
wooden chopping board (really useful as a base)