questions about photographing products

[bekah bell]

so a little while ago I opened a little shop on etsy to sell these giant letter pillows I've been making.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/bekahbell

I just sort of threw it together & put it up to get started, but now I really want to make it look more professional. I've just photographed my pillows on carpet and they look awful! I'm told that a white background is ideal, so today I'm going to the fabric store to get one. my first question is:

What type of fabric would be good for a background?

I was thinking fleece (that is what I make the pillows out of) or maybe flannel? They are both nice and thick, but I know you guys will have a great answer!

My second question is a little more specific, looking at the photos of my giant letters, they look pretty close to real life, but I have this other product that I plan to post soon, they are pillows that say "LOVE" and "LUCKY" for the couch or the bed, and they are smaller than my giant pillows, like 20 inches tall and when I photograph them they look very different than they do in real life. They look more "poofy" I guess I would say. So, if anyone out there has expereince photogrphing pillows,

How do you make pillows look more realistic?

the "LOVE" pillows look like this,



thanks for ANY help you may have, especially on the background :)

[Mel Bastin]

I prefer heavy silk or muslin when I'm photography objects.

[Shades of Grey]

Can you put up pics like the one you have here? More interesting(to me) and it shows the scale too. Maybe show a hand squeezing one or someone hugging/holding one. It might add some reality to it. Just a few ideas, don't know if they will work or not.

[Araminta]

I agree with @all71s in situ would be so much better than by a blank background so on a squishy sofa or bed or on grass again maybe?
* Note to self do not google image search 'love pillows' again LOL

[Shades of Grey]

@araminta haha, I can't google that right now but I will have to when I get home, I can only imagine the images that popped up!

[Lisa Hutchinson]

I think Silk would be nice, I usually always go for black but some other bright colours would look great,

[r nelly]

@bekahbell
if you're the handy type and don't want to spend a lot, you might want to try this DIY shooting tent...
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent

or this
http://www.squidoo.com/lighttent

they're very easy to make with things just lying around the house, and you can adjust the size/specs of the tents according to your products... :D

[bekah bell]

@melmellow @lisahutchinson ok, I will go with a heavy silk & see how it turns out, thank you!

@all71s @araminta that is a great idea to put more interactive shots on there as well, I do have one of my son rolling around on his I pillow on the banner :) and LOL!!! that is hilariousl about googling Love pillows, ROFL!! :D

[bekah bell]

@nellycious this is just what I need! thank you so much! I'm horrible with lighting still. pretty sure I can pull this off :)

[r nelly]

@bekahbell so glad to have helped! :D it's a pretty fun project, plus you'll be amazed at the effect that you will get from your pictures!
after playing around, i got a couple of decent pictures from my DIY light tent:


looking forward to seeing your 'experiments'! :D

[bekah bell]

@nellycious awesome photos! I even have a box big enough I think :) yay!