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LIGHTING FOR COLOUR CONSISTENCY Place one light 45° to the left, one 45° to the right, both at the same distance from the backdrop. Aim them at the backdrop, not the guitar, the soft spill will light the guitar beautifully without creating hard shadows. The velvet stays evenly illuminated. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 FIRST, FIX YOUR STATION Mark the floor where the tripod goes. You’ll shoot every guitar from exactly the same spot. (1 for full body, 1 for head stock, 1 for close-up), this way all back and front will be positioned in the same spot of the frame. Hang the guitar so its centre (the 12th fret) is at lens height.
Smart HDR Settings > Camera > toggle Smart HDR to the off position. Smart HDR is great for landscapes but can create unnatural-looking halos around a guitar and alter the true color of the finish. Turning it off gives you the most authentic representation. Grid Overlay Settings > Camera > toggle Grid to the on position. This places a "rule of thirds" grid directly onto your viewfinder, making it incredibly easy framing for every shot. Preserve Settings Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings > toggle on Exposure Adjustment. SEE APPLE LINK This setting "remembers" the manual exposure slider adjustment you made. If you ever close the camera app by accident, you won't have to re-do your settings for the next shot. Scene Detection Settings > Camera > toggle Scene Detection to the off position. This prevents the iPhone from "recognising" your backdrop and guitar and automatically applying an unwanted filter. For product photography, you want total manual control over the look. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 PHONE SETTINGS Turn off auto‑brightness, HDR, “scene optimiser”, everything automatic. Lock exposure & white balance: On iPhone, long‑press the screen until “AE/AF LOCK” appears. Iphones have the white balance locked in auto for photos, it’s probably easier to get an app that turns your camera to manual mode. On Android, use a “Pro” or “Manual” mode app (even the free Open Camera app works). Set white balance to match your studio lights (usually tungsten/incandescent ≈ 3200 K, or flash ≈ 5500 K – test once). Use the self‑timer (3‑5 seconds), no shaky hands, avoid blur. Turn on the 3×3 grid in your camera settings. This is your rule‑of‑thirds ruler. Always shoot in RAW and no zoom. While the native iPhone camera doesn't have a direct "white balance lock" slider for photos, you can achieve consistent color and brightness by locking the Auto-Exposure (AE) and Auto-Focus (AF). https://support.apple.com/en-az/guide/iphone/iph3dc593597/ios
DO EVERY MORNING Frame an empty backdrop. Take a test shot. If the brown is too red/cool, tweak the white balance slider until it matches the real velvet, then never change it for the rest of the day. Try to get all as close as possible for consistency. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 BACKGROUND (optional) Brush ‘clean’ the velvet, then with wooden comb create lines and patterns, experiment with (Zigzag, Lines, Wavy / Curvilinear, Cross- hatch). ONE‑MINUTE CALIBRATION THE “SAME BROWN VELVET EVERY TIME” CHECKLIST Tripod legs are on their floor marks. Lights turned on for 5 minutes to warm up. Background brushed. Phone white balance locked (and checked with a test shot). 5% negative space maintained (margin around the guitar). Background colour temperature variation. Colour variation on the guitar and headstock background colour change
Rule of thirds Place the guitar’s bridge or 12th fret on one of the four intersection points for angled detail shots. For full‑on hero shots, keep the guitar dead‑centre. Negative space Leave a border equal to 5% of the frame around the whole instrument. This will give us maximum potential resolution Horizon / verticals Use the grid lines to make the strings or neck perfectly vertical. Focal point Tap to focus exactly on the part you’re selling in that shot. On the full body shot, it should be in the middle of the guitar. COMPOSITION & FRAMING RULES CLEAN THE GUITAR Fingerprints and dust look 10× worse on camera. Use an appropriate cloth to dust it off and remove finger prints from the whole guitar. If fingerprints remain, lightly breathe on the spot and buff gently with the dry cloth. Lightly buff hardware and metal parts with a dry microfibre. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 OTHER TIPS Never mix daylight and studio light, close blinds to keep natural light away. For glossy finishes, move the lights slightly higher or wider until the hot spot disappears from the guitar body while leaving the velvet unchanged. If the wire casts a visible shadow on the velvet, use one light slightly higher than the other, this throws the shadow out of frame. If your phone has a true tone setting, turn it OFF. This feature uses ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the color temperature and intensity of your display ( you want to manually control that.
CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 this photo has a reflection problem on the headstock, try to move one of the lights a bit up to see anything change. . Both photos have the guitar perfectly positioned right in the centre, neck lines are perfectly parallel, the focus is the right place as you can still see the headstock. Photo on the left has perfect shadows but the exposure it’s too cold. The second has a better exposure but the shadows are not as good.
CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 First photo has the guitar perfectly positioned right in the center, neck lines are perfectly parallel, beautiful shadow -great shot! The second has perfect exposure, same as the front shot, great colour, could be positioned the same framing as the first (fill the frame). Both photos are nearly perfectly framed, however the margins and exposure are a bit off, second photo looks the best. Lock the exposure and keep the framing/margins consistent, only turn the guitar around, don’t move the camera. The second photo fills the frame better.
CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 Beautiful right angle shot. Slight angle, lower bout, showing controls and the contour curve. This is a near perfect photo, the join is positioned perfectly on the left middle square of the grid, but the neck is not parallel with the grid line. Good example. Damage detail is close enough to a grid line intersection and it also show context clearly. Good example. Damage is position right in the middle of the grid, also a perfect framing.
# Shot name How to frame Where to stand / aim Focus point other tricks 1 Full front Camera height = 12th fret. Guitar centred, vertical. You see the whole body and headstock. Tripod directly in front, 1.5‑2 m away. Position 1 Bridge or middle pick‑up. Fill the frame. Same lighting as calibration. 2 Full back Same as front, but flip the guitar on the wire. Keep the same distance. Do not move the tripod. Turn the guitar, not the camera. Centre of the back (the neck plate or the wood’s centre joint). Because the guitar moved, check that the velvet still looks the same colour. 3 Headstock front Fill the frame with the headstock only. Leave a tiny velvet border. Camera height = headstock logo. Move tripod closer. Position 2 The brand logo or truss‑rod cover. You’ll see wire in this shot too – that’s fine. 4 Headstock back Flip the guitar again. Frame the back of the headstock – serial number, tuner gears. Same camera position as headstock front. The serial number or the centre tuner screw. Wire will cross here. Keep the background evenly lit. 5 Close‑up front Get close to the front of the guitar Move the tripod to the position 3 and fix the height (go lower) The centre or the most figured area. Rule‑of‑thirds: place the detail right in the midle of the camera grid. 6 Close‑up back Same idea, but for the back wood. Same position as the front The centre or the most interesting area. Keep in the middle THE 6 MUST‑HAVE PHOTOS USING THE TRIPOD Every guitar you list needs these six images. Shoot them in this order so you don’t get lost. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026
# Shot name How to frame Where to stand / aim Focus point 7 Left side angle Show the guitar’s left side profile upper bout, upper cutaway, body thickness. Guitar hangs straight; frame diagonally so the body edge runs vertically or at a slight diagonal. Move to 45° to the left of the guitar. Aim at the body’s side edge. Upper bout The side binding or the centre of the body’s edge contour. 8 Right side angle Opposite of shot 7: right side profile, lower bout, jack plate (if present), any controls. Move to 45° to the right of the guitar. Aim at the body’s side edge. Lower bout The jack plate or the edge binding. 9 Neck join Fill the frame with the joint . Shoot from an angle, slightly looking down Use the lower-left or lower-right grid intersection. The actual join line or neck plate screws. 10 Fingerboard Show a segment of the fretboard. Shoot at angle, filling the frame . Highlight inlays, nice streaking/grain. Aim directly at the fretboard, keeping the camera perfectly level. Inlay or nice wood grain (RW) 11 Nut / String tree / Truss rod cover Move very close to rightsideof headstock, below the nut. Aim up at the nut/string tree/TRC area. angle at 45deg on both axis. Focus on nut and string tree 12 Damage Frame the flaw, get close enough but still show a bit of surrounding for context. Use the rule of thirds (grid lines) to place the damage on an intersection. The exact centre of the damage. 13 Bonus shots see following for bonus shots suggestions by Guitar Type. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 Camera hand held, no tripod needed.
Guitar style Shot suggestion Gretsch 1. Bigsby tailpiece (side profile, strings visible). 2. F‑holes with body binding. 3. Switches and knobs Stratocaster 1. Tremolo bridge with bar 2. Controls, output jack, selector and pickups close up. 3. Backplate, Rear of trem, springs etc 4. Other features ie belly cut. Telecaster 1. Bridge plate with saddles, close up. 2. Control plate (knobs & switch tip). 3. Hardware aging, relicing etc Bass 1.Bridge 2. Pickup and controls 3 Finger wear above pickups Acoustic 1. Soundhole rosette 2. Neck heel & back stripe. 3. Paper label through the soundhole. 4. Bridge pins & saddle. 5 try to show the sides for all solid guitars Others (Les Paul, 335, V, etc.) 1.Bridge and stop bar 2.Binding over fret 3. controls and pickups angled close up BONUS ANGLES THAT SELL (BY GUITAR TYPE) - suggestions Shoot 2‑3 of these per listing. They answer buyer questions before they’re asked. Framing: always put the feature on a rule‑of‑thirds intersection. For side profiles, run the guitar’s longest line diagonally across the frame – it guides the eye naturally. CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026
CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 # Category Action ✓ 1 Camera Format Shoot in RAW ☐ 2 Smart HDR Turn OFF Smart HDR ☐ 3 Scene Detection Turn OFF Scene Detection ☐ 4 Grid Turn ON the 3×3 grid ☐ 5 True Tone Display Turn OFF True Tone (prevents screen colour shift) ☐ 6 Studio Lights Turn on both studio lights and let them warm up for at least 5 minutes ☐ 7 Backdrop Preparation Brush velvet, remove wrinkles, create patterns ☐ 8 Exposure Fine‑Tune If needed, slide the sun icon up/down with AE/AF Lock still active – never unlock it ☐ 9 White Balance Check Take one test shot of the empty backdrop, check colour matches the real velvet – adjust lights if not ☐ 10 Guitar Hang Height Hang guitar so the 12th fret aligns with the centre of the lens, could use a small amount of gaffa to mark the hang height(maybe exactly aligned with the camera lens behind the 12th fret) ☐ 11 Tripod & Marks Place tripod on marked floor positions, adjust height so the lens is at the guitar’s 12th fret ☐ 12 Guitar Cleaning Complete pre‑shoot cleaning routine ☐ 13 Timer Set 3‑second self‑timer so there’s zero camera shake ☐ PRE SHOOTING CHECKLIST
1 Full front Tripod in Position 1. Frame guitar centred, vertical, whole body + headstock visible. Focus: Bridge or middle pickup ☐ 2 Full back Do not move tripod. Flip guitar on wire. Keep same distance and framing. Focus: Neck centre ☐ 3 Headstock front Move tripod to Position 2 (close). Fill frame with headstock, leave small velvet border. Camera height = logo. Focus: Brand logo or truss‑rod cover ☐ 4 Headstock back Keep tripod at Position 2. Flip guitar. Frame serial number and tuner gears. Focus: Serial number or centre tuner screw ☐ 5 Close‑up front Move tripod to Position 3 (close, go lower). Get close to front body; use grid to centre the detail. Focus: The centre or the most figured area. ☐ 6 Close‑up back Keep tripod at Position 3. Focus on back wood detail; keep it centred in the grid. Focus: The centre or the most interesting area. ☐ CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 SHOOTING CHECKLIST - TRIPOD
7 Left side angle Move to 45° left of guitar. Show upper bout, cutaway, body thickness. Frame edge vertical or slight diagonal. Focus: Side binding or body edge contour ☐ 8 Right side angle Move to 45° right. Show lower bout, jack plate, controls. Focus: Jack plate or edge binding ☐ 9 Neck join Move close, aim slightly down at the joint. Place on a lower grid intersection. Focus: Join line or neck plate screws ☐ 10 Fingerboard Aim directly at fretboard, keep camera level. Fill frame to show inlays, grain, or wear. Focus: Inlay or most attractive wood grain ☐ 11 Nut / String tree / TRC Move very close to left side of headstock, below nut. Aim up at 45° on both axes. Frame nut, string tree, truss rod cover together. Focus: Nut and string tree ☐ 12 Damage Frame flaw honestly. Get close enough but leave context. Use rule of thirds (grid intersection) for placement. Focus: Exact centre of the damage ☐ 13 Bonus shots Refer to bonus shot suggestions by guitar type (Gretsch Bigsby, Strat springs, acoustic label, etc.). Shoot 1–3 extra frames as needed. Focus: The special feature (see bonus guide) ☐ CHECKLIST PHOTOGRAPHY Guitar Garage 2026 SHOOTING CHECKLIST - HAND HELD
45 45 Tripod position 2 (headstock) Guitar Tripod position 3 (body close-up) change the height Background Tripod position 1 (full body)