Creative Styling for Your Handbag Photoshoot

Next time you are preparing for a handbag shoot, think out of the box on your styling. 

Who says you have to suspend the strap directly above the product to convey that it comes with a strap? We all know what a strap looks like, so why not convey the personality of your brand in how you style? 

These two examples below of Mark Cross handbags show that the strap is long enough to wear as a cross body, yet we have avoided a lot of unnecessary white space in the image showing how long the strap is suspended straight up. Also, by having the strap in the same plain as the handbag body, you can fill up the frame with more handbag and less white space. 

Good use of space with straps

More strap=less bag.

If you want the handbag body to be center of attention and don’t want the strap detracting from the image, another alternative is to have the strap peek out from the side of the bag. This way it lets the viewer know the bag comes with a strap, yet you keep the image very clean.

Strap is visible but not overwhelming.

Another shot to include is one that shows scale. If you don’t have the ability to shoot the handbags on a model, a mannequin will do perfectly fine. We suggest dressing the mannequin in something neutral like white or black, depending upon the season. 

It also helps convey the scale well by having a mannequin that is not standing straight. In these examples below for Thacker, there is movement to the mannequin that assist the viewer in seeing how the handbag wears in “real life”. 

If you aren’t able to include the product on a mannequin then it is always helpful to include a group shot of the handbags to show scale. Even if you don’t do a group shot for each colorway, a group shot showing relative scale is very helpful for the viewer.

Group shot for scale

And to show scale, you don’t have to stick with a basic side by side and could do something creative like nest the handbags inside each other to show the relative scale as we did for Mark Cross handbags. Be sure that a tripod is used when doing shots for scale. 

Nesting shot from Mark Cross

Although it is important that each of your Handbags has multiple views of the single product, you can also think to include a creative styled content image of your handbags to convey your brand or the mood of the collection. See our blog on ”Styling Accessories for Product Content for Web and Social”

StyleExpo Photography has 20 years of experience servicing the fashion, jewelry, beauty and homegoods industry. Studios in NYC and LA offer services ranging from one-hour table-top jewelry shoots to a full-day lifestyle model shoot on location. Rates are per-shot for send-in work, though we do offer hourly rates for clients wanting to participate at the shoot. Turnaround is 3-4 business days and all images can be resized and cropped ready to populate your website or linesheet. Call us today to discuss your shoot. 213.394.6307 or contact megan@styleexpo.com