Guide
How to make product videos at home: a window, a table and a phone
Updated
You can make good product videos at home with window light, one table and your phone. This guide shows how to light the product, what to film and when a studio is still worth paying for.
In short
- Most product videos do not need a studio. A window, a table and a phone are enough.
- Film beside a window, not in front of it, and switch the ceiling lights off.
- Film the same 7 shots for every product, and record each shot three times.
- One product takes about half an hour to film once the table is set up.
- A studio is still worth it for pours, slow motion, chrome and glass, exact colours and very large items.
- The only light most product shots need
- 1 window
- The shot list in this guide, for any product
- 7 shots
- To film all 7 shots of one product
- ~30 min
Do you need a studio for product videos?
Usually not. A studio gives you light that looks the same every day, but a recent phone already records a sharp, clean video.
- A studio is worth it when you have 40 products that must all look exactly alike.
- Filming at home is fine when you need one good video of one product this week.
- People watch product videos on a phone, so they rarely notice the small flaws a studio would fix.
Studio or home: what each one is good at
Most small brands need the right-hand column most of the time.
Light that looks the same every day
- A studio
- Yes, that is what you pay for
- A window and a table
- No, daylight changes through the day
One video of one product this week
- A studio
- Yes, at a day rate
- A window and a table
- Yes, in about half an hour of filming
Forty product pages that match
- A studio
- Yes
- A window and a table
- Possible, but slow
A real room buyers recognise
- A studio
- Only if the set is dressed for it
- A window and a table
- Yes, it is your home
| A studio | A window and a table | |
|---|---|---|
| Light that looks the same every day | Yes, that is what you pay for | No, daylight changes through the day |
| One video of one product this week | Yes, at a day rate | Yes, in about half an hour of filming |
| Forty product pages that match | Yes | Possible, but slow |
| A real room buyers recognise | Only if the set is dressed for it | Yes, it is your home |
How to light a product with window light
Put the light at the side of the product. Side light shows texture, and front light makes the product look flat.
- Put the product beside the window, so the light falls across it from one side.
- Soften strong sun by taping a net curtain, a shower curtain or baking paper over the glass.
- Switch the ceiling lights off. Daylight and a warm bulb together put two colours in one picture.
- Hold a white card, a piece of foam board or an open book on the dark side to bounce light back.
- Film everything in one block of about two hours, because window light moves.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to set up the table and background
Get these distances right before you press record.
- Clean the product first with a lint roller or a microfibre cloth, and wear cotton gloves for chrome or glass.
- A phone this close picks up dust you cannot see, and editing cannot remove it.
Home setup at a glance
| What | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product to the background | 1 to 2 m | The shadow falls away, and the background goes soft on a phone |
| A paper sweep behind the product | 30 to 50 cm | Only if you want plain white with no wall behind it |
| Surface | One board or one sheet of matt paper | Every video looks the same |
| Colour | Off-white or mid-grey | Gloss black shows every fingerprint |
| Phone | Held vertical from the start | Cropping a wide video later cuts off the top |
What: Product to the background
- Setting
- 1 to 2 m
- Why
- The shadow falls away, and the background goes soft on a phone
What: A paper sweep behind the product
- Setting
- 30 to 50 cm
- Why
- Only if you want plain white with no wall behind it
What: Surface
- Setting
- One board or one sheet of matt paper
- Why
- Every video looks the same
What: Colour
- Setting
- Off-white or mid-grey
- Why
- Gloss black shows every fingerprint
What: Phone
- Setting
- Held vertical from the start
- Why
- Cropping a wide video later cuts off the top
What to film: 7 shots for any product
Film the same seven shots for every product, so you never miss an angle. Record each shot for about ten seconds, three times.
- Half an hour a product means three or four products inside one two-hour block of window light.
- If you have more than that to film, use two mornings rather than carrying on into the afternoon.
- Film the hero shot first. If the light changes later, you still have the picture the video keeps returning to.
Shot list
About half an hour per product once the table is set up.
| Shot | What to film | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hero shot | The product alone, still and centred | The main picture the video keeps returning to |
| 2. Hands | A hand reaches in and picks it up | Movement makes people stop scrolling |
| 3. Close-up | The texture, the weave, the seal on a jar | Shows the quality |
| 4. Demo | The product doing its main job, in one go | Proves it works |
| 5. Size | Next to a hand, a mug or a doorway | Surprise about size is a common reason for returns |
| 6. Problem | The mess or worn-out thing it replaces | Shows why someone needs it |
| 7. Result | Held, worn or in place afterwards | Shows the outcome |
Shot: 1. Hero shot
- What to film
- The product alone, still and centred
- Why
- The main picture the video keeps returning to
Shot: 2. Hands
- What to film
- A hand reaches in and picks it up
- Why
- Movement makes people stop scrolling
Shot: 3. Close-up
- What to film
- The texture, the weave, the seal on a jar
- Why
- Shows the quality
Shot: 4. Demo
- What to film
- The product doing its main job, in one go
- Why
- Proves it works
Shot: 5. Size
- What to film
- Next to a hand, a mug or a doorway
- Why
- Surprise about size is a common reason for returns
Shot: 6. Problem
- What to film
- The mess or worn-out thing it replaces
- Why
- Shows why someone needs it
Shot: 7. Result
- What to film
- Held, worn or in place afterwards
- Why
- Shows the outcome
How to record the sound
This matters as soon as someone talks in the video. Echo and background noise are very hard to fix afterwards.
- Record in a room with a sofa, curtains or a rug in it. A kitchen or a bathroom gives you echo.
- Talk with the phone about an arm's length away. Further back and you record the room instead of yourself.
- Wired earbuds with a microphone, or a clip-on microphone, sound better than the phone on the table.
- Switch off the fridge, the fan and the extractor first. You can hear them in the video, and editing cannot take them out.
- Silent product shots need no sound at all, because you add music or captions afterwards.
What still needs a studio
A few jobs are hard to do at a kitchen table. Everything else you can film at a table by a window in about half an hour.
- Pours, splashes and slow motion need much brighter light and a high frame rate.
- Chrome, mirrors and clear glass reflect the whole room, so they need a light tent or a studio backdrop.
- Products where the colour must match exactly, like a foundation shade or a paint sample, need controlled light.
- Large items such as furniture, bikes and mattresses do not fit on a table by a window.
- Marketplace photos on pure white, with the same shadow across a hundred images, are a studio job.
Where Cutroom fits
Editing is usually what takes the afternoon. If you talk about your product on camera, Cutroom does that edit for you.
- You upload one video of you talking about the product, up to 3 minutes long.
- You can add your own table shots, and place them over the words that mention them.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4 with captions, a hook at the start and product shots on the right words.
- You change it by editing the words in the transcript, not a timeline.
- Cutroom does not make silent product videos with no one talking.
What Cutroom costs
| Item | Credits or price |
|---|---|
| Editing one video | 100 credits |
| Export | 20 credits per minute of video |
| One 30-second video | About 110 credits |
| Lite plan | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 videos |
| First video | Free, no card |
Item: Editing one video
- Credits or price
- 100 credits
Item: Export
- Credits or price
- 20 credits per minute of video
Item: One 30-second video
- Credits or price
- About 110 credits
Item: Lite plan
- Credits or price
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 videos
Item: First video
- Credits or price
- Free, no card
Questions people ask
- Do I need a ring light for product videos?
- Not for most products. A window with something thin over it is a much bigger light, and a bigger light is softer. A ring light helps when you film after dark or need the same look every week.
- Do I need a microphone for product videos?
- Only if someone talks in the video. Then yes, use wired earbuds with a microphone or a clip-on one, and record in a room with soft furniture. Shots of the product alone need no sound, because you add music or captions later.
- What phone settings should I use for product videos?
- Film vertical, wipe the lens, and lock focus and exposure before you record each shot. Thirty frames a second is fine unless you want slow motion. Turn beauty filters off, because a product that looks different when it arrives gets returned.
- How do I get a clean white background at home?
- Curve a roll of white paper from the wall onto the table, pull the product forward, and put a white card on the shadow side. That works for one product. Matching a hundred marketplace photos on pure white is a studio job.
- Do I have to show my face in product videos?
- No. Hands are enough for most product videos, and viewers watch what the hands do. A face matters when the video is about who is behind the brand.
- How many products can I film in one session?
- Three or four in one two-hour block of window light, if you write the shot list first. Half an hour a product is the realistic figure. Set up once, work down the list, and stop when the shadows change direction.
Set up the table by the window and film the seven shots. Your first video is free.
Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it