Open Range — 10-Minute Photo Guide

Grab this stuff

All household — nothing to buy.

Your phone.Wipe the lens with your shirt — that alone sharpens every shot.
A big window.Daylight only. Overcast days are actually perfect.
A thin white bedsheet or parchment paper.To soften the window light so it's not harsh.
A white poster board, foam board, or baking sheet.Your "bounce" — fills in the shadow side.
A weathered wood board or cutting board.Your surface. On-brand for Open Range. A plain sheet of white/kraft paper also works.
The product — prepped.Wipe the jar, straighten the label, top it off so there's no air gap under the lid.

Set the scene

This is the whole trick. Get this right and the photo shoots itself.

Window to the side · sheet softens it · product on wood · bounce opposite · phone level with the label

Set up near the window, light coming from the side — never behind the product, never straight from your phone.
Hang the sheet over the window. It turns hard, glary light into soft, even light. (Skip if it's already overcast.)
Put the wood board in front of a plain wall. Nothing else in the frame — no clutter, no counter mess.
Stand the bounce board on the opposite side from the window, angled toward the product. Watch the dark side of the jar brighten up.
Get the phone level with the label — camera at the middle of the jar, not looking down at it.

Dial in the phone

Ten seconds of settings that make a big difference.

Turn on the grid (Settings → Camera → Grid). Line the jar up on the center lines.
Tap the label on screen to lock focus there.
Slide the exposure DOWN a hair (drag down next to the focus box) so the label whites don't blow out. This is the #1 fix for your old shot.
Flash off. HDR off if you have it. Let the window do the work.
Use regular Photo mode, not Portrait — Portrait smears the edges of a product. Get close instead of zooming.

Pro tip Shoot a bunch. Move an inch, tweak the angle, take 15–20. Storage is free; you only need one great frame per product.

Get these four shots

Same setup, four quick framings. Do them for every product.

Shot 1 · the money maker

Straight-on front

Label dead-center, camera level with it, jar filling about two-thirds of the frame. Perfectly square, not tilted.

→ This becomes your main store image.

Shot 2

The 3/4 angle

Turn the jar about 30° so you see the front and a hint of the side. Gives it shape and depth.

→ Second image in the store gallery.

Shot 3

The texture

Pour some rub into a small bowl or open the lid, shoot straight down, get in close. Show the coffee grind and the salt flecks.

→ Sells the quality with no words.

Shot 4 · the hero

Rub, meet steak

Sear a steak (good crust, grill marks), rest it on the wood board, jar beside it, and sprinkle a pinch of rub mid-air as you snap. Add rosemary and a knife for the rustic feel.

→ Your homepage banner. The one that makes people hungry.

Quick cleanup

30 seconds in your phone's photo editor — don't overdo it.

✓ Do

Crop straight and center the jar
Nudge brightness up a hair
Bump contrast slightly
Straighten if it's tilted

✕ Don't

Slap on a heavy filter
Crank the saturation
Add fake blur/vignette
Shoot in a messy room

Then send them my way

Text me the raw shots and I'll cut the backgrounds clean, match every product to the same look, and hand you a ready-to-upload store set — like the ones I made from your Coffee Rub.

— Gus