How to Photograph Granite Countertops

Clear clutter from your countertops. A few attractive appliances can remain if you want to give a "lived in" feel to your photographs, but remove any items that could distract from your countertops.

Clean the countertops thoroughly. Because you will be using an intense flash to illuminate your countertops, grime that may be invisible under normal light may become visible.

Wait until the sun comes in through the kitchen window. Not only will this provide additional light, it will also make a more visually pleasing picture. An overcast day will provide you with the best light.

Turn on all kitchen lights, including any lights inside or under cabinets. Not only will this provide more light, photographs of home interiors look best when the lights are illuminated.

Select a wide angle lens. Lenses wider than 28mm are best and give a fuller view of the granite countertops.

Use a tripod. You will be using a slower shutter speed, so a tripod will help steady your shot and reduce camera shake.

Use a flash. The kitchen may seem bright, but your photograph will be clearer with a flash. An on-camera flash is fine, but look for harsh glares if your flash is reflected on the granite countertops or any glass. If this happens, you can reposition your camera so that the flash bounces off at a different angle.

Select Manual or Aperture Priority mode on your camera. You will want a smaller aperture---f/8 or higher---to avoid any blurring caused by depth of field. Your shutter speed should be as slow as necessary to properly expose the shot.

Photograph the granite countertops from different angles and at different distances. This will give you a body of photographs to choose from so that you can select the best one.