If you have decided to actively participate in e-commerce, you need to know the real value of a photo.
A picture may be your chance. But this picture should be amazing.
With the increasing popularity of particular sites such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify and social platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and so on, e-commerce is becoming the leading trend in sales. Ecommerce can not be implemented with the product photography. High quality images of the products are the foundation without which the sites and e-shops would not be able to trade online. Users rely on images. They are the decisive factor in making a purchase.
Your online shop is your business card for the customers in the interactive space. Whatever you sell, your success attracting interest and making sells depends on the attractive images you will use.
If you’re still in the process of shifting your business online and you have no experience, then an advantage for you can be the ready platforms that offer the design of e-shop or sites that sell products.
Their advantage is that they have specific requirements related to the method of photographing and presentation of the objects, accompanied by guidelines that would facilitate the whole process.
In case you are creating your own online shop with quality products or your own brand, you need high quality visual content.
This is your guarantee. A powerful way to attract interest, clients and to make an effective first impression.
How to create high quality content in an online shop?
The first step includes a choice.
Whether to hire a professional experienced photographer who will present your products in the best possible way, emphasizing details, using unique techniques and approaches? Or to take things in your own hands?
The first option is definitely distinguished by decent professionalism.
But if your products are small and simple, if you are a small entrepreneur, and you have an interest and want to learn how to take photos of products, then what?
What is important to know about the methods of photographing online shop products?
Determine the overall style of your online shop. It is important to establish a connection and continuity between the photographing style of each particular product or product group.
Build a strategy that includes a detailed plan for the realization of your ideas. You need to think of all backgrounds, colors and surfaces, as well as the ways of photographing and angles. You have to choose the right technique, lighting and effects.
Depending on the object you are shooting, you can choose and combine individual styles in product photography.
Traditional product photographing styles for online trade
Keep in mind that 75% of the photos of products in online shops are on a white background. Most of the professionally taken images of products are also on a white background or on a black one. The idea is for the product to stand out. A colored background can cause a distraction.
Also consider the surface of your product to avoid unwanted reflections, gleams and shadows. Especially if the products are glass, with glossy surfaces or if they have gems, light-reflecting elements, and so on.
Another important aspect is the addition of a scale. Your photos must show the real size of your product. This is a very important detail when presenting products online.
Do not miss out on details. They will give importance and may be a decisive factor in consumer’s choice. Let them have a close look!
Give more choice to users. Group the main product with accessories to it. Show varieties, colors and sets.
Tell a story. Take images that show the product in the context and demonstrate its application. Create an attractive scene. Show how unique your product is.
If you are selling a service, it is particularly appropriate to add emotion by including models in the frames.
Lifestyle photography is a multiplier as a tool in marketing. The images are suited to several marketing channels at the same times and especially to social platforms.
It finds application for shooting clothes, jewelry, accessories, non-standard goods, decorative products, cosmetics, and so on.
The so-called heroic photos show the object in a categorical way. The product is part of a much larger scene.
If the photos are made in a studio, you can add some dramatic lighting and effects for more excitement.
If the photos are taken outside, a special atmosphere is created and the scene is selected depending on the intended use of the product. For example, if the item is ski equipment, a suitable place for the photos will be the mountain in the winter. Sportswear can be demonstrated in the gym.
This type of images are suitable for a wide range of products, for marketing events, banners and landing pages.
A hit in online shops are the 360 – degree images. The products are shot from all sides and at different angles. The images are converted into a single frame that can be rotated at 360°. These apply to a variety of items such as furniture, clothes, equipment and accessories.
Studies show that this type of product images significantly increases sales growth.
To enhance trust in potential customers, smart merchants combine frames of different styles. They present a single product from at least 3 to 5 angles. They focus on specific details. They take pictures of the packaging. They include accessories and demonstrate group images.
Photo: http://www.stckmn.com
Photo: http://www.stckmn.com
Photo: http://www.stckmn.com
Photo: http://www.stckmn.com
Photo: http://www.stckmn.com
What technique is used to photograph products for an online shop?
The possibilities for choosing a technique today are abundant. Your choice is based on the means at your disposal, the items you will photograph and your skills.
If you have not chosen the services of a professional photographer and you have decided to make to photos on your own, it is important to decide what camera or smartphone you will make the shots with.
You can choose between DSLR cameras, mirrorless cameras, compact cameras and of course smartphones.
The high-quality image, however, does not depend only on camera selection. It is important to choose the right lenses. Suitable lenses for photographing products for online trade are lenses with a focus distance between 35 mm and 50 mm.
For more details, macro lenses are recommended or those within the range between
50 mm and 200 mm.
There are a variety of lens options and sets available on the market, as well as for smartphones.
The rest of the equipment that you will need to photograph products includes also a tripod and the selection of lighting. Do not forget the stand, whether you will prefer a camera or a smartphone.
The last thing that you need to do is to publish the items in our online store or platform you are going to sell on.
An essential part of the overall project is the so-called post-production or preparation of the images before their upload on the site.
The optimization of your images is very important, because the lack of experience can play a bad joke to everyone and turn the perfect frames into useless ones.
And again arises the question whether to trust a professional or to do it yourself.
Probably half of the work in product photography for online production is editing.
Once you have been able to identify the product with the suitable background, colors, shapes, you have managed to photograph a story, so the last thing you should do is to tell it. With the help of a specialized software you can arrange the details to make sure that the images are perfect.
Pay special attention to all images that you intend to include on the site. An inadequate shot is enough to move you away from the desired goal.
Retouching consists in removing defects that would divert the attention of the customer, for example, spots, scratches and dust. The editing involves color enhancement, and if needed, improvement of certain shapes, adding or removing shadows, backgrounds, and so on.
Then you should prepare the images for printing, web and social media by setting the right resolutions.
The trend requires that all images shall be set in a way that they will look consistent on the site, no matter on what device they are going to be viewed – mobile, pc or a laptop.
Once you are sure your images meet all the requirements and look perfect, you are ready to charm the customers.