Great product photos have the power to convert casual visitors into buyers. The better the product photography, the better your product page will convert, indicating the strong impact an image can have in ecommerce. Professional photography of your products can help boost your conversions, improve your image quality and showcase your product in a different perspective.
But this article isn’t about hiring a professional to shoot and edit product images for you; it’s about doing your own product photoshoot and the benefits that come with this approach. Here, you’ll learn product shooting tips and ideas. You’ll also gain insight into product photography setup and apps you could use to enhance your images.
Your photos aren't going to sell themselves.
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START A PHOTOGRAPHY STOREI’m a Dropshipper. Why Should I Care About Product Photography?
Here are a few reasons:
Images may belong to another owner
It can be hard to differentiate whether images belong to the dropshipper or if they were taken from another person who owns the copyright. Taking your own product shots can ensure that you’re the owner of the images on your website.
It’s easier to stand out from the competition
Customers may see the same images circling on ads. A customer may think you’re the same brand who previously marketed to them. By showing them a different picture, you’ll be able to differentiate your brand from others on the market.
Avoid reverse image search
Competitors may do a reverse image search of their popular products to determine who’s selling the same product. They may also do this to see how you market your brand to better compete with you. With your own product photography, you’ll eliminate reverse image search as you’ll have a unique product picture.
How to Take Good Product Photos: 18 Tips for Ecommerce Entrepreneurs
When it comes to product photography, there are a lot of tips which new entrepreneurs can take and use to improve their store. We’ve listed some of the top product photography tips for new entrepreneurs below.
Let’s get started.
Invest in a Great Camera
To take quality images, you’ll need to invest in a good camera. Some have taken amazing photos using their iPhone. However, there are countless features you’ll be able to do on a professional camera. For example, you can add different lenses to a camera to shoot products from a distance, or change the focus of the background. Also, while the resolution on an iPhone camera is high, it isn’t as high as a DSLR camera, which allows you to show finer details. The more details you can show your customers, the more likely they are to buy your product.
Shoot Product Photos on White Background
You can use an infinity cove to create a seamless background. An infinity cove is a curved, all-white space that gives the background the appearance that it goes on forever. You can also use Photoshop, an image editing tool, to remove the image background and have a standard white background for your product photos. A plain white background works well for standard product photos.
Avoid Using Filters
A filter is an accessory photographers use to alter an image. While you want your product to appear in the best light, you also want it to be an accurate representation of what the product looks like. Most of what filters can do, can be done post production in Photoshop.
Use a Bokeh Background for Lifestyle Product Photos
If you’re looking to create cool backgrounds for your products, bokeh is an example of a simple and popular style. Bokeh is a blur effect done by a specific type of lens. You can read this article to learn how to create an el bokeh wall with the help of tin foil, prime lens and product photography lighting. You might use this background for a social media image or banner image on your website.
Have Images for All Product Styles
Every product style on your website should have it’s own image. Have you ever visited an online store and realized the product you’re interested in looking at doesn’t have an image? This can be a frustrating experience for your customers. If your product is available in several different colors, showcase the full spectrum of product colors by including their own picture. You’ll be able to boost conversions for those specific colors as most customers won’t buy without seeing what a product looks like.
Don’t Delete Images Until You’ve Seen Them on a Computer
When taking product photos, avoid deleting images directly on the camera. Once you see images on your computer screen, which is much larger than your camera screen, you’ll have a better understanding of which images look great and which don’t. You might find on closer inspection that a picture you thought didn’t look good actually looks great.
Use Color Psychology to Capture the Right Emotions
With lifestyle product photography, you’ll want to use color psychology to capture the right emotions for your product. You might have noticed that most electronics like desktops, phones and tablets are shot with a sleek black background. This is likely because black symbolizes sophistication and security. Using different colors can help ease customers into making a purchase.
Use a ‘Macro’ Setting to Capture the Finer Details
If you sell jewelry or a product with fine details, using a macro setting on your camera can help you capture the little details. A macro setting offers a zoom on the details so that customers can see what the product looks like. This can help customers feel confident in their purchase as they can better see what the product looks like up-close. Using a macro lens you’ll be able to capture finer details than the setting on your camera. If you sell jewelry, you might want to invest in a macro lens.
Take Note of the Lighting in Your Photos
When it comes to product photography lighting, you can choose from soft light or hard light. Soft light means that there’s more light surrounding the product whereas hard light means the light surface is smaller. The distance of the light also plays a role with closer light leading to a harder light look. Ultimately, how do you want your product to look? For example, a spotlight on a product would be a hard light.
Does Natural or Artificial Product Photography Lighting Work Best for You?
Natural light is the light that comes from the sun. Artificial light is made by humans such as a light bulb, candles, or fire. Choosing between natural or artificial light depends on the product you’re selling. If you’re selling phone cases, you might want to create a lifestyle picture around a table (artificial product photography lighting). If you’re selling apparel, you might use natural sunlight for an outdoor photoshoot with a model. You could also use artificial light to capture a different picture indoors.
Use a Flash Diffuser
A flash diffuser is an accessory that helps spread the light out to avoid hard product photography lighting. One of the best product photography techniques, using a flash diffuser can help ensure that your product photography is well lit. Good diffusers help illuminate a product or person without a washed out look. They also help create a more natural light look. In general, a flash diffuser helps make pictures look better. When it comes to using the camera’s built-in flash and a flash diffuser, your best bet is almost always a diffuser.
Only Use One Type of Light per Image
Avoid using different types of light in an image. For example, don’t use artificial light with sunlight. Overall, the image will look better when there’s only one source of light. Whether it’s light from a fire, a candle, lighting equipment or sunlight, stick to one light source.
Try Different Photo Styles
One of our favorite product photography ideas involves styling a product in several ways. You can hang your products for a unique perspective. You can position the product in the background of an image. You can showcase people using your product or the product on its own. You can play with different product photography lighting settings. You can place your product in different settings such as outdoors if it’s an outdoor related product. You can even offer a 360 view of the product.
Pick the Perfect Background
The background for your product photography can really enhance the appearance of the product. You can have a plain, white background for your online store as that’s the standard look. If you’re creating lifestyle shots, you might use cardboard, wood panels, marble countertops, streamers, fabric, wallpaper, or other background ideas. Choose a background that’s consistent with your brand. If you sell fun and colorful accessories, you might have people wearing the product with streamers in the background. If you sell rustic products, you might use wood panels as a product photography background. If you sell jewelry, makeup accessories, sunglasses or watches, you might use a marble background.
Include Something to Help Show Scale
Oftentimes, your customers will want to know how big your product is. Although most product descriptions will contain detailed measurements of the product, this isn’t always easily interpretable. This is where having something common in the picture can help. Any everyday item that everyone will own can help your customer work out how big the product is. When setting up your product picture, try placing your product next to a mug, a book, or a pen. This will help them visualize themselves with your product, and better imagine it in their lives.
Show Multiple Facets of Your Products from Different Angles
If your product is highly detailed, or has multiple different functions, your customers will want to know what these are. The easiest way to show off the many facets of your product, is to provide pictures of it from as many angles as you can. If an item has multiple settings, have a separate picture for each one, showing it in action. If different parts of the product do different things, show each part in closer detail. This can help sell a product’s many different uses without having to write out reams of text and give your customer a better idea of how it works.
Organize Products In a Proper Manner
If you intend to show multiple items in your product photographs, it is important to set everything in an organized manner. Having all the pieces of an item in a set piled haphazardly will not look appealing, but neither will spacing everything out too far apart. Generally, the most appealing way to showcase your products is with carefully planned gaps between each item. This gives each piece a clear view while showing the set as a whole.
Edit and Retouch Your Images After They’ve Been Captured
The work doesn’t end when the pictures are taken. You’ll still need to use image editing software to enhance your images. Whether you’re adding effects, enhancing color, or removing the background from an image, you’ll need to do some form of editing after you’ve shot your product photography. The post-production work is just as important as the process of taking an image. You want to showcase your product in the best light and with minor image edits you’ll be more likely to sell your product.
Shopify Apps for Product Photography
Photo Resize helps ensure that all your product photos are square and resizes product images. The first 400 images on your store are free, which is great for new entrepreneurs. This is an awesome tool for store owners whose images are showing up in different sizes on their website.
Image Editing On-Demand is an image editing service where your product photography will be touched up. They’ll also remove your image’s background for a traditional white background. For solopreneurs, this service can help you save time and money. Images are delivered within 24 hours, making it one of the most efficient services for image editing.
Proofo Photo Reviews allows your customers to leave photo reviews on your store. Depending on how the image looks, you can contact the customer for permission to use their image in your marketing. Photo reviews also serve as social proof, so they can help boost conversions for your store.
Conclusion
That’s it. You now know how to take amazing product photos for your store.
Remember, the perception of your online brand is often developed on the quality of your visual appearance.
So use this DIY product photography tutorial to shoot images that increase people’s trust and loyalty in your business.
Summary: 18 Photography Tips to Try in 2021
- Get a high-quality camera
- Shoot on a white background
- Avoid using filters
- Use a bokeh background for lifestyle product shots
- Have images for every product style
- Don’t delete photos before checking them on your computer
- Use color psychology to appeal to emotions
- Leverage macro setting to capture finer details
- Be smart about lighting when capturing product images
- Select natural or artificial lighting based on the product type
- Utilize a flash diffuser
- Only use one type of light per image
- Try different photo styles
- Choose the perfect background
- Use an object to show scale
- Shoot multiple facets of your product from different angles
- Organize products in a proper manner
- Edit and retouch images after they’ve been shot
Want to Learn More?
- How to Start a Photography Business
- The Most Inspiring and Successful Shopify Stores
- Shopify Themes: How to Pick the Best Shopify Theme for Your eCommerce Store
- 10 Online Stores to Use as Inspiration for Your First Store
- 30 Amazing Examples of eCommerce Website Design
Did you recently decide to take your own product photos? Let us know in the comments below!
