Before you take your product photos, brainstorm with your team about exactly what your ideal customers want from your product. Aesthetically oriented social media sites like Instagram show images in a grid pattern, so its important to have a background that you can replicate each time. Custom Domain Name For this reason, youll want to resize your images prior to uploading them on your site. That said, you may not need the full spread of editing features for your work. There are plenty of online tutorials about how to make low-cost tabletop light boxes, or you can buy one from a camera supply store. If you don't have access to natural light, you can always mimic window light by using a single, diffused light source.

And one of the common culprits of slow load times are large file sizes. Weve gone through using props, creating a scene, and showing your product being used by people. Be specific about the intent behind each photo. When it comes to furniture product photos, Chen says, capturing the details is key. Photo editing software - Software programs like Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop can help to sharpen your images even more. Soft lighting is the more commonly used type of product photography lighting. Sometimes within this process, you might realize that it would be better to photograph your items separately, or vice versa. Chen would post as many photos as possible if she could, but social media sites limit how many photos a seller can post. Make sure to shoot the top, bottom, inside (if it opens) and all sides of the object you're selling. Instead, let two eCommerce gurus guide you through the art of putting your best foot forward photographically speaking, that is. In hard light, shadows have harder edges and greater definition. Once she posts that new photo, she can usually sell the item right away. 15 great product photography ideas to help you sell more. Consider also emerging tech like augmented reality. Follow our 12 simple tips to transform your advertising images from amateur to amazing. Chen doesnt like to use artificial lighting, because she finds it changes the color of the furniture in photos. While you can invest in professional-grade lighting and flashes, to get started, regular lamps can work. Often, entrepreneurs who start an online business arent photographers. The important thing with staging is to strike a balance between domestic beauty and distraction. Not only will your products be showcased in a variety of real-life settings, but youll demonstrate your commitment to prioritizing customers happiness. For example, dont sell the beer, sell a good time: This photo is also great because it shows the product in the environment that it is intended to be used in. Photo manipulation is the first technique on our list so far that you will need more than just a camera to pull off. She finds the platform easy to use. Bokeh is a blur effect and most people use it to create a background like the one seen here: To find out how to do this, read How to Achieve Nice Bokeh. Han will often reshoot a piece that hasnt sold after some time. Consider also the various types of photos you can take: Studio shot - These are the shots that are most often used as the cover photo of an item. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. I like to touch and feel my purchases. So she bought soft boxes for light and studio lighting for about $100 and that upgraded her lighting set-up. With the above considerations in mind, create a shot list. They can recognise themselves in the photo and imagine themselves using or wearing your product. Avoid a crazy wallpaper wall, she said. A light source - Lighting is another key element for successful product photos. You see people use printed backgrounds or landscapes, but I think, no matter what you decide to use, it shouldnt be distracting, because you want the attention to be on the clothing, Han said. Images of suspended products look impressive and whilst it will take some effort and trial and error to get right, you can take a photo like this by using some clear fishing line. It doesnt matter what youre selling, from beer to hoodies, product aesthetics matter. But as new visual tools emerge, your photo strategy should adapt and complement new offerings. Having said that, it doesnt hurt to experiment with different angles to see if you can create something a little more eye-catching. Thank you for signing up to Tom's Guide. This photo here gives us a great sense of adventure. When selling online, the more information you can give to your customers, the more likely they will be to make a purchase. published 24 September 17.

If the photo was just of the watch alone, then we would know what the watch looks likebut thats about all. Use free tools like, Videos, for one, allow you to incorporate sound and motion into the online shopping experience. But when shopping online, people cant do that. When it comes to photographing your products, getting just the right angle may have huge implications on how the item will be perceived by the shopper. But there is a lot of work involved. Weve talked a lot about what you should place around your products. People love to see other people in advertisements and product photos. Chen uses the Adobe Lightroom editor as her image editing app. Sheesh people.

New York, This may take a bit more time, but it's guaranteed to catch buyers' attention.

The walls of a light tent are usually made of translucent fabric and include an opening for you to poke your lens through. This should be a 2-3 word description of the product. Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements in such a way that they complement each other. A sweep - A sweep is a clean, solid backdrop that removes any visual distractions from the background.

From how-to demonstrations to livestream shopping events, videos can help to further convert more shoppers and appeal to buyers with various preferences. Wait until daytime, turn out any lights in the room, and pull a table up close to a window or doorway. You dont necessarily need to whip out a pricey DSLR camera to get started. Try shooting with a variety of f-stops to see how it affects the depth of field in your photo. However, alongside macro shots, its also important to include full shots of your products. Especially if you hire models or photo production help, an efficiently-mapped schedule for a shoot based on strategic needs is essential to keep costs in control. However, these are specifically meant to show how to properly use our item. Try reducing your image to fit the width of your screen (or in developer speak, your image container size). Shooting from above is a popular choice because it eliminates any prominent perspective and instead requires the viewer to give their complete attention to the subject of the photo: Using a reflected surface adds a little extra something to an otherwise straightforward product photo.

Dont forget to add alt text to all your images. Reserved / Disclaimer, Your email is safe with us. As I was sifting through the gazillions of similar products-alas, none of which ended up being exactly what I was looking for- I noticed a trend: If a product had a bad photograph, were talking the little thumbnail preview image here, I would not even click through to see the product details. Scroll through the pages to see where she used bedsheets. When photographing your product, its important to not only think about how your product looks, but also the entire area around it. Remember: 99.9% of the time what we think is going to be catchy ends up being a turn off to buyers as it simply looks cluttered and distracting. Its great for highlighting intricate products. | Cookies Settings, Christine Soojung Han ofVintage Sooj uses color paper backdrops when photographing her vintage clothes. When you feature people in your product photos, it speaks to your ideal customers. Simply placing your product on a piece of glare free fabric (or paper) can be sufficient. Take advantages of other optionssuch as Wixs built-in photo editor, available to all Wix merchantsbefore splurging. If it's a piece of furniture, incorporate it into a beautifully decorated room. Another popular technique is using a Bokeh background to make the product the main focus of the shot. If you need some inspiration, look to big companies with a similar look and feel to your store and see how they lay out their product page. To manipulate your photos, like this: You will need use of an editing software like Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. Dont rely on your customers to simply imagine what your product looks like in a different colour show them! She doesnt want to take attention away from the product itself. Using props is another way to help your customers imagine the different ways that your product(s) will be of use to them. Think through how your photos will work on mobile, third-party marketplaces (which each have their own image requirements), and various mediums (e.g., print versus digital). If you want to grab someones attention, this is how. Capture both video and photos during catalog shoots, and grab visuals that can be repurposed for multiple channels. I think online shoppers, admittedly on a subconscious level, are making similar judgments, though perhaps not as extremely, of our online products every day. As opposed to focusing on product details, these images let customers imagine themselves enjoying the product. From Etsy to eBay, there are more places to sell stuff online than ever before, but few people know how to create professional-looking marketing photos. Interested in joining the world's leading print on demand platform? However, these softwares arent as simple as Download and Go, so you may need to look for some online tutorials on YouTube. Its the presentation, the first way a shopper sees your product. Before Christine Soojung Han of Vintage Sooj even shoots a photograph, she asks herself some philosophical questions. You can use your background to help you sell your product. Dont overcrowd your product pages with unnecessary information that will draw away from the product. Close-up shot - Macro photography is a technique that captures beautifully detailed close-ups of your product by allowing your lens to focus on objects that are very close to the lens. To put it simply: knowing how to take pictures of items to sell online has almost as much of an impact on your success as the actual object. You probably see these a lot in restaurants: a blob of butter slowly melting atop a cob of corn. Taking photos of your products is not only an opportunity to showcase them, its also a chance to get your personality across. She uses her broad experience in journalism, publishing, public relations and marketing to create compelling content and loves hearing user success stories. This can either be a room that has lots of windows, or one spot of your workspace where you can control the lighting easily. You need to portray these "wants" in your product photos. In a brick and mortar store, customers have the luxury of holding products, looking at them from all angles, feeling the weight and so on.

Did you know that people form their first impression within a mere 50 milliseconds?! Once you have your camera set up on a tripod, you can use a countdown timer or a remote (if you have one) to snap pictures without accidentally jostling anything. Examples of Chens clean photo styling can be studied on Instagram. Most people, when they take a photograph, will instinctively shoot from eye level, like this: This works just fine. This method will shine light on all the details of the product and eliminate any harsh shadows that can obscur details and edges of the product. Elizabeth Djinis is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder. Sometimes we get so caught up in the concept were going for as photographers that our judgment can become clouded. The craftsmanship in a woodworked shelf, condition of hand-painted china or facets in a diamond ring can be seen only from close up. Chen uses white walls as her backdrop, but in the last year, she has spruced it up by adding board and batten wood paneling to her staging wall. Product photography 101: how to take product photos that sell, In this article, well cover essential tips for taking the best product photos. It can be a tricky art to master, and you may find yourself with reams of blurry practice shots before you find the perfect one. These days, even smartphone cameras can take amazing photos, so to really stand out and sell more, you need to think outside of the box. A low f-stop will help blur the background and make your subject pop, but it's also important to keep key elements in focus. Take a photo of that. The more thoroughly you photograph an item, the more confidence a buyer will have about what they're getting. A video gives people the sense of the full scope of an item and what it looks like in natural daylight. No amount of fancy equipment can salvage your images if theyre shot in poor lighting. Chen has a space in her house specifically designated for staging, a luxury not everyone has. I enjoy smiling at clerks, asking them where theyre from, and finding out if they have kids and such. But when you do get the shot just right, and you make it look like time has stopped, your product photos will look extremely professional and this is sure to impress potential customers. A Guide to How to Dress for Work, Writing a Two-Week Notice Letter: Template, Tips, Examples and Considerations, Online Jobs; No Experience: 9 Remote Jobs That Require Little or No Experience, August Class Action Settlements Involve Capital One, Chicken of the Sea and Morgan Stanley, Rent Your Swimming Pool and More Ways to Make Summer Money. She made almost $550 off of the dresser with little additional work. This, as mentioned earlier can be achieved through DIY diffusers, reflectors, or a light box. Mannequins, stands, or racks (optional) - Each of these serve as still, standard props for helping you display items clearly. For Chen, staging is pivotal to creating a lived-in scene with her furniture. In this image of a seashell dish, the photographer included jewelry and lipstick as reference points. What makes your piece special? Some tents also come with built-in lights (opens in new tab). Frills arent always needed. To produce quality images, you need to have the right equipment on hand. You can find what that width is by right clicking on any product image of your site, clicking Inspect, and viewing dimensions in the Styles panel. Not to say that theres no good in staging. Set up some products using our Shopify App, order some samples and use these tips to get great product photos. Use your editing software to resize your image or tools like Wixs built-in image editor. She started out with simply soft sunlight, but that was too dependent on the weather. We won't share it with anyone, 8 Tips for Breathtaking Forest Photography, 7 Tips for Beautiful (and Meaningful) Engagement Photography, Weekly dPS Photography ChallengeYour Choice, 10 Tips for Stunning Street Market Photography (+ Examples), Upcoming: Nikon Full-Frame Camera and Lenses to Be Released in 2022, Mylio Photos Review: Manage All Your Images in One (Safe!) You'll look more professional if customers can't see your messy living room in the background. Just aim powerful lights at the tent or take it outside on a bright day to ensure that your item is sufficiently lit from all sides. Nothing shows off a beautiful product like a clean, uncluttered composition. In editing, Chen can adjust the lighting and the effects to make it look just as it does in real life, rather than to make it look better or more beautiful. What is a latex mattress and how long do they last? **Given the fact that few online vendors are also skilled photographers with fancy lighting set ups, were keeping things super simple by using natural light. Knowing how to shoot a good photo and arming yourself with the necessary tools are essential preliminariesbut theres another crucial step to take prior to snapping pictures: develop an overarching product photo strategy. Join over 700,000 stores worldwiderun and scale your eCommerce business on Wix. The reality is that we live in a whole new world. Photograph your product there in the soft difused light. Note that there are two main types of lighting that you can use: Soft lighting - Soft lighting creates a delicate, halo-like effect that illuminates the object from all angles. Place, 50mm Photography: 5 Reasons Everyone Needs a (Nifty) 50mm Lens. OnePlus 10T design and colors just revealed days before launch, TBS cancels yet another show Full Frontal With Samantha Bee axed, OnePlus 10T all the rumors and leaks so far. Apple Pay. Both Han and Sara Chen of the upcycled furniture company Sara Chen Design suggest keeping the background clean and neutral. As such, it helps to show all product variations in your product photos. For example, if youre selling a custom apparel for urban warriors then a photo like this might work: Or, if youre selling slippers, your customers want to relax. Thats not a lot of time to grab the attention of your potential customers, so you have to make every second countor every millisecond. If you have a DSLR, consider using a macro lens to take your product photography to the next level. If your competitors arent doing this, then this will help you get ahead and sell more. Use free tools like TinyJPG, which aims to reduce your file size without sacrificing quality. With Arqspin, you get a turntable and access to cloud-based editing account so that you can make all of your product photos 360 degrees. This includes finding the right camera, a tripod, and some artificial lighting if you want to be really professional. A a simple complimentary pattern may add a little punch without feeling too busy. You can attach the top of your sweep to a purpose-built frame, the wall, the back of a chair, or the back of a lightbox. To make this look more professional, adjust the lighting in the room (or again, use some photo editing software to do this). Still photos have their advantages: theyre easy for shoppers to use and dont need a lot of internet bandwidth.

There was a problem. Business Email Some smartphones and point-and-shoot cameras also have built-in macro settings (and there are some great macro lenses for the iPhone) that allow you to focus at close range. is a writer and a lifestyle wedding and portrait photographer who shoots across the globe. It eliminates the line between the table and wall and prevents you from accidentally capturing any blemishes in the background that you didnt notice with your naked eye. How to Straighten a Crooked Image in Photoshop (Step By Step), 5 Lightroom Tips and Tricks (to Revolutionize Your Editing), How to Convert to Black and White in Lightroom (Quick Guide), Just-Released Lightroom Updates: Video Editing, Adaptive Presets, and More, The Most Popular Digital Cameras (in 2022). Im finally starting embrace the fact that just maybe, my brick and mortar passion is going to have to become a thing of the past. Lifestyle shot - These show products in real-life settings. Group photos can be used to show different size options for a single item, or the full assortment of items included in a product kit or collection. **. If glare and shadows are too harsh, soften light with a diffuser like a white flat sheet, paper, or white garbage bags. She found the props to be distracting, so now she models the clothes in most of her photos and adds accessories to the outfits. Ive recently spent a lot of time perusing sites like Etsy and other small market online vendors. No one wants to see someone else's fingerprints, dust or crud on a product. If you don't have a camera that lets you control your settings, you can achieve a similar effect using Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, which use two lenses to create a blurred-background effect.

I am convinced that a good image can be a make or break situation for an online vendor. Researching and having a style of image in mind that you want to achieve makes it easier from the outset. An even higher percentage, 62.3%, agreed that a brand featuring ordinary, real people were more likely to understand their customers. A picture is worth a thousand wordsbut a great product photo can be worth even more to your bottom line. For example, Bimber Distillery showcases its whiskey in front of oak barrels. To brighten up the dark areas, place a reflector (opens in new tab) or white card on the shaded side of your image. Remove anything from the photograph that doesnt add directly to the feel/concept of the image as a whole. Theyre passionate about their businesses selling vintage clothing or refurbishing vintage furniture, but theyre self-taught. A sweep can be made from a large roll of paper, a piece of posterboard, or a sheet of fabric. 9 times out of 10 glare (caused by the flash) on your product is going to make the image look amateur and as a result lower the buyers confidence in the quality of the product as a whole. Be sure to get an outsiders opinion. For example, if you sell athletic shoes to dedicated runners, then youll likely want to take closeups of the soles and any removable orthotic insoles (as examples) that runners care about. Compressing your images can further help to crunch the file size down. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). This is an opportunity to play around with your photography skills, have fun, and most importantly, make a lasting impression. If you're photographing multiple items and want to keep things simple, consider buying a light tent (opens in new tab). Chess and playing the guitar are hobbies that have devoted followers, so macro shots like this are sure to ignite some fond memories for them that will heighten their intent to buy. Heres why you can trust us. If your brand is playful, you may opt to use plenty of bright colors. Macro shots are super close-ups. Enjoy more of her photography and writing at www.natalienortonblog.com.

From how-to demonstrations to livestream shopping events, videos can help to further, Consider also emerging tech like augmented reality. When buying online, customers want to look at as many photos as they can so that they know theyre going to be happy with their purchase. If you are photographing multiple items together, rearrange them as many times as you can to find the best fit. If youre buying a tripod for your smartphone, you can spend between $20 and $60 for a decent one.

If you're selling artwork, put the print inside a nice frame and shoot it hanging on a wall. The soft, natural light will minimize harsh shadows and give whatever object you're photographing a fresh, airy quality (as long as the sun isn't shining directly in). Better yet, you could hire a designer to help you. The environment of your product photo can really help customers to imagine themselves using it, which is also going to help you sell more! COTA Skin uses an attractive group shot to generate interest in its skincare bundle. Manage and track everything with an advanced, integrated dashboard: from inventory, orders and fulfillment to payment and brand marketing. The answer is probably not. For many, the internet has been their teacher. By Have more tips? Chens photos might sound perfect from the first take. Since people cant physically handle your product, youve got to make sure you show them everything there is to show. Alternatively, some photos will shine against a background thats more dynamic. Imagine your custom-branded mug in a shot like this? If she can add a video, she does. Finding the right place in your home is a matter of finding south-facing windows and, ideally, more than one window. Platforms like Wix eCommerce support 360-degree photos, which can help you tap into this trend. Take some extra time when setting up your shot to remove any distracting background elements. The Wix eCommerce platform provides businesses with all the professional tools and services they need to sell online and in-store. This post was last updated on June 24, 2022. Han found natural light to be too fickle. Discover how to start an online store that captures your brand in the best light. Its possible that the max width of images on your site is 800 px, but all of your images are twice that size. Sometimes it can be just as effective to have all of the focus on your product. There are many ways product photos can communicate your brands identity. Green plants can liven up your food product photo and make your item feel fresh.