10 ways we produce the BEST Product Photography for E-commerce

Is your consumers’ attention span getting shorter and shorter by the day? We get it, and sadly it’s becoming the new norm.

Attention spans have shrunk from about 12 seconds to a mere 8 seconds with the introduction of short-form video platforms like TikTok. 

So how do you elevate your brand and make these potential customers notice you and your products in a mere 8 seconds?

The first step is to make sure that you are presenting your products in the best possible way. If you have a great product, but your presentation isn’t good enough, then someone might not notice it at all, and that is where having the best product photography comes in. 

In this blog, we will guide you through the ten ways we ensure we produce the BEST product photography possible to get those customers to SEE your brand and become loyal customers.

1. Sharp Imagery

This one’s pretty obvious. 

Who wants to see blurry, unfocused photos, especially on an e-commerce website, right? Fantastic imagery is the key to hook them at first glance. Make sure your image is crisp, sharp and showcases your product at the best quality possible.

HOT TIP: If you are having a hard time focusing on the product you are trying to shoot, lower your aperture little by little until you find the perfect clear shot.

2. Lighting

LIGHTING IS EVERYTHING in product photography.

Aside from clarity, lighting your products correctly is one of the most important things you should consider to improve your photos.

You need to ensure that you have ample light sources, be it natural or artificial, to make your products stand out. Try different angles to get the correct lighting that showcases your product the best and try shaping the light in different ways to really elevate your photos light.

HOT TIP: If you want to see exactly what lighting we have in our setup, head to our Youtube Video here

3. Get a complete product shot

Many e-commerce business owners try to take photos of their products on their own to save money. That is fine; however, don’t forget to get a simple product shot. 

Leave out ample white space, zoom out and place the product at the centre of the photo. Clear out dirt and dust, remove unnecessary accents and accessories, and feature the entire product as a whole. This can include packaging and all the extra bits and pieces that are included when someone orders from your site.

TIP: Investing in a good background is one of the keys to getting a clean and clear shot that is professional and will ensure that your customers will see you as someone serious with your business.

4. Uniformity in product photo sizes

Uniformity + Clean = Professional looking photos.

Set up your product with backdrop, lighting and set your camera up on a Tripod. Fix your Camera settings to get the best quality shot, now DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING. The rationale is quite simple with this one. You need to keep all your settings the same for continuity and set up each product in exactly the same place to keep the size ratio realistic. By shooting your products this way, they will look clean and professional on your website, and your customers will love it!

5. Take out noisy backgrounds and keep them plain.

Do you want your product to stand out even more? Remove noisy background and keep the colours light or in contrast with your products. Remember anything you add to your photo should Complement your product, not take the focus away from it.

If you are shooting a dark coloured product, one way to make it stand out is by using a white or light coloured backdrop to emphasise the contrast.

TIP: If you don’t have a plain coloured background in your studio, you can invest in photo editing applications such as Canva or Photoshop to manually remove the background of your product photos.  To do this successfully, you will need a plain white backdrop so we do recommend investing in this at the very least.

6. Play with mirrors and reflections

How do you make your products emit that luxurious and elegant feel?

Play with reflections. 

It doesn’t need to be an expensive investment, and you can just use a small mirror and play with the angle, or use a sheet of perspex for that reflective look.

7. Showcase how your product works

We have all been consumers at one time or another and one way to get that purchase over the line is to showcase how the product works in your photography.

By showing how your product works in your photography, guarantees that all bases are covered and your customers will experience the products right before they buy it. Providing your customers a glimpse of how your product works will increase your chances of getting that sale.

HOT TIP: You can add additional descriptions like sizes in post production to elevate the customer experience even more.

8. Place your product at the centre of the photo.

It’s okay to play around with angles but the best way to establish exactly what you are selling 

Is by placing your product in the centre. This establishes the focus of the photo and sparks a signal in your brain to focus on just that.

9. Tripods are your best friend.

Camera stability will decrease motion blur when taking your photos plus it makes it a hell of a lot easier for you. By introducing a tripod to your product photography setup you can decrease time in post-production trying to fix motion blur issues.

Miniscule movement can make or break your image and the best way to avoid this is to invest in a sturdy tripod. It does not need to be expensive and top of the line, as long as it’s dependable (you don’t want to risk having your cameras damaged, do you?).

10. Don’t skip post-production.

Getting the right photos involves a lot of talent and effort, and half of that talent comes into editing.

Post-production is what can take an okay photo to an amazing photo that will stop any potential customer in their tracks. This part of the process is your opportunity to tweak exposure, saturation and contrast, just to name a few; but can also be an opportunity to create something you could never make happen in real life.

Take creative liberties in post-production and play with settings, backgrounds and all of the above to make sure your product photography is at its very best.

Whatever tip or tool you might use, the secret to getting the best product photos is practise. The experts didn’t get to where they are without it, but they might just save you some time and be able to produce you some thumb-stopping content!

If you’re looking for experts to grow your e-commerce business through professional product photography & videography, Book a Complimentary Strategy Call with us!