Tips for Taking Great eCommerce Photos

 

Online advertising is a huge industry, collecting about $1.5 billion worldwide. Of course, online photography is heavily reliant on visuals, photography especially. But your product photos can’t be low quality or else no one will buy, no matter how good the product descriptions are. Photo editing and professional Photoshop services are one way to ensure that your photos are ready for the web, but first you must lay the groundwork.

Here are a few tips to take great eCommerce photos before sending the images for photo cropping, color correcting, brightening, and otherwise editing.

Background

• Keep it simple: Use a clean background so the product stands out. White, or other light colors that don’t draw attention from your product work best. Black or very dark backgrounds can look nice with very light colored products, but you will have to experiment to see how it looks with proper lighting techniques.
• If you’re using a model to show your product, seasonal backgrounds work well. For example, modeling scarves against a fall background would highlight the product’s functionality. Photo styling is especially important when you are using a real life setting. The scene is obviously staged, but you want to make it look as natural as possible while still making your product the focus.
• Another way to effectively model clothing is by using the ghost mannequin effect. When you consult with the company you hire for professional Photoshop services, be sure that this is in their repertoire. You will take multiple photos of a garment on a model or mannequin, and the service provider will edit out the model and remove the background, keeping the garment’s shape as if it’s being worn.

Lighting

Sometimes natural light is the best choice for products, but more often than not, especially with small, intricate products like jewelry, manipulating the light to create sharp edges and drastic shadows produces the best photo. Light boxes are especially helpful for small product photography. You can even make a cheap one on your own before going out and purchasing one!

Show and tell

If you advertise something in the product description, be sure to show it in the image. If a dress has lace detail, photograph the detail. If an electronic device has a specific feature, show that feature. Show the product in use so the consumer has a good idea of the use of the product before they commit.