When you finally have your webshop ready, it will be time to add all the products. The products must be as visually presentable as is possible to attract customers. A huge part of E-commerce sales entails product photography. Whether your product in real life is of the highest quality, the potential customers who visit your site will only have the photos you posted as the sole tool from which they make their final buying decision. Hence, the importance of ensuring you display attractive photographs for your website must be emphasized.
Ideally, a product photo should clearly show a well-lit product on a white or black plain background. There should be plenty of plain color surrounding the product. What is the importance of the plain color? The plain color is meant to create white space for products of varying shapes. It is recommended to follow these principles not unless you have a good reason not to. If you want to include multiple photos for each product, then ensure the first photo you display shares the aesthetics of the rest of the product clearly.
Should you hire a professional photographer to take photos for your website?
If your budget allows it, you should definitely hire a professional photographer to get high-quality images for your website. The good thing about getting a professional photographer is that it will ease you the burden of getting the needed tools to take the highest quality photos and the process of taking those images as well.
That said, you should consider posting your job to a local photography school. There you might be able to book someone at a more reasonable price. Furthermore, sometimes, it is not just about a budget. For instance, if you are launching your business and have several other expenses, you can then consider this as one of such expenses. Before, you commit to paying someone, ensure you have chosen the right candidate. All in all, with a little bit of guidance, you can still be able to produce high-quality images for your website even without hiring a professional.
The equipment needed for e-commerce product photography
If you decide to take your photos for your website, have no fear, you can produce high-quality images without professional know-how. All you have to do is make sure the photos perfectly reflect a high standard for your e-commerce business. Do not make the mistake of lowering the standard simply because you did not get a professional photographer to do it because the visitors to your website will only expect high-quality visual content if they are going to consider doing business with you. So, whether you will be taking your photos with a digital camera or smartphone, ensure that you take professional-looking images for your website.
One impressive feature of product photography is that you can do a lot with minimal equipment. After all, a sharp eye and an open mind are the most precious things you require to take your product photos. However, the e-commerce product configurator by Threekit should be able to render your photos properly. These are a must for E-commerce businesses these days. It enables to show the products in 3D and provide a deeper engagement to the customers.
Below are just the basics, and they should not limit you from molding your equipment list depending on what works for you and what does not.
Hire a themed photo booth rental if you are planning to shoot for a seasonal range of products. Or come up with some unique cost-effective decorations that can help your products stand out for the usual top-down and center imagery.
Get a good camera
A good camera for product photography is the first thing you will need. These days there are several types of cameras to choose from such as DSLR, point-and-shoot, mirrors, and more. Any of these cameras is perfect so long as you are creative enough. When you get a camera, think of what you intend to capture. If you have a DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses, then you can zoom out or get closer until you choose the perfect shots.
A smartphone?
If you are not yet ready to invest in a new camera right now, you can use your smartphone and still take excellent product photos. In fact, there might be no much difference between a photo taken by a smartphone and an image shot with an expensive DSLR camera. Use the same tips you would use with a camera and the resulting images will be incredible. It is also recommended that you make a little investment in the smartphone tripod to make shooting easier and optimize what it can do.
Sometimes, a smartphone can serve you much better than a DSLR camera. For instance, with a smartphone, you can take a picture even when the phone is locked. Moreover, taking product photos with a smartphone makes it easy to share those images on social media platforms, reaching more customers, and who knows, you can even make a sale.
Tripod
To achieve high-quality images, you definitely need tripods. When you pair your camera of choice with a tripod, you highly reduce camera shake, especially when shooting with slow shutter speeds. Plus, when using a tripod, you can leave the camera in a steady position as you go to change the positions of your products. Do not hesitate to invest in high-quality tripod just like the way you have done on the camera. If you are using a smartphone, you can invest in a smartphone mount instead of a tripod, and it will serve you amazingly well. These are the things that will enable you to provide your website with high-quality images.
Backdrop and backgrounds
The general appearance, vibe, and style of your product photos can be altered greatly by backdrops. You have to think carefully about the colors of your product and what impact will be created with whatever background you choose. To avoid making costly mistakes, it is recommended you go for white or black plain backgrounds. These plain colors will give your product an opportunity to stand out and get all your attention. At home or in your office, you can be creative and use things such as sheets, placements, and poster boards.
Invest in a lightbox
Just like a tripod, a lightbox is another basic equipment that can aid in getting high-quality images. If you plan to be taking photos of your products without the help of a professional, then a basic lightbox will go a long way.
A lightbox is often sold in a set with high powered LED lamps, and it is a square contraption box with translucent sides. It diffuses the light coming in from different directions. The most impressive thing about a lightbox is how it allows for bright, shadowless lighting against a solid background making your 3D images to come out clearly and attractively.
Lighting equipment
Natural light can provide you with enough light to take your photos. However, if you can invest in some artificial light, the better so that you can work even when the sun goes down. Do not be afraid to have fun as you experience with different artificial lighting and choose the best.
Things to consider when taking product images for your website
You do not have to be an expert to take high-quality product images for your website. Some of the most important aspects when taking product images are your will power, the right gear, and a few tips to get you going. You may not always have a budget to hire a professional photographer to take photos to keep your site updated. To ensure that you remain on track and supply your site’s visitors with enough visuals, here are several tips that can help you take professional photos.
Focus on the subject
If you aim to have professional looking images, then you must make sure that the subject of your photograph is in focus. Moreover, ensure you are close enough to see the details of your subject. However, you should not go too close that the photo appears out of context; this will also make it impossible to crop such an image if need be. Most digital cameras and smartphones allow you to use the focus box when you tap on the viewfinder screen.
Keep composition in mind
To take professional-looking product images, there are certain rules you need to follow. One of such rules is to ensure you place the subject of the photo on the intersection on the two vertical lines dissecting your view into 3 even columns. Another composition rule to put in mind when taking high-quality images is to make sure you are zoomed in enough on your subject, but not too much that it appears pixelated.
Have the proper resolution
You are taking these images to use on your website, right? Therefore, make sure that these images are quality enough to look good on both large and small screens. After all, people will use different gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, and desktop screens to visit your site. Make sure that they all get to see high-quality images.
To achieve this, there are things you will have to put into consideration. If you are using your phone to take those images, then there is no need to resize or crop the original image since the standard size of a smartphone photo is just fine. On the other hand, if you are using a digital camera, you might need to resize. If you have any inquiries about the size of your imagery, then do not hesitate to consult your web designer. Your web designer can be able to help you resize your images if they were taken on a high-resolution digital camera and are quite large.
Consider some basic editing tools
Although in most cases edition is minimal, having some basic editing tools are essential. Fortunately, with the advancing technology, it is easy to find basic photo editing tools on camera and photo library apps. These are awesome resources that you can use to make minor adjustments like light and exposure and get the highest quality images. However, unless you have advanced knowledge of using such photo editing tools, simply stick to the basics, lest you end up messing everything.
In conclusion
In whatever you do, the bottom line is to ensure the images you use for your website are clear and focused on the subject. The right visuals will keep visitors longer on the site, and this can lead to an increase in purchases. With the right gear and tips, you can never fail to deliver what the clients are looking for. The above information will help you to achieve your goals as you continue to stay ahead of your competitors. Remember the images will determine how long a visitor stays on the site, the possibility of visiting again, referring someone else or even making a purchase. If you can hire a professional photographer to do it, well and good. If you cannot for whatever reason, do not underestimate yourself, you can do it like a pro as well.
Now you can go ahead, take your product photos and display them on your website. Allow your audience to indulge and visually connect in those awesome images. Also, remember to spread the word. Share on your social media channels and any other platform with potential customers.