Principles For Effective E-commerce Photography 

Imagine browsing a virtual store where every product image tells a story, sparking curiosity and fuelling desire.

That's the power of high-quality ecommerce photography.

E-commerce product photography is crucial for any business aiming to elevate sales and captivate its audience. In fact, 80% of online buyers consider photo quality to be highly influential in their purchasing decisions.

This begs the question: How do you shoot compelling photography for your own online store?

Stick with us as we explore the answers to that very question!

There's lots to cover, so let's dive in!

Understanding Ecommerce Photography: The Basics 

As the introduction hinted, high-quality e-commerce photography forms the backbone of any high-converting product page. These visuals are your customers' primary means of visualising and assessing your products. 

So, needless to say, shoddy product images will make customers think twice about spending their hard-earned cash with you, which is why investing time and effort into presenting your products in the best possible light pays dividends. 

The bottom line: Good images significantly enhance customer engagement and trust and, therefore, can positively impact purchasing decisions. In fact, 65% of consumers say that the quality of a product image is more important than the product description! 

With that said, it will come as no surprise that compelling e-commerce photography involves more than just snapping a few shots on your smartphone. 

Instead, shooting captivating imagery that seizes your audience’s attention and prompts them to explore your online store demands an understanding of the elements comprising excellent photography. 

Let's take a look at these components in more detail: 

Elements of Successful E-commerce Photography 

First-rate e-commerce photography hinges on several key elements - namely, getting the right angles, lighting and correctly positioning your products to showcase them to the fullest.  

Getting all this right may take several tries, but trust us, the perseverance will be worth it! 

We'll discuss these elements in more depth further down, but for context, we'll quickly provide a brief overview of some of these factors: 

Let's start with lighting. Lighting can make or break the quality of a product photo, so it's crucial to get this right.  

To elaborate, proper lighting is vital for casting soft shadows that highlight your product’s specific features. Side lighting, in particular, is recommended for emphasising your product's shape and texture. 

Your background setup is equally important. For example, a white background can simplify the editing process and keep the focus on the product. 

Lastly, you'll need to edit your photography in a way that's consistent with your brand aesthetic. For example, you might consider: 

• Increasing the saturation to bring out more colour 
• Ensuring sharpness for more defined edges 
• Adjusting the brightness and contrast to highlight specific product features while maintaining a natural look 

Read our full, in-depth guide to product photography. 

The Benefits of Professional E-commerce Product Photography 

If the above sounds like a lot of time, effort and skill, you're right - it is. That's why if you have the budget, it's best to hire the services of professional photographers.  

There are tons of benefits to doing this, for example: 

• You're guaranteed high-quality product photos that are likelier to establish credibility and win the trust of your website visitors. 
• A professional photographer will help you establish a consistent visual identity, essential for boosting brand memorability. 
• Outsourcing product photography will save you and your team time and resources, allowing you to focus on other critical aspects of your business operations. 

Let's look at these benefits in greater depth: 

Increase Sales 

Superior product photos are a powerful tool for boosting online sales as they attract and engage potential customers, increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

In fact, professional product photos have proven to generate a 94% higher conversion rate. 

Enhancing Brand Image 

Clear and consistent product photos are fundamental to building a trustworthy and professional brand image. They create a unified look across your online product listings, which improves the shopping experience and reinforces your brand's visual. 

Saving Time and Resources 

Hiring professional photographers can be a significant time saver for your eCommerce business. It eliminates the need for repetitive photo shoots and hours spent on post-production work that could otherwise be spent on revenue-generating activities. 

CGI and 3D Photography for Ecommerce 

Leveraging CGI (computer-generated imagery) and 3D photography presents an innovative alternative to conventional product photography. 

Compared to traditional methods, CGI photography allows for more creative freedom, versatility and the ability to create photorealistic images without needing the actual products, making it a cost-effective and efficient option. 

However, blending CGI with traditional photography can enrich your content's visual interest by benefiting from both techniques' advantages.  

Still-life photographers have more experience photographing objects in a studio setting and have access to different props and backgrounds. In contrast, CGI studios specialise in producing lifelike 3D images of products, which sets them apart from other studios.  

 By collaborating, photographers and CGI artists can create stunning imagery that captures the best of both worlds. 

Are You Ready to Take Your Product Photography to the Next Level? 

That brings us to the end of our complete guide on ecomm photography! As we've seen, compelling e-commerce photography is a powerful tool for capturing the attention of potential customers. So, as cliche as it sounds, perhaps what they say is true - a picture does indeed paint a thousand words.  

From mastering the elements of successful e-commerce photography to appreciating the value of professional photographers, this guide details all the perks that brands stand to gain from high-quality product images, namely: 

• A boost in online sales 

• An enhanced brand image 

• Saved time and resources 

Contact us today for more information about our photography services.