We must all agree that having good product photos is crucial for online sales. Visitors to the website will make their purchase decision based on these images. Therefore, for your business and your sales, it is important that they are good, realistic photos.
Based on the photo, the customer should be able to assess the overall appearance of the product, its shape, and the quality of workmanship. Ideally, they should be able to imagine how the product will look on them, and also check all its unique features and what is possible… to touch the product.
In order to present the product well on an online platform, we need to remember a few key aspects of photography.
COLOR
The most important issue is color, specifically color consistency between all photos of a product and matching the color to the actual color of the product.
Color consistency is 100% achievable. It is imperative to ensure that your product has the same color in every photo.
Any deviation in color will cause confusion and loss of trust for the potential customer.
The customer must not be in doubt whether the color is dark green as in the first photo or light green as in the photo with the model. If there are doubts, the customer will quit the deal.
Color accuracy – matching the color in the photo to the actual color of the product. Be aware that you will never achieve a 100% match.
Perception of the color is affected by a number of factors such as the light in the studio, the light in the room where the photo is viewed, the resolution of the monitor, the set brightness of the display. Users view photos on devices of different quality, which always translates into color reproduction.
Take care to match the color of the product in the photo to the actual color on the special stand at the time the photo is taken. However, understand that you will reach a maximum of 90% compliance.
PRODUCT STYLING
Styling the product and preparing the product for photography plays a huge role. This factor is responsible for the general appearance of your product.
If you want to achieve a sensational effect, take the time to style the clothes well. Clean them from dirt, remove dust, iron thoroughly, and style your jacket well on the mannequin or on the hanger.
Remove all unnatural creases and smooth out the folds of the fabric. Check how the cuffs are positioned, if the collar is evenly arranged, and if all buttons are fastened. This is the crucial moment to ensure your product looks as expected in the photo.
At the very end, check if the styling is symmetrical. This is a very important point because our brain treats symmetrical products as quality products.
Good preparation of the product for photography is responsible for 80% of the final result.
RETOUCHING
Another important aspect that has a significant impact on the appearance of your product is retouching.
How to retouch products well? The best retouching is the one you can’t see.
Rule number 1 – retouching should be invisible to the customer viewing the product. All “too perfect” surfaces will immediately draw attention to themselves and raise doubts in a potential buyer.
Rule number 2 – retouching should not be used as an alternative/replacement to styling and good product preparation. Take care of a clean background, good lighting, prepare and style the product the right way and you won’t need much retouching.
Rule number 3 – use retouching only when you really need it. If you have pre-production samples on a photo shoot that have imperfections and flaws, then with retouching you can fix it. If getting symmetry in the styling is impossible, then retouching can help here. Gentle corrections by a skilled retoucher can make really noticeable changes in the appearance of the product.
Rule number 4 – be careful that your product or model does not look artificial or fake. It is important that the product or person looks natural and real, otherwise it can cause doubt on the part of the user.
The good old rule of “less is more” certainly applies to retouching.
SHADOW
The product looks good in the photo if it looks natural. Shadow is a given in our world and similarly in product photography – if we have light, we also have shadow.
You can probably see that products presented without any shadow look like they are suspended in space. Add some shadow and you will get a more convincing and natural effect.
If you add a shadow between the product and the background, you will gain a three-dimensional effect, the product will gain volume and will get an extra dimension.
If you add a shadow under the product, you will get a gravity effect and a natural look. This is a key factor through which you can give more dimensions to the customer.
CLOSE-UPS AND PHOTOS OF PRODUCT DETAILS
Imagine that you are shopping for clothes in the mall – if any shirt or dress catches your eye, you immediately want to touch it to check the quality/texture of the material.
If you want the customer to be able to touch the product and feel the quality and texture of the material, then detailed photos will be a great solution here. When we buy clothes in a shopping center, one of the first things we do is touch the product. In the online channel, we are deprived of this sense of touch. High-quality close-ups solve this problem.
Good detail photos can showcase the softness of the material, its volume, whether the product is cozy or maybe hard and rough. It’s also a great way to present all the unique features of the product, such as reinforced seams, an additional pocket inside the jacket, the quality of embroidery, or any other feature that adds significant value to the customer.
It is very important that you have at least one photo showing the detail, as this will enable you to bridge the gap between the product and the buyer in the online channel.
The most important factor in product photography is the product itself. No matter how beautifully the photos are shot, the customers are primarily interested in the product they are considering buying. The photography should serve to showcase the product in the best possible way, not to draw attention to itself.
This is an excellent point and an important reminder to keep the focus on the product when doing product photography.