Whatever you’re promoting, you’re going to need photographs. No one wants to buy a product or book a service when the images of it are sub-par. Quality product images instill confidence in the buyer. Furthermore, extraordinary product images inspire people to buy.
If you have a line of products to sell – online or offline – you need to show your products at their very best. To capture your products perfectly, you will need to consider product photography. Stock images and smartphone cameras don’t always cut the mustard.
In this guide, we’ll take a look what is product photography and when your business needs a professional photographer.
What is product photography?
Product photography is a form of commercial photography. The aim is to present a product at its best, in keeping with brand guidelines and in support of campaign objectives. Consistency is key in product photography. In its most basic sense, this concerns placement, lighting, and range.
There are different kinds of product photography, including white background photography, lifestyle photography, Amazon product photography – a relative newcomer to the category – 360 product photography, and fashion photography. Where products are the focus, the art of selling is primarily through visuals alone.
Product photography shows would-be buyers what they can expect from their purchase. A range of angles convey quality and scale, consistent and quality images instill buyer confidence, and demonstration of features helps tick all the buyers’ boxes.
But there’s more. Good product photography fires the imagination and creates desire – the holy grail of marketing campaigns. When all else is equal, good photography is going to win in a product comparison.
Why is product photography so important?
It’s great for branding consistency
High quality product photography won’t just ‘show off the goods’, it will give you stock of photos – marketing assets – you can utilise across sales and marketing channels. This is an important tool in brand management and the need for consistency. Capturing all of your products in a consistent style conveys attention to detail, paramount to cultivating positive customer relationships. You can ensure that, no matter where your shoppers are in the customer journey, the message is visually consistent.
Inspiring action with creative product photography
So, quality and consistency instill confidence. But is that enough? What makes your products different to the other guy who’s selling them? Creative product photography differentiates one product offering from another. Does your product photography say, I’m going to change your life? Or does it say, this seller is going to give you the best customer service you’ve ever experienced?
Ecommerce has risen the stakes when it comes to competition. When another supplier is just a couple of taps and swipes away, can you afford to blend into the background? Don’t let your product be the wallflower.
Good product photography gets creative. It shamelessly uses human psychology to tell a story to the greatest effect. Whether it be colour psychology, cultural reference, aspiration, or shock, good product photography uses every tool at its disposal to inspire action in the buyer.
Specialist equipment
So, now you might be putting your new iPhone back in your pocket. All commercial photography relies on lighting, post-production software and experience, to get the job done. The camera itself needs to be capable of capturing high-resolution, high-quality files. You need to make sure your marketing assets can work hard for you and be used across media. Could your smartphone produce exhibition display or billboard-sized, quality images?
A simple lightbox and tripod can get you on Amazon. But that’s where it ends. That’s not selling, that’s just being there, hoping someone will pick you.
Make a great impression
Ultimately, good product photography is all about creating that perfect first impression. Cheap, badly edited images are never going to convey confidence or inspire people to buy from you.
As part of your marketing budget, factor in a professional product photographer. You will be glad you did when you’re creating some of your most successful marketing campaigns. When you have a good stock of marketing assets you will finally be able to capitalise on all the promotional opportunities there are out there.
When you want to inspire action with the extraordinary, have a no-obligation chat with Fenti. Let’s see how we can help deliver winning marketing campaigns with inspiring product photography.
