Running an online business means that your customers can’t touch, feel, wear, use or smell your products.
While online commerce revenue is increasing year after year, it’s still challenging for people to shop online because of these drawbacks.
The few ways you can present your item to your customers is with your branding, website, product descriptions and product photos.
Amazing product photography is a necessity for any online creative business selling products.
Combine this with having an awesome website, and you’ve built yourself a very strong and solid foundation for success in your business online.
An amazing product photo online makes you want to buy it.
It makes you squeal with excitement or giggle with amusement.
It submerges you in the story, feelings and emotions the photo is telling.
It should also give you a a very clear idea for what you’ll expect in the mail when you buy it.
Do your photos suck?
If you answer “yes” to any of the points below, you’ll want to take your photographs again:
- Bad lighting – can you even tell what color the product for sale is?
- Blurry photos – can you tell what you’re looking at?
- Harsh shadows – are there distracting shadows that take away from your designs?
- No supporting photos for multiple angle shots – is it unclear on what it looks like from the side or back?
- No photos to show the scale of the item – is how big or small is this clear to see?
Photography is a whole art in itself and thousands of people make a living doing it.
But it’s a skill you’ll want to teach yourself or practice if you want to stand a chance at building a successful business online.
Start investing in yourself. I promise it’ll be worth it.
Why you need white background photos:
- You’re more media/PR friendly
- People talk about you and word spreads about how awesome your shop is
- When working with blogs, magazines and website, it’s the industry standard to have your photographs on white background
- No distractions or misrepresentations
- White product shots are simple, clear, and most of all, transparent.
- Your customer gets what she sees. There’s no room for misguided purchases
- Manage your customer’s experiences with your photos. If they’re disappointed, they won’t shop with you again.
- Consistency
- Product pages are put together, consistent and whole (like Zappos or Amazon)
- It’s makes shopping more enjoyable
- It allows your customer to feel more comfortable and builds trust in you and your shop
Why you want colorful photos:
- Evoke emotion, tell a story
- Photos like the one below convey a specific emotion and paint a picture for a story
- It’s your job to create that story and emotion you want your customers to experience
- People buy based on emotions, not on logic
- Having beautiful product shots that are playful, cute and fun, or mysterious and romantic can really help boost your sales
- Just like how you bought that dress because it looks good on you. It makes you feel good!
- They’re viral
- Beautiful product shots like these are the kinda stuff you see on other people’s blogs, Facebook posts, Pinterest boards or Twitter streams
- You make it easy for shop visitors to share your products with their friends because it’s such a great photo with such a cute or enigmatic item
- You’re basically providing people with a bagful of eye candy that engages and draws attention
- They can provide scale
- If you use props in your photos, you’re giving your customers a sense of scale
- Your customers have a better idea for how big or small your item is
- Prevents confusion and makes your customer confident in buying from you
White background vs colorful background
Work on white backgrounds first.
These are your essentials and when you’ve got at least one photo of your item on white, you can explore with creating more artistic photos using props and colorful backdrops later.
Which camera should I use?
- Ideally you’ll want a camera that allows you to set custom preferences, such as the ISO speed, f-stop/aperture, white balance, and shutter speed
- Getting confused? Check out How to take perfect product photos on a white background for a tutorial on how to photograph your products on white
- You want a camera with variable settings like these because you want full control of your photos. Imagine being an artist and you didn’t even have all the tools you wanted to make that masterpiece.
- Having good equipment goes a long way. Your photos are more crisp, clear and of higher quality
- However, you shouldn’t need to spend more than $200 for a camera
- Smartphones these days have fantastic in-built cameras
- My iPhone takes awesome photos, but I would recommend using only iPhone 5 and newer models.
For the exact steps, check out how to take perfect product photos on a white background.
And see how to edit product photos for a white background in ONE minute.
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[…] And what’s the second most important thing you’ll need in your business? Amazing product photography. […]
I have tried a white background on my earlier photos, my problem is that the white background makes my items look washed out. I make quilts and I thought I had found the perfect backdrop in a gray wooded stockade fence. Now I have been told that my photos are not up to ‘snuff’ and the recommendation was to go back to white backgrounds. What do you do in this case, where you know white is not the ideal color for your items ?
Hey Gabby,
The washed out effect is common with white backgrounds, as there’s so much white color to reflect on to your products, making them appear whiter than they are.
Do you have a good example of a washed out photo you can send me (link or via email)? I think it’d be a good case study to make into a tutorial that you can learn to do yourself for fixing the washed out photos with free resources.
To answer your question specifically, I’ve had the hardest time photographing my vanilla cupcake on a white background (http://tinyhandsonline.com/necklaces/123-scented-vanilla-butter-sprinkles-cupcake-necklace.html) – I think this was the hardest thing yet in my experiences – but can easily be fixed with green screen chromakeying, where you take a photo of the item on a green or blue background, then use a photo editing software to delete out the green/blue background.
I believe if there’s one color you’re safe with, it’s always white! If you can send me a photo, I’ll promise to help you fix it!
This is very good I can use all the help that I can get. I’m saving this post
Thank you.
[…] Please visit us often and we welcome you comments. Please keep them on topic. Kindest Regards, A JI thought this was an interesting article about the importance of one particular thing that is neces…y, religious, or business. Here is a reprint of the […]
Those are such a great blog and really impressive.
Thanks for this detailed guide! Product photography is so important for making a strong first impression. Editing touches like background cleanup or color correction can also really enhance the final result. Appreciate the tips!