Photography

To ensure that products are presented as effectively as possible, it's important to consider a few guidelines, especially if smaller retailers aren't hiring professional photographers at the outset. Here are some tips to follow when preparing photos to create aesthetic representations of our products even with amateur photography. 

It has been proven that high-quality product photos, as well as a greater number of different product images, significantly impact conversion rates. Many sellers of premium products opt to hire professional photographers who create high-quality images. These photos are much better than those provided by manufacturers, dramatically improving engagement rates on the page and, consequently, influencing increased conversion. 

Another important aspect is displaying products from different angles, thereby illustrating the clear dimensions of the items through photos.

Consistent Photo Size

The most crucial advice for photographing products is to standardize the format of all product images. When products are displayed in parallel, they are neatly arranged. If we have photos in different formats, the grid layout can be uneven, and the comparison of products may seem inconsistent. 

First, choose an appropriate format for advertised products. As mentioned, if we sell watches, the photos should be vertical to best showcase the items. For photos of watches in square shapes, there would be a lot of white space on the sides, making everything appear much smaller, and there would be a considerable amount of unused space. For eyewear photos, choose horizontal images, so there is no need for empty space at the top and bottom of the photo in square format. 

In the case of a specific store, choose the most suitable format. If you have a diverse range of products, find a format that best represents the items for sale. 

Consider the size of the photos; they should not be too large, as size can affect their display and the operation of the store. It is recommended that photos are not larger than 2 MB, and their width and length should not exceed 4000 px. For photos with backgrounds, gif and jpg formats are most commonly used. Png photos with a background are much larger, so it's better to avoid them, except for transparent photos where the best display is often in png format.

Consistent Size of Product Photos

Another important element is photographing products in uniform sizes. In sales, we can have very large and very small items, so it won't be possible to standardize them all, as showing glasses next to a washing machine would make the glasses look considerably smaller or even invisible. However, we can ensure the uniformity of different groups of products. This way, we can quickly notice the difference between classic and "oversized" glasses. Professional photographers address this issue by measuring and storing the distance from the lens to the object, adjusting the camera settings, and other parameters that could negatively affect the displayed size of the photo.

Accurate Color Representation

Accurate representation of the color of the product is particularly important for items where the appearance is crucial (clothing, other fashion accessories, etc.). Before photographing the entire collection of products, it is necessary to conduct some tests to find the best camera settings, ensuring that the photo of the product is as close as possible to the real state of the item. This helps avoid potential issues with dissatisfied customers who form an idea of the item's appearance based on the displayed photo.

Pay special attention to colors in photos of items with reflections (such as eyewear), as improperly photographed items can create a completely wrong impression of the actual appearance of the product. Items with reflections or transparent parts, in particular, can be challenging, as reflections quickly capture other elements, and for transparent items, it's difficult to distinguish the element from the background.

Uniform Background

A very important element of aesthetic presentation of a grid of products is also a uniform background. The choice of color that best represents your item is entirely up to you. Still, it's advisable to ask your customers for their opinion as well.

Additional Elements

When we have multiple items in a grid and would like to highlight a particular one, it's good to do so with graphic elements above the photos. Tags for new and discounted items are most commonly used, but there are many other possibilities (last pieces, bestsellers, etc.). With such elements, we can quickly differentiate between items, giving the entire appearance a more dynamic look. When using tags, they should not be baked into the photo but arranged in a graphic display above the photo—say, an action that looks like part of the photo. When adding elements, be careful not to overlap the items, and it's best to arrange them at the edge of the photo.

Product Photos in Use

In one of the tests we conducted for bracelet sales, we added photos of bracelets in use to half of the professional bracelet photos. The photos were taken amateurishly, capturing parts of the hand and the complete fashion look of a person with a bracelet on their wrist. And what was the result of the test? We sold most of the items with additional photos, while for the other half of the items, only a portion was sold. We found that additional presentations of items undoubtedly contribute to increased sales, even with amateur photos.

For a merchant, even just photographing items can represent a considerable cost, meaning that additional amateur photos would only increase that cost. Keep in mind that when deciding on additional photos of items in use, you will need to engage and contact customers, as they will need to be prompted with a procedure for submitting photos. If, after making a purchase, we invite customers to contribute their own photos of items in use, we can further motivate them with some advantage on their next purchase. 

Additional Creative Displays

If we want to be different from others, we can be quite creative with photos and enhance the photo with a story, creating an additional emotional response to the images. Of course, we can also improve the display technologically, with interactive displays of items, such as a 360-degree view, or choose a video presentation of the item instead of photos.