Photography

The product photos are the ones that initially attract the visitor to take a closer look at the item. At the same time, due to the absence of physical viewing of the product, they are also the best indicators of its appearance.

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. 

Experience shows 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, improving engagement on the page and, consequently, helping to increase 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. Keep originals in high resolution (for example 2000-3000 px on the longer side), but display them on the web in modern, smaller formats: WebP or AVIF (JPEG as a fallback). A typical size is between 100 and 250 KB per image, in several sizes for different screens (srcset). Use PNG only for transparency and do not use GIF for animation (video is lighter). The platform or an optimization tool usually converts the formats automatically.

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

Example from our own practice. 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. The result is not a law of nature: we tested on bracelets and your items may behave differently, so repeat the test yourself. Test, test and test again.

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.

Images created or edited with artificial intelligence (background removal, scene completion) can save time, but the item in the image must match the real one: color, size, material. Images that show the item differently mislead the buyer. Mind the labeling too: under the EU AI Act the provider of a generative tool must mark the content in machine-readable form, and anyone who publishes such content as a user must disclose deepfakes - content falsely presented as real, and an artificially edited image of an item can fall under this rule if it would mislead the buyer. The rules apply from 2 August 2026; for tools already on the market before that date, a transition period until 2 December 2026 applies to machine-readable marking. More on the page AI in search and shopping.

AuthorAnže Voh

My name is Anže, I am a certified Magento solution expert and the maker of several award-winning online stores. I am the architect of all Degriz projects.

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