Online, your product photo does the job of a shop assistant. It has to show the product clearly, answer questions and make the customer want it, all in a second or two.
Get the light right
Soft, even light shows true colours and texture. Daylight from a large window works well for small products. Avoid mixing daylight with coloured indoor bulbs, which makes colours look wrong.
Keep the background simple
A clean background keeps attention on the product and makes your catalogue look consistent. Save styled, colourful sets for lifestyle and campaign images.
Show every angle that matters
Customers cannot pick the product up, so show them what they would check in a store: the front, the back, the label, the texture, the opening and the detail that makes it special.
Give a sense of scale
Show the product in a hand, on a shelf or next to a familiar object. Many returns and complaints come from products being bigger or smaller than expected.
Show it in use
Lifestyle images help customers picture the product in their own lives. A lotion on skin, a bag on a shoulder, a panel on a roof. This is where desire is created.
Customers buy with their eyes first. Give them every reason to say yes.
The checklist
- Soft, even light with true colours
- A clean, consistent background for catalogue shots
- Every important angle and detail
- At least one image that shows scale
- At least one lifestyle image
- Consistent editing across the whole range
