Mastering Photography For Ecommerce: Tips To Make Your Products Stand Out

After 13 years as an ecommerce specialist, I have witnessed ecommerce photography evolving a lot over that period and I’m happy to share with you some insightful tips to make your products stand out as we move into 2024.

Why Product Photography Is So Important For Ecommerce

In the online world your product photography has to fill in the gaps that your customer has when not being next to the product. They are relying solely on their eyes and ears as to whether they’ll make the purchase. They can’t reach out and touch it, try it on, smell it, know if it’s heavy or light, so much of what you might sense in a standard shopping experience.

Instead your product description and your photography has to fill in the gaps. By producing the highest quality product images, you are giving yourself a massive leg up on the competition if theirs is below-par.

Let’s be honest, the difference in quality between the below two images is massive. If you saw these in Google Shopping results, which one are you going to click on? The first image is poor in so many respects including:

1. Hanger has been cropped out but not been filled in
2. Label is left out
3. Hasn’t been steamed
4. Isn’t fully front facing
5. Colour correction hasn’t been performed
6. Can’t see the logo well

How Ecommerce Photography Has Evolved

Like most things on the web, expected standards of photography have increased over the past few years. Increased competition in the marketplace, better quality equipment available, enforced standards from the online market leaders have all contributed to people trying to make their product imagery stand out.

Google themselves have an article which explains what is the requirements for an image to be considered in their Google Shopping campaigns. The likes of Google, Amazon and Ebay who accept listings from countless merchants try and enforce these standards to ensure that their pages are presentable and customers will return.

Essential Product Photography Equipment

A list of 10 items to consider when setting up your ecommerce photography workflow would include:

1. Camera: A digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) or mirrorless camera with manual settings for full control over exposure and focus.
2. Lenses: You don’t need to break the bank but a couple of lenses appropriate for your product size and style, such as a macro lens for close-ups or a standard zoom lens for general use.
3. Tripod: A sturdy tripod to keep the camera stable and avoid camera shake, especially in low-light conditions. Having a stable tripod is very important to get crisp photos and avoid any wobble.
4. Light Sources: You have a couple of options here. Continuous LED lights or strobe lights to illuminate the product evenly. Softboxes and Diffusers: To soften and control the light, reducing harsh shadows and reflections.
5. Reflectors: To bounce and fill in light, improving overall lighting quality.
6. Light Meter: A light meter for precise exposure measurement, ensuring correct lighting levels for your product.
7. Backgrounds and Backdrops: Various background materials, such as seamless paper, fabric, or acrylic sheets, to create a clean and consistent background for your product.
8. Photo Editing Software Software tools like Capture-One, Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom for post-processing, retouching, and enhancing product images are all professional level. If you want something cheap and free to start off with, you could start with Photopea (online) or Gimp (download).
9. Product Stands and Props: Supportive stands, risers, and props to position and display products effectively.
10. Remote Shutter Release: A remote or cable shutter release to prevent camera shake when capturing the image. This goes hand-in-hand with the sturdy tripod.

Some of these aren’t needed at startup level but can make your life a lot easier and give you a leg up on the competition as your skills and studio takes shape.