Product Photography

The number of online sellers has increased dramatically, websites, webstores and social media are popular selling channels.The significant rise in the number of online sellers also means, that competition has become stiff and severe. It is important to differentiate your business from the crowd, this is easier said than done but surely attainable. If you sell products online, you need to make sure that prospective buyers can clearly view the product before making a purchase commitment. The images for the products that you sell, should be clear, detailed and informative. 

Product Photography, Suggestions

• Include multiple images for each product. 
• Capture important details in the product photos. 
• In the same of some products, precise color visibility is essential. 
• Avoid distracting backgrounds, keep it simple and clear. 
• Maintain the same background and image size for all images. 
• Lighting is important, it should be uniform and bright enough. 
• Make use of infographics to highlight product features. 
• Keep an image size that will look good on all screen sizes. 
• Don't forget to keep resolution at around 100 to 120 dpi. 
• You could mention the name of your website or brand on each image. 
• Use a camera tripod to ensure a crisp and fully focused photograph. 
• All preserve original (raw) images, before editing them. 

Photographs are not only about showing product details, they also have a place in search engine listings. Use google or any other search engine to search, you will notice that a bunch images and videos that match the search criteria are also displayed. And if you do a search on images, you obviously have nothing but images being displayed. 

So what type of camera should you use for taking photos of products. If you had to go by popularity, smartphones are undoubtedly the most popular devices used to take photographs today. The suggestion to mount the camera on a sturdy tripod, remains the same irrespective of the type of camera used. If you plan to purchase a camera to take photographs of your products, here are a some very useful tips.

Choosing A Camera

• Small products like jewels, will require a lens that can take closeups. 
• When photographing large objects like cars, a wide angle lens works best. 
• Interchangeable lens capability can be useful but is not absolutely essential. 
• Inbuilt camera flashes are generally not suited for product photography. 
• Make sure that the image resolution is not less than 10M (million pixels). 
• Check the minimum focus distance and the zoom feature. 
• Look for a camera that comes with a power adapter. 

Lighting For Product Photography

• Flashes mounted on the camera or smartphone are generally unsuitable. 
• Lights used to photograph products should be uniformly spread. 
• The details shown on the product including text should be clearly visible. 
• Avoid flooding the product with light as this can cause a loss of detail. 
• Soft diffused light will give a clear and attractive image in most cases. 
• You could put a small white box or dome together to control light. 
• A single light will rarely give good results, work with at least 2 lights. 

Quick Notes: Do not over rely on editing photos, try to work as much as possible on taking the pictures. When looking at a product image, it is important that the product occupies at least 70% to 80% of the entire frame. Don't use distracting backgrounds, they can divert attention from the product. Let all images have the same profile (portrait or landscape) and the same size. When calculating dimensions don't forget to consider the resolution too. A resolution in the 100 dpi to 120 dpi offers a good balance between, clarity and loading time. Always take multiple images, you can always delete the ones that you will not use. Upload at least 2 to 3 images for each product, include different angles and explore the need for closeups. When you download images from your camera or smartphone, make it a point to keep a copy of the unedited images. They can come in handy when you wish to use them on different websites, social media, blogs etc.  

Printing Photographs: You want to file product images in a folder, print a poster or frame them in your shop or office - this is when prints will be required. Unless you have a large volume of printing to do, it might be a good idea to use a printing shop as and when required. Keep in mind that photographs that are to be printed, should have a resolution of around 300 dpi or even more. Some products might require exact color rendering, the prints should reflect the same. 

We hope that this report will take your product imaging to the next level. Remember that your products are the focus of your business. Good product photography will help attract visitors and increases the chances of making a sale. Superior image quality will also give your website, blog or social media channel a professional look.