Photography
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Taze Creative
The role of product photography for an eCommerce store owner is as essential as wheels are to a car — it's a core element that ensures everything runs smoothly. High-quality imagery is a fundamental part of eCommerce, setting the bar for industry standards and consumer expectations. Product photography is not an optional extra; it's the driving force behind successful online retail.
This article is tailored for eCommerce enthusiasts who thrive on refining every detail, diving deep into the nuts and bolts of their operations to gain a competitive edge. We’ve dissected the types of product photography to guide both beginners and seasoned pros through the various styles, definitions, and usage examples. Whether these types are part of your daily strategy or reserved for niche purposes, learning to leverage them all will allow you to optimize your eCommerce store across all channels and communications.
By mastering these types of product photography, you'll be well-equipped to craft a versatile, appealing online presence that meets the high expectations of today’s customers.
Product photography has a direct impact on every key performance indicator (KPI) of an eCommerce store, including average order value, return rate, return on investment (ROI), click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), and customer lifetime value (LTV). In fact, a staggering 90% of online shoppers identify high-quality images as a critical factor in their purchasing decisions.
The equation is simple: neglecting the importance of professional product photography can leave you wondering why sales aren’t happening. On the flip side, when you invest in high-quality images, customers convert more frequently, return rates decrease, cart abandonment rates fall, and the average order value is likely to increase.
Every beginner in eCommerce makes mistakes with product imagery, but with the right guidance, you can avoid these common pitfalls. Let’s dive into the essentials of creating effective product images that drive your business forward.
A number of objects in a shot
Individual product photography
Focuses on a single item, often used to showcase a product's key features and details.
Example: A single smartphone displayed against a white background, highlighting its design.
Group product photography
Captures multiple products together, often used to showcase collections or complementary items.
Example: A set of skincare products shown together to suggest a complete regimen.
Based on size & dimensions
Regular-sized product photography
Used for items that are easy to handle and shoot, such as apparel or small electronics.
Example: A shirt on a hanger photographed in a studio.
Large product photography
Involves bulky or oversized items that require extra handling and specialized equipment.
Example: A couch or a car displayed in a wide, naturally lit space.
Detail photography/close-up photography
Zooms in on specific parts of a product to highlight intricate details.
Example: A close-up shot of the stitching on a luxury handbag.
Scale photography
Demonstrates the size of a product by comparing it to a familiar object.
Based on purpose
Packaging shots
Highlights the product’s packaging, often used for branding purposes or to emphasize the unboxing experience.
Example: A luxury perfume bottle with its ornate packaging.
360-degree photography
Allows customers to view a product from all angles through interactive images.
Example: A pair of sneakers shown rotating on a turntable.
Based on the props used
Hanging product photography
Displays items suspended in the air to create a dynamic, 3D effect.
Example: A pair of earrings hanging, showing their true shape and length.
Mannequin photography
Uses mannequins to give a more accurate sense of how clothing will fit.
Example: A dress worn by a mannequin in a well-lit studio.
Flat lay photography
Involves laying products flat and shooting from above, often used for social media and lifestyle images.
Example: A top-down shot of a clothing outfit with accessories arranged on a surface.
White background shots
The most common type of product photo, often used for e-commerce product pages.
Example: A kitchen appliance photographed against a white background.
Social media shots
Designed to be eye-catching and shareable, often more creative and vibrant.
Example: A styled image of a beverage surrounded by colorful props, designed for Instagram.
Based on the info provided in a shot
Infographic product photography
Combines images with text to explain product features or technical specifications.
Example: A smartphone with callouts highlighting its camera, battery, and display features.
Hero shots
These are high-quality, creative images used in advertising and social media to grab attention.
Example: A watch featured against a dramatic, textured background.
GIFs
Animated images that show product functionality or a series of products.
Example: A rotating GIF of a watch showing different angles.
Freeze-frame product photography
Captures action shots, often used for sports gear or products in motion.
Example: A running shoe splashing through water.
Promo images
Combines product shots with promotional text, often used for ads.
Example: A special offer on headphones with "20% OFF" overlaid on the image.
Based on usage
Process photography
Shows the product being made or used, often for handmade or artisanal items.
Example: A close-up of a craftsman making a leather bag.
Lifestyle photography
Shows products being used in a real-world setting, often with models or in contextual environments.
Example: A family enjoying a meal with a dining set for a home goods brand.
So let’s deep dive into each one of them now:
Individual product photography
Individual product photography focuses on a single item, highlighting all its features, details, and unique selling points. This type of photography ensures that the product stands out, with the background and any other distractions minimized or removed. The simplicity allows customers to see the product clearly, making it the best choice for showcasing one item in all its glory.
When planning your budget, keep in mind that the more products you add to a shot, the higher the cost. As soon as more than one item is introduced into the frame, the shoot transitions into group photography, which often requires more setup, time, and post-processing, thus increasing the overall price.
When to use:
On product pages where individual items need detailed focus.
In situations where the aim is to highlight one product's features, such as on Amazon or an eCommerce site’s "Buy Now" section.
Benefits:
Allows for complete focus on one product, which helps the customer make an informed decision.
Simplifies the presentation, making it easy to showcase the item’s key features.
Group product photography
At first glance, group product photography might seem straightforward or even mundane, but it’s far more complex than it appears. Some industries spend considerable amounts of money on this type of photography due to the nature of their products. For businesses dealing with larger or bulkier items, group photography is a logistical challenge, requiring specialized equipment, larger studios, and extra hands for handling and staging.
For those whose eCommerce stores sell regular-sized items, you may be fortunate to think group product photography is “boring” because handling smaller, easier-to-photograph items means you can avoid many of the costly complexities. However, whether the products are regular or bulkier, group product photography remains crucial for showcasing multiple items together in a cohesive, appealing way.
When to use:
To showcase collections or complementary products together (e.g., fashion outfits, accessory sets, or skincare collections).
For online stores that want to upsell by showing ready-made combinations (e.g., jewelry with matching accessories or outfits paired with shoes).
Benefits:
Allows customers to see multiple products at once, giving context and helping them visualize how items go together.
Useful for displaying product variations, like color options, in a single shot.
Can increase upselling opportunities by presenting a full set or combination of items that complement each other.
Regular-sized product photography
While regular-sized products may seem simpler to photograph compared to oversized or bulky items, certain industries—such as furniture retailers, truck parts traders, and bicycle shops—often deal with items that are irregularly large. These larger products pose unique challenges, from handling and staging to shipping and storage.
Many photography studios categorize objects over 5 kg (around 11 lbs) or exceeding 3 feet in length as large items. As a result, businesses in these industries often face extra costs for photography, as handling these larger objects requires specialized equipment, additional manpower, and larger studio spaces.
When to use:
For furniture stores, automotive parts, or bicycle retailers, where products are too large to fit into a standard photography setup.
When product dimensions are significant to the buyer's decision-making process, requiring the product to be fully visible and properly showcased.
Benefits:
Provides customers with a clear and accurate representation of large items, helping them visualize the product’s size and fit.
Professional handling and photography ensure that even irregularly shaped or oversized items are captured attractively and informatively.
High-quality images of large products help reduce return rates by managing customer expectations around size and appearance.
Large product photography
Large product photography involves substantial effort and costs due to the complexity of handling, transporting, and photographing bulky items. Businesses dealing with oversized products, such as the automotive industry, furniture stores, real estate, or equipment manufacturers, often face additional challenges when it comes to photographing these large objects.
Extra efforts and costs:
Manning to package for delivery: Properly packaging large items for transport to the photography studio can require extra care and additional hands to ensure the product arrives in good condition.
Delivery costs: Transporting large or heavy items to a studio is typically more expensive due to their size and weight.
Unloading and setup: Unloading bulky products often involves specialized equipment or more manpower to position the item in the studio safely and effectively.
Photo studio specifications: A larger studio space with adequate ceiling height and space is needed to accommodate bulky objects, which may incur higher studio rental costs.
Trained photographer: Not all photographers are equipped to handle large product shoots, as these often require specialized knowledge of lighting, angles, and space management.
Retouching and color correction: Post-production efforts may also increase, as larger products often need more detailed retouching to highlight key features and ensure colors and details are accurately portrayed.
When to use:
Large product photography is commonly used in industries such as:
Automotive: For cars, trucks, and automotive parts.
Furniture stores: For larger pieces such as couches, tables, and wardrobes.
Real Estate businesses: For photographing rooms, homes, or larger equipment used in construction or interior design.
Equipment photographers: For industrial equipment, heavy machinery, or agricultural tools.
Benefits:
Natural lighting: In some cases, particularly for outdoor items or real estate, bulky objects may only require natural light, simplifying lighting arrangements.
Higher value products: Large products often command a higher price point, which justifies the extra investment in high-quality photography. Well-executed images can significantly boost the perceived value of the product and lead to higher sales.
Better presentation: Clear, high-quality images help customers visualize the scale and detail of large products, making it easier for them to make informed purchasing decisions.
Detail photography / Close-up photography
Detail photography, also known as close-up photography, focuses on zooming in on a specific part of a product to showcase its fine details, textures, and craftsmanship. This type of photography requires precise camera settings and specialized lighting to capture minute details with clarity and accuracy.
When to use:
E-commerce product pages: Detail photography is frequently used on product pages to give customers a closer look at the product, helping them make informed decisions.
Social media and commercial shots: These close-up images are effective for promoting products on social media, where highlighting craftsmanship, texture, or unique features is crucial.
Jewelry photography: Premium products, like jewelry, require close-ups to showcase intricate designs, stones, and metals.
Antiques and vintage stores: Detail photography is particularly valuable for items with unique or aged qualities, as it allows sellers to set accurate expectations regarding the condition of the product.
Mass-market clothing: This type of photography is also useful for affordable clothing brands, where minor imperfections or fabric quality can be shown transparently, helping to manage customer expectations and reduce returns.
Benefits:
Bridges the gap between online and offline shopping: Close-up photography allows customers to experience a product in greater detail, almost as if they were inspecting it in person. This is crucial in building trust in the online shopping environment.
Highlight craftsmanship: For premium clothing and accessories, close-up shots emphasize fine stitching, quality materials, or unique design elements, helping to justify the higher price point.
Manage expectations: For mass-market products, close-up images can reveal small imperfections, helping reduce dissatisfaction and returns by setting realistic expectations.
Visual storytelling: Detail photography allows businesses to emphasize the key selling points of their products—whether it’s the texture of a fabric, the intricacy of a handmade item, or the luxury feel of a premium accessory.
Detail photography offers a powerful way to create transparency and engage customers by showcasing the uniqueness of your products, all while maintaining the trust and credibility of your brand.
Scale photography
Scale photography is a technique used to give context to a product's size by comparing it to familiar objects. This type of photography helps online customers better understand the actual dimensions of a product, which can be difficult to gauge through standard photos alone. Scale photography is especially useful for products where size is a crucial factor in the buying decision, and it can greatly enhance customer trust and satisfaction.
When to use:
Small products: For very small items (like the Zanco tiny t1 phone), placing them next to everyday objects such as coins or pencils helps convey their true size.
Large products: Even large items, like backpacks or furniture, benefit from scale photography. For instance, a backpack can be shown on a person’s back or next to common objects like an iPhone or a notepad to give customers a sense of proportion.
Online platforms: This photography style is common in crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, where products often need clear context to show how innovative or compact they are.
Products with varying sizes: For product categories where size options differ (e.g., rucksacks or handbags), scale photography can be used to showcase all the size variants side-by-side or against a known object.
Benefits:
Enhances customer understanding: Scale photography reduces the guesswork for customers by providing a clear visual representation of the product’s size in relation to familiar items.
Reduces returns: By setting accurate expectations around size, scale photography helps minimize dissatisfaction and return rates, especially for products where size plays a significant role in the purchase decision.
Effective for visual comparisons: It’s easier to highlight the compactness or large scale of a product, helping to emphasize the product’s uniqueness or practicality.
Social media & marketing impact: Scale photos, especially creative ones (like the #TetrisChallenge), can grab attention and create a viral marketing opportunity by showing a product in unexpected or relatable contexts.
Example:
Zanco Tiny t1: One of the smallest phones in the world was shown next to a coin and a pencil to emphasize how incredibly small it is.
Backpack comparison: A photo of a rucksack being worn or placed next to commonly used items like a laptop or phone gives potential buyers a clear understanding of its size and storage capacity.
In summary, scale photography is an essential tool for eCommerce businesses that want to ensure customers have a clear understanding of the product's dimensions, improving the overall shopping experience and reducing confusion.
Packaging photography
In today’s visually-driven, brand-conscious consumer world, packaging shots have become more relevant than ever. Businesses invest significant resources in designing unique, branded packaging that not only reflects their brand’s identity but also enhances the overall customer experience. Packaging photography, therefore, serves as a visual record of that investment, showcasing the effort that goes into making the product memorable even before it's opened.
When to use:
Branded packaging: If you’ve invested in custom-designed packaging that reflects your brand's values, personality, and style, it’s essential to capture it in high-quality images.
Aesthetic appeal: When your packaging is aesthetically pleasing or unique, packaging shots can become part of your marketing, especially for premium or luxury products where the packaging is an extension of the product experience.
Functional packaging: If the packaging serves a functional or protective role, especially for fragile products like electronics, alcohol, or perfumes, showing it can build customer trust that their product will arrive safely.
Unboxing culture: With the rise of unboxing videos on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, visually appealing packaging photography can engage customers and even attract influencers to review your products.
Benefits:
Brand reinforcement: Well-shot packaging images help reinforce brand identity by showing off the design, colors, and style that make your product instantly recognizable. It enhances the perceived value of the product.
Customer assurance: Packaging shots can also communicate a sense of security to customers, particularly when the product is high-end or fragile. Customers want to know their purchase will arrive safely.
Anti-counterfeit measures: For products like premium perfumes, luxury alcohol, or high-end electronics, showing the packaging helps customers recognize the authenticity of the item. Many premium brands rely on intricate packaging designs as an anti-counterfeit measure.
Educational value: Packaging can serve as an educational tool, especially for products with complicated features, usage instructions, or safety concerns. For example, alcohol or perfume packaging might include important information about the product's origin or ingredients, which can be highlighted in a packaging shot.
Examples:
Premium perfumes: A luxurious perfume bottle nestled in custom-designed packaging helps create an emotional connection with customers, building anticipation for the unboxing experience.
High-end electronics: For products like smartphones or laptops, packaging shots reassure customers that the product is securely packed and protected, minimizing the risk of damage during delivery.
Luxury alcohol: Premium whiskey or wine brands often rely on distinctive packaging, which can serve as an authentication measure, making it easy for customers to identify genuine products.
In conclusion, packaging photography not only showcases the physical protection and aesthetic of your product’s packaging but also reinforces your brand and plays a vital role in marketing and customer experience.
360-degree photography
360-degree photography allows customers to view a product from all angles, offering an immersive, interactive shopping experience. This type of product photography is particularly common in the sports shoe niche, where technical features are similar across brands, but design elements help differentiate products. By providing a complete visual overview of the product, 360-degree images help customers get a true sense of what they’re buying.
When to Use:
Sports shoes: 360-degree images are almost essential for sports shoe brands, as customers often need to see the entire design to compare shoes and make informed decisions.
Premium products: For high-end accessories like jewelry, bags, belts, and watches, 360-degree photography offers a detailed view, helping customers appreciate the quality, craftsmanship, and intricate details of the product.
E-commerce stores with good hosting: Since 360-degree images can be large files, they require a fast and reliable hosting service to ensure they load quickly without slowing down your website. Use this photography style only if your website can handle the file sizes without detracting from the user experience.
Benefits:
Enhanced customer experience: 360-degree images provide a full, interactive view of the product, making it almost as good as seeing it in person. Customers can rotate and zoom in on the product, which leads to higher customer satisfaction.
Better decision-making: Customers can inspect all sides of the product, reducing uncertainty and increasing the likelihood of purchase, especially in premium segments like accessories and jewelry.
Reduced returns: Since 360-degree photography offers a complete view, customers know exactly what they’re getting, reducing the chances of product returns due to unmet expectations.
Expectation in premium markets: In high-end eCommerce markets, such as luxury bags or shoes, customers expect 360-degree images to fully evaluate the product. Including this feature can differentiate your store and brand in a competitive space.
Example use:
Shoes: Many sports shoe brands, such as Nike or Adidas, use 360-degree views to allow customers to explore every angle of the shoe design, from the sole to the laces.
Jewelry: For intricate pieces, such as diamond rings or high-end watches, a rotating 360-degree image highlights details like cuts, settings, and textures that static images might miss.
In conclusion, 360-degree photography is a powerful tool for eCommerce stores, especially those dealing with sports shoes and premium accessories. It creates an engaging, transparent shopping experience that meets customer expectations and enhances their decision-making process, leading to higher satisfaction and lower return rates.
Hanging objects photography
Hanging object photography is a creative technique used to give a product a 3D effect by suspending it in mid-air, allowing it to be photographed from angles that wouldn’t be possible if it were lying flat or propped up. This approach creates a dynamic and visually engaging representation of the product, adding depth and dimension to the image.
When to Use:
Unusually shaped objects: Hanging photography is ideal for capturing products like jewelry, accessories, and other irregularly shaped items that benefit from a floating or elevated perspective to highlight their form and design.
Apparel: For clothing items, hanging photography can take advantage of gravity to show how fabric drapes naturally, giving customers a better sense of the fit, flow, and material. For example, scarves, dresses, and hats can be suspended to demonstrate their full shape and texture.
Products with depth: If the product has interesting angles or dimensions that wouldn’t be fully appreciated on a flat surface (such as shoes, bags, or decorative items), hanging them can create a more eye-catching and informative view.
Benefits:
3D effect: By suspending the product in mid-air, hanging photography offers a natural 3D perspective, giving viewers a clearer sense of the product's dimensions and shape, making it feel more lifelike.
Dynamic presentation: Hanging the object allows the photographer to play with angles and lighting in a way that adds drama and depth to the shot, creating more visual interest.
Natural flow of fabric: For apparel, gravity helps the fabric drape naturally, showing the true texture, length, and movement of the material, which can be especially useful for lightweight or flowing fabrics.
Highlight unique features: If an object has intricate details or curves, hanging it allows the photographer to showcase every part of the product, rather than focusing on just one flat perspective.
Mannequin photography
Mannequin photography is a widely used method in product photography, particularly for fashion and clothing items. By displaying garments on a mannequin, this technique gives the product volume and shape, closely resembling how it would look on a real person. This style helps customers visualize the garment more effectively, offering a better understanding of the fit and structure than flat-lay photos could provide.
When to Use:
Clothing lines where fit matters: Mannequin photography is ideal for clothing items where fit and form are crucial, such as dresses, suits, or activewear. It’s especially useful for form-fitting or stretchy fabrics, like those used in sportswear or lingerie.
Basic & fashion collections: Whether you’re showcasing everyday basics or high-fashion pieces, mannequins can help elevate the presentation by giving clothing items a polished, professional appearance.
Benefits:
Realistic presentation: Mannequin photography provides a three-dimensional view of how the clothing will fit on the body, giving customers a clearer sense of the product's shape and style.
Helps customers visualize fit: Seeing the garment on a mannequin can be the next best thing to trying it on yourself. This visual aid helps customers understand how a piece might look when worn, including how fabric drapes, the cut, and overall proportions.
Boosts perceived value: Mannequin photography gives garments a more polished and professional appearance compared to flat lay images, enhancing their appeal and making them feel more personal to the buyer.
Works well for elastic fabrics: For clothing made from elastic or stretchable materials, such as activewear, body-hugging dresses, or undergarments, mannequins show how the fabric adapts to the body’s curves, helping customers gauge comfort and fit.
Example:
Basic t-shirts or Dresses: Using a mannequin to display how a simple T-shirt falls on the body, highlighting its fit and length, which would be harder to appreciate in a flat lay.
High-sashion pieces: For more elaborate fashion pieces, mannequins give potential buyers a better sense of the garment’s volume and how it interacts with the body’s shape.
In summary, mannequin photography is an excellent method for showcasing clothing in a way that feels personal, relatable, and informative. It provides a middle ground between flat-lay photography and live model shoots, helping potential buyers visualize how the product would fit and feel on themselves.
Flat lay / Simple studio shots
Flat lay photography, also known as simple studio shots, is one of the most basic and commonly used types of product photography. In this style, products are arranged flat on a surface and photographed from above. Flat lay images can showcase individual or grouped products and are typically captured against a plain white or solid-colored background. For social media or creative campaigns, props and colorful backgrounds can be used to add style and context to the images.
When to Use:
When your store is established enough for professional photography: If your eCommerce business has grown to the point where you can invest in professional photography, flat lay shots should be a part of your strategy. These simple yet effective images can present your products in a clean and straightforward manner, making them perfect for product pages or social media.
When your store aims to grow: Flat lay photography is versatile and scalable. Whether you’re expanding your product range or launching new campaigns, these images are ideal for maintaining visual consistency and professional standards across your website, ads, and social media channels.
Benefits:
Versatile and professional: Flat lay images are clean, easy to produce, and work well across multiple platforms, from product pages to social media. They can be used for individual or grouped products and easily customized with different backgrounds and props.
Clean, Focused presentation: A plain white or neutral background ensures the product is the focal point, making it a great option for eCommerce sites where clarity and simplicity are key to driving conversions.
Creative flexibility: For social media or more creative campaigns, props, textures, and colors can be introduced to make the flat lay more visually engaging, providing a more lifestyle-oriented context to the product.
Cost-effective: Flat lay photography doesn’t require complex setups or expensive models, making it a more affordable option for professional product photography, especially when compared to live model or complex studio shoots.
Example:
Basic Flat Lay: A flat lay of clothing, such as a T-shirt, arranged neatly against a white background to show its size, texture, and color.
Styled Flat Lay for Social Media: A flat lay of beauty products arranged with flowers, books, or other props to create a visually appealing scene for Instagram or other social media platforms.
White background shots
White background photography is the simplest yet most widely used form of product photography, especially in eCommerce. It involves photographing products against a plain white backdrop, providing a clean and distraction-free image that focuses solely on the product. This type of photography is highly effective and widely adopted on popular platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.
When to use:
For any e-commerce store: Whether you're selling on your own website or third-party platforms, white background shots are essential for maintaining a clean, professional look.
Marketplaces: If you're trading on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or other marketplaces, white background images are often a requirement or strongly recommended, as they offer a standard, professional presentation that fits marketplace guidelines.
When simplicity is key: Use white background shots for product listings where customers need to see the item clearly without distractions. This is particularly effective for tech gadgets, fashion, accessories, and other products where clarity of features and details is essential.
Benefits:
Versatility for marketplaces: White background images fit seamlessly into online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, which often prioritize clean, consistent visuals for product listings.
Focus on the product: By eliminating any distractions, the product becomes the center of attention, which is important for helping customers make purchase decisions based solely on the item’s features.
Easy background replacement: White backgrounds can be easily modified in post-production. This flexibility allows you to change the background to another color if needed, or keep the white background for clean and minimalist product images.
Cost-effective: White background shots are easy to set up in a studio with minimal equipment, making this an affordable solution for professional product photography.
SEO-friendly: White background images load quickly and are typically preferred by search engines for ranking in image searches, boosting your product's visibility online.
Example:
Tech Gadgets: A smartphone displayed against a white background on Amazon, clearly showcasing its design, features, and details.
Fashion Accessories: A handbag or pair of shoes presented on a plain white background, allowing the customer to see the product without any visual distractions.
Social media shots
Social media product photography is one of the most dynamic and creative types of photography, designed to capture attention quickly and engage viewers on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Social media shots go beyond simple product images—they combine vibrant backgrounds, imaginative props, unique angles, and sometimes models to create visually captivating scenes that resonate with audiences. The goal is not just to showcase a product, but to tell a story or create a mood that gets people to engage, like, share, and comment.
When to use:
For building a social media following: If your eCommerce brand is looking to build a loyal following or boost engagement, social media shots are essential. These images should be visually interesting, trendy, and shareable to generate likes, comments, and shares.
For brand personality and lifestyle: Social media photography is perfect for brands that want to infuse personality into their posts. It's not just about showing the product; it's about conveying a lifestyle or aesthetic that appeals to your target audience.
For product launches, campaigns, and promotions: Social media shots are ideal for announcing new products, special collections, or promotional events. They offer a great opportunity to be creative, catch attention, and drive traffic to your store.
Benefits:
Viral potential: Social media images are crafted to be engaging and shareable. A creative, eye-catching image has the potential to go viral, exponentially increasing brand visibility.
Engagement-driven: Social media product shots encourage user interaction through likes, shares, comments, and tags, building an active community around your brand.
Highly creative and trend-driven: Social media allows for a greater degree of experimentation compared to traditional product photography. You can incorporate elements like unique color palettes, trendy backdrops, props, and creative layouts to stand out.
Telling a brand story: Social media product images often go beyond a simple product showcase, presenting the product within a lifestyle context that aligns with your brand’s identity. Whether you're selling fashion, tech, or food, social media shots let you express your brand's essence.
Drive sales through engagement: Beautiful, well-crafted social media shots can generate buzz and direct users to your store, leading to an increase in traffic and potential sales.
Example:
Fashion brands: Fashion items laid out with props like sunglasses, bags, and shoes against an artistic background to suggest an entire look or style for Instagram.
Food & beverage: A coffee brand could present a flat lay of its coffee beans, mugs, and other items, styled creatively on a colorful table, evoking warmth and coziness.
Infographic photography
Infographic photography is a powerful visual tool for eCommerce businesses, combining images with key pieces of information to explain a product’s features, specifications, or benefits in a clear and engaging way. This type of visual content not only helps customers better understand complex products but also offers significant SEO advantages, as high-quality infographics can rank well in Google Images and help boost your website's visibility.
When to use:
Kickstarter projects: If you're launching a new product or project on Kickstarter, an infographic can help quickly communicate the key features, technical details, or the functionality of your product in an easy-to-digest format.
Technical or feature-rich products: If you sell products with complicated features, such as electronics, machinery, or specialized equipment, an infographic can break down the key benefits and technical parameters in a simple and visual way.
SEO strategy: Infographics are incredibly effective for businesses looking to rank higher in Google Images. Well-designed infographics can attract backlinks, increase engagement, and potentially help your website climb the search rankings.
Benefits:
Educational value: Infographics help explain technical details or complex features that may otherwise overwhelm customers. By visually organizing the information, it’s easier to convey the product’s key selling points and educate the customer.
SEO-friendly: Infographics can play a crucial role in your SEO strategy. Google’s image search is a valuable tool, and a high-quality infographic that ranks well can attract organic traffic to your site. Additionally, infographics often get shared and linked to, providing valuable backlinks to your website.
Visual appeal: A good infographic breaks down detailed information into a visually engaging format. This makes it easier for customers to quickly absorb product information, especially if they are researching multiple products.
Hero shots
Hero shots are striking and visually captivating product images often used in social media, advertising campaigns, and promotional content. Unlike standard product photography, which focuses on the product alone against a plain background, hero shots aim to evoke emotion and tell a story through creative composition, unique angles, and thoughtful use of props or backgrounds. While the product remains the central focus, hero shots bring in elements that make the image more engaging and attention-grabbing.
When to Use:
Social media & advertising campaigns: Hero shots are ideal for brand-focused campaigns and social media posts where the goal is to create a visually compelling image that grabs attention and resonates emotionally with the audience.
Homepage & category pages: Use hero shots on your eCommerce homepage or category pages to create strong first impressions and draw users into exploring your products further.
Promotional materials: Hero shots work well for promotional banners, email marketing campaigns, and paid ads where a visually engaging image can drive clicks and conversions.
Benefits:
Emotional appeal: Hero shots are designed to trigger an emotional response, using creative elements like lighting, props, or dynamic backgrounds to evoke specific feelings, such as luxury, excitement, or comfort.
Visual impact: With its dramatic composition and focus on aesthetics, a hero shot has the potential to stand out and make an instant impact, especially on visually saturated platforms like Instagram or Pinterest.
Storytelling: Hero shots allow you to tell a story through the imagery, whether it's about the lifestyle associated with the product or its unique value proposition. They provide a chance to position the product in a more relatable, aspirational context.
Versatility: While hero shots are minimalistic in the sense that they focus heavily on the product, they also allow for more creative freedom in terms of colors, props, and backgrounds, making them adaptable for various campaigns and marketing channels.
Example:
Fashion hero shot: A handbag photographed at an unusual angle with dramatic lighting, placed against a textured backdrop, making the product feel exclusive and luxurious.
Tech hero shot: A smartphone displayed in use, with sleek lighting and dynamic shadows, surrounded by accessories that highlight the product’s versatility and lifestyle integration.
Food hero shot: A hero shot for a food brand could show the product in a natural, lifestyle setting, such as a beautifully set dining table, creating an aspirational image of enjoying the meal.
GIFs
GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) have become a popular and engaging form of product presentation, especially on social media. They combine the visual appeal of photography with dynamic motion, allowing brands to tell a story, showcase multiple aspects of a product, or highlight features in a short, looping format. GIFs are particularly effective for capturing attention quickly due to their motion and relatively light file size, making them easier to load compared to videos while delivering a similar impact.
When to use:
Social media: GIFs are perfect for social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, where they can add visual flair and create engagement. They are more dynamic than static images and often attract more attention from users scrolling through their feeds.
Ads: GIFs can be used in digital ads to showcase different product features or highlight how a product is used in a fun, engaging way.
Website articles: Embedding GIFs into blog posts or product pages can help illustrate product functionality or show a step-by-step process in a more interactive manner than images alone.
GIF stocks: By creating original GIFs and uploading them to popular GIF platforms (like Giphy or Tenor), businesses can gain additional exposure and backlinks, driving traffic and improving SEO.
Benefits:
Tell a story quickly: GIFs offer the opportunity to tell a short story or show a product in use, which is more engaging than a static image but more concise than a full video.
Capture attention: The movement in GIFs naturally draws the viewer's eye, making it an effective tool for capturing attention in busy social media feeds or digital ads.
Smaller file size than videos: GIFs load faster than videos, making them a great choice for platforms where performance and quick loading times are key. This is especially useful for eCommerce sites that want to improve user experience.
Multiple product showcases: You can showcase an entire clothing collection, multiple product angles, or different product features all within a single GIF, offering more information in a compact format.
Few technical limitations: Unlike traditional product photography, which often focuses on simple, clean white backgrounds, GIFs can be more creative, featuring various backgrounds, props, or motion elements to enhance the product’s appeal.
Freeze frame product photography
Freeze frame photography captures a dynamic moment in time, usually when an object is in motion. This technique requires skill, precision, and experience to successfully freeze the movement, highlighting an exciting or unique aspect of the product. Freeze frame images create visually compelling and dramatic shots that leave a lasting impression, making them popular for marketing campaigns where impact and excitement are key.
When to Use:
Jewelry photography: Freeze frame images can capture delicate jewelry in motion, such as a necklace swinging or earrings moving, adding a sense of elegance and grace.
Sportswear & footwear imaging: This technique is often used to show products in action, like sneakers mid-leap or sports gear in high-energy environments. It showcases the product’s functionality and performance.
Food photography: Freeze frames can be used in food photography to capture dynamic moments, such as a splash of liquid, steam rising from a dish, or ingredients being tossed in the air, creating a fresh and exciting image.
Automobile industry: Freeze frames are effective for marketing cars in motion, often capturing dramatic moments like a car speeding through a puddle or kicking up dust on a rugged trail. This kind of imagery reinforces the vehicle’s strength, speed, and durability.
Water splashes & other dynamic effects: Freeze frame photography is excellent for capturing products alongside water splashes or powder bursts, creating an eye-catching, high-energy visual that grabs attention.
Benefits:
Captures motion in time: Freeze frame images highlight movement, making the product seem dynamic and full of life. This can be particularly appealing in categories where performance, action, or motion are important product attributes.
Exciting visuals: The dramatic nature of freeze frame shots can create strong, high-impact images that grab attention, making them ideal for advertisements, banners, and social media posts.
Showcases product utility: For sportswear, footwear, or even vehicles, freeze frame photography is a great way to demonstrate how the product performs in real-life situations, helping to build trust and connect with consumers on a functional level.
Emotional engagement: Freeze frames can evoke emotion by freezing dramatic moments, creating excitement and intrigue. This makes them a strong visual tool in campaigns designed to leave a lasting impression.
Promo images
Promo images are designed to highlight special promotions, deals, or marketing campaigns for a product or brand. These images typically combine product photography with text, logos, or other graphic elements to communicate a specific message to the audience. Promo images are versatile and can be used across a variety of channels, including websites, social media, email marketing, and advertising campaigns. The goal is to create a visually appealing image that grabs attention while delivering a clear promotional message.
When to use:
Promo campaigns: Use promo images to support a marketing campaign that highlights special offers, discounts, or new product launches. These images are designed to engage customers and drive conversions.
Social media: Promo images are perfect for social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Their combination of product imagery and promotional messaging makes them highly shareable and engaging.
Email marketing: Promo images can be incorporated into email newsletters to promote sales, special deals, or seasonal events, making them a strong visual element that encourages customers to take action.
Benefits:
Multi-channel flexibility: Promo images can be used across a wide variety of marketing channels, from social media ads to email marketing, allowing for a consistent promotional message and brand presence.
Drive Sales & Conversions: Promo images are specifically designed to grab attention and encourage immediate action. Whether you’re promoting a limited-time offer or a seasonal sale, these images are a direct way to boost sales.
Brand recognition: Incorporating logos, branded fonts, and colors ensures that promo images maintain brand consistency, helping build recognition while driving engagement.
Creative freedom: Promo images allow for a lot of creative flexibility, combining elements like product photos, text overlays, icons, and color schemes to create a unique visual that aligns with the promotional message.
Process Photography
Process photography, also known as in-context photography, captures a product during its creation or in use. This type of photography is particularly effective in highlighting craftsmanship, the quality of materials, or the unique aspects of how a product is made or used in a real-life scenario. Process photography adds a human touch to eCommerce marketing, allowing customers to see the effort and skill behind the products they’re purchasing.
When to Use:
Handmade or artisanal products: Process photography is often used in the handmade segment to show the detailed, step-by-step creation of products. For example, it can be used to capture the process of crafting a leather bag or hand-pouring a candle.
Beauty industry: In the beauty industry, process photography is frequently used to show how products are applied or used in everyday routines. This can include makeup being applied or skincare products being tested, offering a real-life context for the product's functionality.
DIY & Crafting: If your brand is centered around DIY kits or crafting products, process photography helps customers visualize how to use the products and complete a project.
Behind-the-scenes: Process photography can also be used to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at how your products are made, reinforcing your brand's authenticity, craftsmanship, and dedication to quality.
Benefits:
Builds trust and transparency: Showing the process behind the product helps build trust with customers, as they can see the care and effort put into making each item. It adds authenticity, especially for handmade, ethical, or eco-friendly products.
Showcases quality: By highlighting key stages of the creation or application process, you can emphasize the quality of your materials and craftsmanship, reassuring customers of the product’s value.
Engages customers: Process photography tells a story, engaging customers on a deeper level by giving them insight into how their favorite products are made or how they can be used effectively. This creates an emotional connection with your brand.
Differentiates your brand: For businesses where the creation process is a core part of the brand (e.g., handmade or small-batch items), process photography helps differentiate your brand from mass-produced competitors by showcasing the artisanal or specialized nature of your products.
Lifestyle photography
Lifestyle photography is a powerful tool in commercial marketing that shows products in use within a real-life context. Instead of simply photographing the product in isolation, lifestyle images capture the product as part of a broader scene, often involving models to illustrate how the product fits into a customer's daily life. This type of photography is particularly popular in the premium and luxury segments, where emotional appeal and aspirational imagery are key to driving purchasing decisions.
When to Use:
Premium Brands: Lifestyle photography is ideal for brands positioned above mid-market or in the luxury segment. It allows the product to be associated with a specific lifestyle, reinforcing brand values and creating an emotional connection with the target audience.
Fashion and Apparel: For fashion brands, lifestyle images help potential buyers see how clothing items look and feel in real-life scenarios, making it easier for them to imagine wearing the items themselves.
Advertising Campaigns: Use lifestyle photography for both online and offline media, including magazine ads, social media campaigns, and product launches. It helps convey the story behind the brand, highlighting the product as part of a desirable lifestyle.
Product Launches and Collections: Lifestyle photography is an excellent choice for launching a new collection or product, where you want to create a narrative around how the product fits into the user’s life, rather than focusing purely on the product itself.
Benefits:
Emotional Resonance: Lifestyle images tap into the emotions of the target audience by showing how the product is used in a relatable, real-life scenario. This emotional connection often plays a critical role in the buyer’s decision-making process.
Creates Aspirational Value: By featuring the product in an idealized lifestyle setting, these images create an aspirational quality that encourages consumers to buy into the lifestyle your brand represents.
Social Proof: Seeing people (or models) using the product helps customers feel more confident about purchasing it. Lifestyle photography provides a type of social proof, subtly influencing the consumer by showing that others are enjoying the product.
Enhances Brand Storytelling: Lifestyle images allow you to tell the story of your brand and product in a visual way, aligning your products with specific lifestyles or values that resonate with your ideal customer profile (ICP).
Versatility Across Channels: Lifestyle photography works across various marketing channels, from print advertisements to Instagram posts and website banners, providing consistent and impactful messaging.
Allocate Sufficient Resources: Product photography is a key investment in your marketing strategy and can have one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) compared to other marketing activities. Ensure your budget accounts for quality photography, as low-quality images can hurt your brand’s credibility and sales potential.
Set High Standards: Your product images will be competing against thousands of visual materials consumers encounter daily. Meeting or exceeding industry standards for quality and creativity is essential to making your products stand out. Invest in proper lighting, high-resolution equipment, and excellent post-production editing to ensure your images are visually appealing.
Hire Professional Product Photographers: While it might be tempting to cut costs by taking photos in-house, hiring a professional photography company specializing in eCommerce imagery is highly recommended. Professionals have the right equipment, expertise, and understanding of lighting, angles, and composition to produce high-quality images that convert. The investment might seem steep, but the results will typically justify the cost by driving more sales and enhancing your brand image.
Diversify Photography Across Channels: Use different types of product photography across your communication channels to keep your content fresh and tailored to each platform. For example:
Individual shots for product pages
Lifestyle shots for social media and ads
360-degree images for fashion or tech products
Detail shots for highlighting key product features
Combining these types of imagery can help you reach different segments of your audience and improve overall engagement and sales.
Tailor Photography to Each Channel and Purpose: Just as tone of voice (TOV) is important in written communication, visual style matters in your photography. Choose the right type of photography for each platform or campaign. For example, a more creative, lifestyle-focused image works for social media, whereas a simple, clean product shot is more suited for marketplaces like Amazon. Ensure the visual tone aligns with your brand's identity and each platform’s specific audience expectations.
By following these tips, your product photography will not only enhance the visual appeal of your eCommerce store but also contribute directly to higher engagement, improved conversions, and stronger brand loyalty.
How to choose the right product photographer for Your brand
For eCommerce stores that have been in the market for over a year and are seeing growth, investing in professional product photography is essential for scaling quickly and effectively. Experienced product photographers can offer the best value for your money by creating high-quality visuals that elevate your brand, improve conversions, and enhance customer engagement.
Steps to hiring the right photographer:
Look for experienced photographers: Product photographers with several years of experience in eCommerce photography are invaluable. They understand lighting, angles, and post-processing techniques that can make your products shine. Their expertise is particularly crucial as your store grows and your marketing needs become more sophisticated.
Search for local providers: Use Google Business to find the best product photography services near you. Photographers who specialize in your niche or have experience working with similar products to yours will have a better understanding of how to present your items.
Explore niche expertise: Find photographers who cater to your specific industry or competitors. Specialized photographers already understand the unique requirements of your niche, whether you’re selling fashion, electronics, or beauty products.
Review portfolios for inspiration: Companies like Taze Creative offer portfolios that display various eCommerce images, from individual shots to detailed close-ups and lifestyle imagery. Reviewing portfolios like this can help you gauge the quality and style you need for your own brand.
Reach out for custom offers: If you're considering a photographer, contact them directly to discuss your project. Whether you need individual product shots, group images, or lifestyle photography, you can often receive a customized offer that aligns with your budget and requirements.
By hiring a skilled product photographer, you’re setting your eCommerce business up for rapid scaling, higher sales, and a stronger brand presence in the market.
Product photography plays a pivotal role in shaping customer perceptions and driving sales. By exploring and incorporating different types of product photography, you can enhance your brand’s image, build trust with customers, and boost your e-commerce sales.
