Quality Product Photography Sells: Image is Everything in Web Sales
by Tom Pitera
If you have a mail-order catalog or e-commerce site, chances are the topic of product photography has come up frequently. It doesn't really matter what you sell; quality product photography is essential to differentiating your products from the competition.
Think about your own online or catalog shopping habits: do you choose the products that are well photographed (you can see all the details, colors seem accurate, high-quality resolution, appropriate contrast, proper use of lighting, etc.) or the products that are poorly photographed (blurry, dark, no details, pixelated, poorly reproduced, low-resolution, strange color casts, etc.)?
I'm guessing you'd choose the former. And so will just about any customer. Quality product photography is your only chance to capture a customer's attention. With bad photography, you might send him or her looking for another brand or shopping outlet.
Professional-looking product photography is paramount to your success in Web sales or catalog sales; poor photography will show your customers you don't care about your products.
People have come to expect a certain "look" from merchants (polished, sleek, sophisticated), and if your product photos don't measure up, you're apt to lose business to the competition. It doesn't matter how big or small your business is - in order to make money, you need to put forth the best image possible
Why can't I do it myself? Well, you probably can. However, first consider some of the factors that go into flawless product photography:
- Proper preparation of the products, such as removing fingerprints from glass or ironing the wrinkles out of clothing
- Appropriate arrangement of lighting equipment - an art in itself
- Capturing detail with the right combination of lighting, shadows, depth-of-field and so on
- Producing the right backdrop for the image - whether simple or complex - can include the use of models, props and post-processing effects
The list goes on, but consider all the equipment you need to professionally photograph products: at least an entry-level DSLR, studio lighting equipment, backdrops, macro and wide-angle lenses, props, processing computer software and more, depending on the complexity of your shoot. This equipment can cost thousands, and learning to master studio lighting is a time-consuming process.
Small business owners might be put off by the price tag attached to an average product photo shoot, but this is one of the most important investments you can make for your business.
You might be tempted to buy a tabletop studio or an all-in-one light cube, and while those products are useful in certain applications, you'll be extremely limited in the types of products you can photograph, as well as what you can do with the setup.
The good news is there are affordable alternatives out there. You can find professional photography studios willing to produce high-quality product photos on a white background starting at $10 per photo. You can also find studios that will charge you $500 per photo. The point is, there are options available for all budgets - without having to do-it-yourself.
If you're looking to start small, with a limited budget, look for small studios who have one or two employees. Why? Chances are their prices will be more suited to your price range because they won't have the same degree of overhead as larger agencies.