In today's digital era, product photos play an important role in increasing sales. Referring to Weebly , an eCommerce platform provider in the United States, in 2018, 75 percent of buyers on their site said product photos greatly influenced the decision to buy an item. Therefore, for those of you who want to start seriously pursuing business, it is necessary to prepare as many product photos as possible.
Basically there are many kinds of product photos, depending on the type of product to be sold. Even so, the goal of every product photo is still to show customers why they should buy your product. Is the reason because of the delicious sensation it displays, its uses, its color, and much more.
So, how to get maximum product photos? Especially if the photos are taken independently. Here are our tips and tricks that you can apply.
Create a Moodboard to Direct the Theme and Photo Results
A moodboard is a collection of visual material, such as images and text, which will serve as inspiration during a product photo session. These visual references can help you find ideas or themes for the product photos you will take. Even so, it's important to remember, a moodboard is really about exploration, so don't get too attached to one particular theme. You need to explore many ideas to find the concept that best suits the product you have.
Perform Styling on the Product
Styling is usually done on food and beverage products. Food and drinks are arranged in such a way that they look more attractive, have good colors, and do not appear wilted or overcooked. In food styling, we often don't use 100 percent original ingredients. For example, for styling ice cream, other materials are used that are more durable during the shooting process, considering that real ice cream melts easily. Apart from food and drink products, you can also apply styling to other products, such as fashion, make-up, parcels, and so on.
Choose the right photo background
The photo background should be harmonious and neutral or not striking. If the photo background is too flashy, it will actually make potential customers not focus on your product. The color that is often recommended for photo backgrounds is white. According to Weebly, 76 percent of product background colors are white. The white color makes the product look neat and bright so it can give an elegant impression. Meanwhile, from a technical perspective, a white photo background can make the photos in your feed look consistent.
Set Appropriate Lighting
Interesting photos are definitely supported by good lighting when shooting. Sunlight is the best natural lighting that you can use to take pictures. However, if you plan to take photos indoors, you can use additional lights to show each side of the product well. Make sure the lighting you set doesn't make the photo shadowy.
Select Multiple Angles
Angle is defined as the angle at which a photo is taken by paying attention to the position of the camera when aiming at an object. Therefore, don't just take one angle in the photo of the product that will be marketed. Choose several angles so that potential buyers can see the best details of your product from various angles.
Apply the Maximum Camera Settings
Every camera, both cellphones and digital cameras, has different settings from each other. You must know the camera settings that will be used to get the best photo quality. For example, you can set the resolution level, ISO, shutter priority, white balance , and so on.
Pay Attention to Composition
Composition settings aim to create photos that have a balance of objects. This means that your object or product is placed in the right position, making the image more alive and interesting.
Avoid Using Zoom Mode
Using zoom or enlarging a photo from a lens will reduce the resolution or sharpness of your photo. Therefore, you need to set the right photo distance so that you no longer need to use zoom.
Edit Photos for More Attractive Results
To add aesthetics to the photo, take advantage of the editing features on the camera or other photo editing applications. Proper editing will polish your photos so they look more attractive. However, don't edit the photo excessively. Because excessive editing will give the impression that you are manipulating the product image.
To Protect Your Work, Add a Watermark
Some people sometimes find it easy to take photos of other parties without permission. This is where the watermark functions to protect your photos from claims and actions without other people's permission. When placing a watermark, you should pay attention to its transparency so that it doesn't disturb the aesthetics of your product. Apart from that, you also need to pay attention to the placement of the watermark , for example not too close to the edge because it will be easily removed or cropped .
Those are the tips and tricks for making product photos independently that you can apply.
You can also keep practicing and experimenting to get the best shots. Good luck!