10 Product Photography Ideas for Your Online Store to Help Sell More

10 Product Photography Ideas for Your Online Store to Help Sell More

When shopping online a consumer’s impression of your business and its products is primarily based on product photographs.

Lazy, unprofessional product photography can put consumers off and drive them away from your site. On the other hand, engaging, high-quality images can draw users in and encourage them to buy.

With that in mind, let’s go through some product photography ideas to help you sell more on your online store.

1. Shoot from Different Angles

First of all, try experimenting with different angles. This may not sound like a revolutionary product photography tip, but you would be surprised by the difference it can make. 

Most product photos are taken from eye level, as shown below.

perfume product shot

While this can work well, using different shots, like a profile angle, can help make your product photos stand out from competitors. Utilizing different angles also allows you to showcase your product more extensively.

This is particularly useful for products like shoes, as customers want to know what the product looks like from all angles. As shown in the examples below, using a variety of angles allows the customer to obtain an overall view of the product. 

 

shoe photography nike shoe photography

It is important to note that you don’t need to have a large number of photos to cover all of the angles. In the example below, the customer can view both the sole and instep of a pair of shoes in one photo. 

clean minimal shoe photography

This is a very clever use of different angles as it covers two angles in one photo. Further, it is a wide angle, so customers can see pretty much every part of the shoe in one image. With this type of shot, you can easily cover a number of angles of the product with three to four photos.

2. Display Product Variations

Another way of showing off all aspects of your product is to include photos of all of the variations of each product. This works well for clothing products that come in different sizes or colors, as shown below.

product variations

There should be photos of all variations available so that potential customers don’t have to guess what a t-shirt will look like in a different color.

Inconveniences like this can drive customers away to your competitors, so try to provide as much information as possible.

3. Take a Macro Shot

Using macro shots is another excellent option and is one of the most popular product photography ideas today. Macro shots are close-up shots that make the product or a particular part of the product seem bigger than its actual size.

This is very useful for highlighting small details in the product. The screenshot below shows a macro shot of a watch used to showcase the details of the watch’s face.

watch photography macro shot

However, the main purpose of close-up photos like this is to provide a more artistic element to your product photos. 

While the more basic shots, which show off the whole product, are essential, macro shots create more eye-catching images. That way, as you work to improve website traffic to your store, your product photography will ensure more of that traffic ends up buying those items.

4. Create a Photo Manipulation

Utilizing photo manipulation can bring product photos to life and allow you to be more creative as a product photographer.

To produce beautiful product photos like the example below, you will, of course, need to download some photo editing software like Adobe Illustrator.

photo manipulation example

However, much like the software used for blog post optimization, the results that photo manipulation can provide make it worthwhile.

For the most part, product images are very simple, so they can get repetitive and boring. So, adding in some photo manipulation here and there can help liven things up. A simple photo manipulation like the image below can bring a product photo to life.

production photography photo manipulation example

Adding an extra element like this to your photos makes them much more interesting, helping to entice customers to buy.

5. Incorporate an Interesting Background

You can also bring your product photos to life with interesting backgrounds. A lot of product photos are taken with a plain background, so incorporating an eye-catching background can make your products stand out from the crowd.

It is important to use a background that is related to the product you are selling. So, for example, a product photo for a pair of hiking boots could incorporate a mountainous background, as shown below.

shoe photography product shot

A background that doesn’t match the product can give a bad impression and make your store look unprofessional. So, make sure to use unique backgrounds that match your products and reflect your brand image.

On the other hand, you can also use a colored background to make your photos more eye-catching, as shown below.

keyboard product shot

This can help grab consumers’ attention and entice them to purchase.

6. Use Stands

Laying products out on stands is a simple but effective way of making your product photos more visually appealing, as shown in the examples below. 

using stands with product photography  using stands with product photography

It may not seem like a lot, but a simple use of stands with an elevated flat surface, as shown in the example above, can make a big difference. Having products arranged neatly like this makes the photo much more visually appealing and eye-catching to customers.

Poor composition is a common product photography mistake, so why not use stands to keep you on track?

7. Use Reflections

Reflections offer an excellent method of producing more compelling product photos, as shown in the examples below.

product photography examples with reflections product photography examples with reflections

It may not seem like much, but utilizing reflective surfaces like this can bring your product photos to life. Using natural reflections from water, as shown below, can also add a more authentic feel to your photos.

product photography examples with reflections

Product photos are usually quite simple, so you should try to add a little bit of creativity where possible to get the attention of customers and entice them to buy.

8. Highlight the Product Features

While macro shots can be used to highlight small details, wider shots allow you to showcase product features more practically. Unzoomed single shots of individual features help to highlight how product features work in the context of the overall product. 

For products with a lot of features, this technique is very useful. With a camera, for example, you can have a single shot of the lens and also a photo of the lens attached to the camera, as shown below.

product photography details camera lens product photography details camera

Another shot could be used to highlight the buttons and controls on the camera, and a shot of the camera in use can highlight the display screen.     

product photography details leica camera closeup

A similar structure could be followed for other products.

9. Use Props

Similar to showing people using a product, using props can enable customers to imagine how they would use the product. Props allow you to illustrate a brand image and appeal to your ideal customer, as shown in the example below.

props for product photography

The photo above is a product photo for children’s scissors. The scissors are also surrounded by pens, pencils, stickers, and decorating tape to appeal to the target audience and show how the product can be used.

10. Show People

Finally, showing people using the product in your photos is an excellent way of drawing customers in and encouraging them to buy. A good example is showing a person using a mobile phone, as shown below.

people in product photography

Showing people in your photos makes the product more relatable for customers.

To create this effect, however, it is important to use models that reflect your ideal customers. When customers see someone like them wearing or using a product, they can then imagine themselves wearing or using the product as well. 

For example, the photo below could be used as a product photo for an energy drink like Red Bull.

people in product photography

The image shows an athlete taking a swig of a drink, ready to start training, and, hence, would appeal to fellow athletes who use such drinks to give them energy.

You should also show the product being used in an appropriate real-life setting. For example, a computer should be shown being used in an office or a home study as shown below.

people in product photography

Details like this help to make product photos even more relatable.

In Closing

In summary, product photography is especially important for online stores as customers use product photos to make their purchase decision.

So, to help sell more on your online store, use stands, different angles, and macro shots, and highlight product variations and features. These techniques will help you showcase your products fully.

You can also get creative with photo manipulation and incorporate interesting backgrounds or use reflections to get some unique shots. Finally, use props and show people using the product to bring your photos to life and entice customers to make a purchase.

Use these product photography ideas, and you’ll soon be a product photography master. Good luck!

daryl bush authority builders

Author Bio: Daryl Bush

Special thanks to Daryl Bush for this awesome article. Daryl Bush is the Business Development Manager at Authority.Builders. The company helps businesses acquire more customers through improved online search rankings. He has extensive knowledge of SEO and business development.

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