Take Your Ecommerce Business to the Next Level with Your Product Photography
Feb 23, 2023
Did you know that 75% of online shoppers pay attention to product images first before making any purchasing decisions? In this day and age where visuals are becoming more and more powerful, it’s crucial that you make the most of your ecommerce business’ product photography, especially to make up for the lack of an in-person shopping experience. After all, you want to help customers feel confident about their purchases. Studies show that in fact people retain 80% of what they see and 20% of what they read. Therefore, visual assets are key to a brand’s image and story because that is how trust begins to form with your customers. Below, we’ll share some tips on how to make the most of your product photography!
1. Incorporate 360° Interactive Images
Incorporating 360 interactive images helps to break the barrier between a customer and an ecommerce business because it provides the most “store-like” experience they can get from behind a screen. Linked here is a whole blog post dedicated to the topic of 360 images. These interactive images give your business more authenticity and transparency which makes it easier for customers to complete a purchase. We’ve seen a 20% increase in sales for shops that are applying 360 product images.
Customers can interact with 360 images by rotating the product around themselves to catch the small details of a product that they probably wouldn’t see if it weren’t for a 360 image. Giving users total control over how they examine a product before purchasing allows them to gain a fuller understanding of the product, leading to a higher percentage of satisfied customers. As a result of implementing 360 images, we’ve seen return rates decrease by nearly 42%. Overall, the implementation of 360 images provides a unique shopping experience compared to just having users scroll through a few product images. As an added bonus, this could improve your website ranking in Google with users spending more time interacting with your content.
Here at Orangemonkie, we make creating 360 images simple! Here are 2 of our products you can use to take professional 360 photos that will save you some money and time:
- Foldio360 Smart Turntable
- Optional add on for shooting larger objects: Foldio360 Extension Plate
- Foldio360 Smart Dome (Recommended for jewelry photography)
2. Photograph Your Product From Different Angles
Another way to do the most you can with your product photography is to take photos from multiple different angles such as bird’s eye view, high angle, low angle, front angle, profile angle, back angle, and three-quarter angle. With these angles, you can cover angles that you might not be able to get from a 360 interactive image. Try to provide as many angles as you can because the more visual assets you provide your customers, the more likely they are to purchase a product and stay on your website for longer which is great for your website’s SEO rank in Google.
Our Foldio2 Plus Lightbox and Foldio360 Smart Dome both have removable top covers to make it easier for you to shoot photos from directly above all while still having the perfect lighting. Additionally, you can shoot from above with the Foldio3 Lightbox by simply placing it on its back. See an example here.
3. Show What’s Inside
If you’re photographing a packaged product, show what’s inside! Consumers want to see the actual product, not so much the packaging. For example, if you’re photographing a body scrub, take some product out and capture the textures and colors that would otherwise not be seen. Depending on the product you’re photographing, photographing could get messy. If you’re not using Orangemonkie backdrops, you can always opt to use a piece of glass or transparency paper on top of your backdrop to prevent any damages. Fortunately, the Orangemonkie Foldio backdrops, with the exception of the velvet material backdrops, are easily cleanable so there’s no need to worry about any potential stains or damages. We used the Foldio3 Lightbox to shoot this image.
There’s usually a 30% return rate with purchases made online and studies indicate that 22% of that is due to product images not matching up to the actual product they received. Therefore be as authentic as possible and show your customers exactly what they should expect!
4. Show Your Products in Context
Lastly, remember that you can communicate to your customers not only through website copy, but also through your photography. Images shot in context add more of a personal and emotional pull towards your product due to its storytelling nature. It helps customers picture themselves using the product in their own lives and realize how beneficial the product could be.
In the image above for example, we photographed the Foldio360 Smart Dome in a room setting with some furniture and decoration elements to inspire and motivate people to photograph images from the comfort of their homes. The goal is to have customers realize the practicality of the Smart Dome by helping them imagine what it might look like to use it in their personal lives.
Taking more photos in a lifestyle context helps you to sell not only a product, but also a lifestyle. With so many new products and brands selling online, this is the way to really stand out from the crowd and create an emotional pull.
