Product photography – What you need to know for 2021
Do you own an e-commerce store? In this case, you should know that improving your e-commerce store’s conversion rate through product photography is the best move you can make. A study was conducted in 2018 in which the results indicated that digital product images have the greatest influence on digital purchasing decisions. 83% of people on which this study was conducted said that images and photos of products greatly influenced their decision. According to the study, product photos ranked above product descriptions, detailed specifications, reviews and star ratings, and videos. This all comes down to one thing: Customers need to see what they are buying before purchasing.
When they enter your store, the first thing a shopper does is a glance at the product images to see if something catches their eye. Having a quality image of your product on the page where they can click “add to cart” will make a big difference in whether or not the customer buys. Customers will easily add the item to their carts, hit checkout if your images are high quality, and demonstrate the worth of your products. In this way, you can generate a lot of sales. That being said, there is no easy path to product photography. If you want to take the best photo, you need to follow some steps, regardless of whether you’re using a costly camera or a simple smartphone.
How to analyze the eCommerce product page?
In this section, I will guide you on how you can analyze an e-commerce product page to check whether the page is designed for conversions or not. If you follow and apply the tips given below, you can easily make your product page appealing and impactful.
1. Analyze The Necessary Elements of A Product Page
You should spend some time analyzing your product page and identifying the elements that need to be improved. A good customer experience is what you want to offer. Having an understanding of what your customers see on your product page is key to this.
The product page on your e-commerce website should:
- Load Quickly
- An intuitive product page design that engages your customers at a glance
- It makes it easy for your customers to buy what they want by providing sufficient information.
- Impress your customers with high-quality product photos
- Makes your brand known to customers
- Offers compelling copy that is capable of attracting and retaining customers
- Delivers an excellent customer experience.
2. The Quality of Product Photos
Whenever someones visit your product page, the first thing that he checks is the quality of your product photos present on the page. If the quality of photos is poor, then a consumer will immediately close your page, and he won’t even bother to read the description or your product specifications. So, when you are analyzing a product page, make sure that high-quality images of products are used on display, and don’t forget to take different pictures from different angles.
3. Is the Page Optimized For Mobile?
You must keep in mind that almost 60-70% of your audience will be mobile users. So, if your page isn’t optimized well for mobile devices, then you can end up losing plenty of customers. So, when analyzing an e-commerce product page, make sure that the page is responsive and functions well on mobile devices.
4. Measure how effective your pop-ups are.
Using free website pop-ups to collect leads and feedback is an effective lead generation strategy. A multi-functional heatmap tracking software can be used to evaluate pop-up effectiveness (CTR). If your pop-ups are carefully integrated into your web page, you will generate many leads.
5. Analyze your call-to-action engagement.
The CTAs on a website encourage website visitors to take action. Therefore the CTA buttons effectively on your pages. If you want your call-to-action buttons to be engaging, you must ensure that they are placed at the right spots on your page. You can’t use them randomly anywhere.
These are some basic things that you need to take care of when you analyze a product page. If you just focus on these points only, you will be able to improve the efficiency of your product page to a considerable extent.
Product photography. What is it?
It is a type of commercial photography intended to represent a product in the best way possible. The following tools are important for great product photography: the right lighting, the right background materials, the right depth of field, the best angles, and careful post-processing.
Simply put, product photography refers to taking pictures of your website’s products using specific techniques. Your product photography should compel shoppers to purchase your product by presenting a compelling image.
We are living in 2021, and there are multiple product photography techniques used in the market right now, such as:
- Ghost Mannequin Technique
- Product Photos on a White Background
- Lifestyle Photography
- Amazon Product Photography
- 360 Product Photography
- Fashion Photography
- And much more.
No matter which product photography technique you are using, the experts have recommended five basic principles of product photography, following which you can easily make your product pictures compelling and impactful. The five basic principles of product photography are as follows:
- Use a clean, consistent background
- Shoot from a tripod for photo consistency
- Choose between natural and artificial light
- Include all product details
- Shoot a variety of images
No matter what kind of technique you are using to photograph your products, you must ensure these basic principles are followed. Otherwise, your product images won’t be much impactful, and you won’t get the best out of them.
Top 20 Product Photography Freelancers in the United States – UpWork
Name | Price | Score |
Jessica Z. | $40/h | 5.0/5 (15jobs) |
Shelby B. | $50/hr | 5.0/5(144 jobs) |
Giselle C. | $40/hr | 4.9/5(27 jobs) |
Rachel S. | $69/hr | 4.9/5(20 jobs) |
Chris M. | $35/hr | 4.8/5(55 jobs) |
Weston Z. | $75/hr | 5.0/5(20 jobs) |
John M. | $95/hr | 5.0/5(45 jobs) |
Elena D. | $100/hr | 5.0/5(11 jobs) |
Rebecca P. | $55/hr | 5.0/5(10 jobs) |
Joshua R. | $75/hr | 5.0/5(16 jobs) |
Petra J. | $125/hr | 4.7/5(27 jobs) |
Andriy S. | $300/hr | 4.9/5(24 jobs) |
Michael G. | $40/hr | 4.9/5(36 jobs) |
Ke T. | $65/hr | 5.0/5(44 jobs) |
Daniel A. | $40/hr | 5.0/5(58 jobs) |
Sydney B | $75/hr | 4.6/5(23 jobs) |
David G. | $45/hr | 5.0/5(22 jobs) |
Tonje T. | $63/hr | 5.0/5(22 jobs) |
Sharon B. | $100/hr | 5.0/5(23 jobs) |
Imen M. | $200/hr | 5.0/5(14 jobs) |
Global Photography Services for eCommerce
Name | Price | Niche & Type |
1. Online Product Photography (Europe) | From $49 per product project | Clothing & Fashion Gifts, Jewellery & Homeware |
2. Printful | On request | Clothing & Fashion |
3. Genero | Quoted per brief | Beauty; Fashion; Sports |
4. SnappyFly (Asia) | From $25 per stylized image | Gifts, Jewellery & HomewareOnline Retailers & Distributors; Manufacturers & Brands; Online Marketplaces |
5. Zooppa | Depends on brief and service needs | Manufacturers & Brands; |
6. 99 Designs (US) | Packages start at $299 | Business & consulting; Food & drink; Medical & pharmaceutical; Retail Technology |
7. StudioNow | Determined based on a brand’s specific needs and budget | eCommerce stores |
8. Fiverr | From $15 per project | eCommerce |
9. Freelancer | From $15 per project | Depends on your brand |
10. Guru | Hourly rates set by the service provider | Depends on your brand |
11. Upwork | Hourly rates set by the service provider | Depends on your brand |
12. BeFunky | Free plan with pro upgrades from $4.99 per month | eCommerce |
13. Gratisography | Free | Commercial (ads) |
14. Photoshop Express | Free | eCommerce |
15. Pixlr (Online Platform) | Free plan with pro upgrades | eCommerce |
16. Fotolia | Prices vary based on licensing and seller | Business; Travel; Sports; People; Backgrounds; Fall; Light and shade; Animals |
17. Malabi Background Remover (Shopify App & Platform) | $4 per month with a 30-day free trial | eCommerce |
18. Photolock (Shopify) | Free and paid plans from $5 per month | Stores; eCommerce |
19. Swap Photo Editor (Shopify) | Free, with paid plans from $15 per month | eCommerce |
20. Burst | Free | Art, beauty, business, fashion, children, work, transportation, travel, and more. |
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that product photography plays a significant role in the success of an e-commerce store. You can’t overlook the importance of product photography, even if you need to invest some amount in it. Otherwise, you may end up losing a lot of customers. You won’t be able to establish your brand and will end up wasting your money and time. So, follow the tips that I told you in this article and improve the quality of product photos on your e-commerce store.
Does the quality of the photo affect the UX?
Yes, of course, the quality of the photo plays a very big role in UX
How many minimum photos should be on a website?
It depends on the type of your website, number of words. I’d recommend after each H2 add an image.