The perceived value of your products and the reliability of your business often depend on the quality of your photos and the design of your site, period.
Conveying one’s values through a “cold portal” is not easy; for this reason, it is necessary to make the best use of the visual language to convey the values and quality of one’s work and consequently of one’s products.
You may have happened to enter an e-commerce site by clicking error with generalist photos of dubious origin. That poorly made the site with sketchy graphics, the chaos of colors and low-quality photos, a little made with the mobile and a little found on the web, and experience far from what Amazon has accustomed us to.
And this is the point if everything is to compete in the digital world, very noble portals could very likely go in direct competition with yours. So settling for mediocre and low budget material could soon make your dreams of e-commerce
And these days, a big part of a site’s appeal often has to do with top-notch product photography, even if the product is “simple” and common.
A Virtual World in Which the Physical Product to Be Touched Becomes the Photograph I See on the Screen
You have to think that in the virtual world, products don’t exist. Only their images exist. The consumer has no way of seeing the object he would like to buy life; he cannot touch it, taste it, or smell it, but must be based exclusively on an image.
To give you a number, on the used buying and selling portals, an advertisement with a photo is consulted 7 times more than one without (source immediately. it).
So imagine what difference it can make to have quality images in your portal compared to poor images, or even not have them!
A Good Photograph for an Honest Relationship with the Customer
An advantage of a quality photo faithful to the original is that when the user purchases the product online. He does not have any nasty surprises: he receives the product he expected because it corresponds 100% to what he saw.
Think that the goal is to create an honest relationship with your customer. Expectation and reality must not differ.
He must trust you because, especially at the first purchase. He must overcome all doubts about the validity and quality of your product and a good photograph is essential to create a good relationship without surprises.
Type of Photography for E-Commerce
Let’s go into some detail, and there are two types of images when we talk about eCommerce. The main image and the additional image.
By the main image, we mean the image we see as a preview when we browse the catalog of an online store or the first image we see when we open the product sheet.
Main Picture
The purpose of the main image is:
- describe the product in its entirety and globally
- have a correct perception of the volume
- highlight the geometries and colors of the product
- usually, it is still life photography on a white background to make the photo as objective as possible
- Occupy at least 80% of the image resolution
- Correct lighting
Additional image
By additional image, on the other hand, we mean all the other images in the gallery that can be viewed through user action. For example, by browsing with the navigation arrows or by clicking on the thumbnails under the main image.
The purpose of the additional image is:
- highlight secondary details by taking other angles
- show possible uses through narrative photos
- to give depth to non-perceptible characteristics or to underline a specific type of use
You have to keep in mind a very specific concept. The images of e-commerce must be as concrete and reliable as possible, and we must leave aside “artistic” photography. We must not only interpret the product but also make it as self-descriptive as possible.
The main image and additional images must be consistent with each other.
Key Features That a Good E-Commerce Photo Must-Have.
Product Description
The images must represent the product in an honest way; it is forbidden to use photos of similar or alternative products that look like us. For example, if I am a pizza delivery seller, I do not download a photo of any pizza on the internet, even if it looks like my pizza, but I must have an image of my pizza, with all its final characteristics (strengths and weaknesses).
They must not mislead the customer, there must be no accessories or characteristics different from the real one, and the product must not have, for example, different dimensions. How bad is it to see a photo of a super gluttonous pizza and then discover that it is half the size and of dubious ingredients?
White background
The background of the images must be pure white, not gray, not colored, pure white (255,255,255 in RGB scale).
This is because it allows you to enhance your product to the maximum. The photos of your site are uniform and allow a correct perception of the colors of your products.
Zoom images
It has been shown that the “zoom” on the main image (source Amazon ) increases sales, so the photographs must have a sufficient resolution to allow this type of experience.
Colors and shades
Colors and colors of the product must correspond to reality; post-production must be respectful in honestly describing our product. If, for example, we are selling fresh vegetables, we do not exaggerate too much in correcting defects or color saturation. Always remember that it is by respecting your customers that you will build successful and lasting relationships.
Photos by sectors
Some tips for the various sectors:
- drinks (wine, beer, oil, …), I would take a photo of the complete packaging and one of the labels, and I would pour the product into a transparent glass to show the color of the product and its physical characteristics
- Fresh food (vegetables, fruit, …), complete product, product cut in section to see the inside and why not, a suggestion on how to consume it at home!
- seasoned food (sausages, …), complete product, product cut in sections to see the inside, and it would be interesting to suggest a combination with a wine or a product that you have on your portal
- canned food (tuna, pasta, …), the closed packaging should be enhanced, then I would take a photo with half of the packaging open that makes me glimpse the product inside
- equipment and machinery, I would prefer a clean technical photograph to show the product in its entirety; then, with secondary images, you could work on characteristics and uses
How to Create Unique Experiences
Still not enough? If you are already at this level, here are some suggestions to improve your photo galleries even more.
360 ° photo
360 ° photo, i.e., having a dynamic gallery in which you can rotate the product as desired to see all the facets of the object.
They are a very effective method of communication, especially if your product is complex; for example, today, it is used a lot in the automotive sector. If you are interested in this world, I suggest you equip yourself with the GoPro Hero Max or the Insta360 to start getting familiar with it.
Product use photo
Photographs of the use of the product itself, for example, if you sell fruit, do not limit yourself to representing the product in a descriptive manner but also show its possible use in a recipe. Or tell where this product comes from with a photo or video reportage service.
Video
Descriptive videos of your product, in addition to static photos, to create more relationships with the customer, best describe what is possible to do with his possible purchase
Create Your Own Worldview
The fundamental step for me is the passage in the creation of its own language. Its own recognizable register, and its own vision of the world. It could be counterintuitive with respect to the arguments made above, but we must not forget that photography is a language of communication, and like every language, it has an audience with its own sensitivity. Shooting still life does not mean creating boring and identical images for all portals, but it can be a chance to give an original and meaningful vision of a product by playing with it and creating values and stories around the shot.
Conclusions
We understand that photography plays an essential role in the shopping experience and for this reason I recommend that you give it the right attention. As the last tip, I suggest you do some A / B tests. That is, try to sell the same product but try to vary the images cyclically, analyze the data well, and try to draw your own conclusions on which images have “performed” better and which ones have not!
