Best practices for e-commerce photography & How to edit product photos for e-commerce
In today’s world, virtually everything is available and everything is available virtually! Millions of businesses have made a shift to ecommerce, completely eliminating brick and mortar stores from their business models. It is estimated that nearly 27% of the worldwide population is shopping online to fulfil needs as of 2022. That number is set only to grow. With the increasing importance of ecommerce arrives the increasing importance of ecommerce product photography and ecommerce photo retouching services.
What is ecommerce product photography?
Ecommerce product photography is the process of taking and editing photographs of products that are sold online, typically through an ecommerce platform such as an online store or marketplace. Ecommerce product photography is an important part of running a successful online store, as it helps customers understand and make informed decisions about the products they are interested in. Ecommerce product photography typically includes product shots, lifestyle shots, and detail shots, and may also include images of the product being used or worn.
The Purpose of Ecommerce Product Photography
Keeping in mind the purpose of ecommerce product photography helps us to define the best practices. The main purpose of ecommerce product photography is to showcase products and help customers visualise what they are interested in purchasing as online customers are not able to physically see or touch the products, so good ecommerce photography helps them understand what they are buying and make informed decisions.
Ecommerce product photography serves other important purposes also, including:
- Attracting customers: High-quality ecommerce photography can help attract potential customers to your online store and encourage them to browse your products.
- Providing product information: Ecommerce photography can provide important information about the size, shape, and features of a product, helping customers understand what they are buying.
- Improving customer experience: Good ecommerce photography can improve the overall customer experience by making it easier for customers to find and understand the products they are interested in.
Best Practices For Ecommerce Product Photography
- Use professional equipment: The images you use on the site should be clear, well-lit, and in focus. It is highly recommended to use professional equipment and professional assistance. Professional cameras and lenses are designed to produce high-resolution, well-exposed images with accurate colours and details. This can be especially important for small or intricate products that require a lot of detail to be visible. Professional equipment also offers a wider range of manual controls, such as the ability to adjust the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Thus, it is more versatile and can handle a wider range of lighting and shooting conditions.
- Show products in a ‘good light’: Lighting is an essential element of ecommerce product photography because it can have a big impact on the quality and appearance of the final image. It helps to highlight the details and features of the product and accurately represent the colours of the product. Apart from that, good lighting creates a sense of depth and dimension and improves focus and clarity, making the product look more realistic and lifelike. Natural lighting would be the best option and it is absolutely free of cost!
- Use multiple angles: Show your products from multiple angles to give customers a full understanding of what they look like. This is especially important for products that are difficult to visualise, like clothing or accessories. Follow it up with ecommerce product image editing for the best presentation.
- Use a white background: A white background helps to minimise distractions and allows the product to stand out. This is especially important if you are selling products that are small and/or have a lot of intricate details. This is best done by professional ecommerce product image editing services.
- Use zoom and close-up shots: Zoom in on important features or details to help customers see what they are buying. Close-up shots can also help customers understand the texture or finish of a product.
- Edit your photos: Use photo editing software to touch up your photos and make them look their best. This can include adjusting the lighting, colour balance, and contrast.
Editing Your Product Photos For Ecommerce
Even after all this, it is nearly impossible to get product photos that are consistent in look, feel and quality. That is where ecommerce product photo editing comes in to fix any imperfections or distractions in the photo, as well as to enhance the overall look and feel of the image. Given below are a few important steps that you can follow for ecommerce product image editing.
- Adjust the lighting and colour: Make sure that the lighting in the photo is consistent and that the colours are accurate. You can use a photo editing tool to adjust the brightness, contrast, and saturation to make the product stand out.
- Crop and straighten the image: Cropping the image can help to focus the viewer’s attention on the product, and straightening the image can help to eliminate any distortion.
- Remove any distractions: Look for any background elements that might distract from the product and remove them using the clone or healing tool.
- Add tags and labels: If you want to highlight certain features of the product, you can use a text tool to add tags or labels to the image.
Save and export the image: Once you’re happy with the edited image, be sure to save it in a web-friendly format such as JPEG or PNG, and at a high resolution so that it looks good on all devices.
The Need For Professional Editing
Professional ecommerce photo editing service providers like Mubytech have the skills and experience to produce high-quality images that meet the specific needs of the client. They are familiar with a range of editing techniques and tools, and can apply them effectively to achieve the desired results. They produce faster results as they are familiar with the software and workflow. They also have access to high-quality software and equipment that can produce better results than consumer-grade tools. Contact Mubytech for any ecommerce product photo retouching services and be assured of the highest quality services at the quickest turnaround times.