Various cultures around the world dictate that the majority of the information we receive comes to us from visual sources.

This has increased with the rise of the internet, where most companies at least partially operating online.

Some businesses even operate exclusively online, forcing the consumer to rely on images of a product instead of seeing it in physical form before making a purchase.

Even those that do not rely too heavily on online purchases of products will no doubt use photos of their products in some degree to advertise them to their consumers.

This has led to a distinct subsection of photography, known as product photography, that focuses on creating accurate and attractive representations of physical products.

Using a number of specific techniques that may differ depending on the product being photographed, those specializing in this area will use their expertise to showcase the product in the best light possible.

One distinction between product photography and other kinds of photography is that, while a certain level of editing is required, the final outcome should still represent what a customer can expect to receive if they purchase the product themselves.

This means that drastic photoshopping is completely out of the question, but even smaller changes can lead to trouble with consumers.

Things like increasing the brightness or highlighting certain areas of a photo may mislead people into thinking a products design is different to how it actually looks.

Despite the potential misunderstandings, however, more ordinary consumers are demanding high quality product photography.

In fact, 78% of online shoppers want photographs that will accurately bring products to life and influence their purchasing decisions.

Why Product Photography Is Important

One of the big reasons why product photography is so important is that most people prefer to shop online.

A recent study found that 51% of Americans with internet access prefer to do this, with these numbers set to grow substantially over the next few years.

This proportion of people won’t have access to the same advantages as in-store shoppers because they aren’t able to see the product in person.

By having these images accessible online, however, people can have a feel for the product and have a greater understanding of what they should expect of the product if they buy it themselves.

This is especially important when you consider that most businesses fail to accurately describe what their products look like and what they do through written text alone.

Having a photo that does this allows businesses to focus less on the copy they are writing to describe their product as this has less impact once photos have been added.

When 93% of consumers also consider images to be the key deciding factor in all purchasing decisions, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that high quality product photography also increases sales and conversions of products.

A big reason for this is that product photography will speak directly to the target audience, making your product pages more relevant and giving people an idea of the quality they can expect.

When it comes to why product photography is important, however, the bottom line is that it is a key part of branding.

By using the same style of product photography images across social media, websites and other digital advertisements, brands establish themselves clearly in competitive industries.

People will automatically begin to associate certain photography images and styles with a certain brand.

This will increase brand awareness and brand loyalty over time, which is a significant step in increasing conversions and sales, as mentioned above.

What Product Photography Looks Like

As aforementioned, product photography is a subsection of photography that involves highlighting a product in the best light.

With that being said, identifying product photography isn’t always easy, and knowing where to start if you plan to start doing this can be difficult.

Though our explanations should have helped you gain a greater understanding, product photography is all about using an image to speak a thousand words.

For this reason, we are going to provide you with a number of real life examples of product photography so that you can identify the different types and what it can look like for your own endeavours.


Source: Kool8

This image from Kool8 promoting the usefulness of their stainless steel water bottle is an example of freeze frame photography.

This is a subsection of product photography often used to grab the attention and impress potential customers, encouraging them to stop and take in the image properly.

Though it can be a tricky form of product photography to master, it can be incredibly effective if you are able to do so, especially for marketing purposes.


Source: Dainty Jewells

Another popular kind of product photography is lifestyle photography, which includes photos of people and gives examples of how a product could be used in real life.

In fact, this method is so effective that 62.3% of people from a recent study found that brands who featured people in their images were more likely to understand their customers.


Source: Zales

Though a lot of product photography involves adding things to highlight a product in the best light, this isn’t always needed.

Take this image, for example, which uses stand-alone product photography extremely effectively and lets the necklace speak for itself.

This method usually involves using a plain backdrop to avoid distracting from the product itself, and is generally more popular with expensive boutiques and online stores.

Summary

As we have explained above, product photography is a branch of photography that focuses on providing high quality images that highlight a product in its best light.

There are many different ways to do this, from simply presenting the product on a plain backdrop to something more complicated, like freeze frame photography that impresses your potential audience.

Regardless of the type used by businesses, it’s clear to see that product photography has become an important part of our convenience-led society.

With many people now operating successfully within this field, it’s never been easier for people to gain a real life understanding of what the product is without ever having seen it in person.

At the end of the day, product photography provides benefits for consumers and businesses alike, fuelling sales of online shopping products in a way we’ve never seen before.