From 2018 to 2019, e-commerce sales in the US grew by almost 15 percent. E-commerce and online spending were 16 percent of the total retail sales for the entirety of 2019. Your business can even operate solely online.
Like with any business, attracting customers is one of the most important cornerstones of your strategy. Because your customers can’t inspect the products themselves, you’ll have to rely on appealing photographs to persuade them. Product photography may seem trivial, but experts say that poor image quality can decrease sales. On the other hand, high-quality pictures increase the chances of customers buying your products.
Improve the quality of your product photographs and make them more appealing to customers by avoiding these four common mistakes.
1. Distracting Backgrounds
You could be tempted to take photographs of your products on whatever background, but this can be distracting. You don’t want your customers to get headaches from the jarring patterns on your cloth background or put off by your cluttered desk.
Although you could partner with a company that provides photo retouching services for e-commerce to edit out the background, you could also start with a good image. A plain or white background works best in highlighting your product without distracting the viewer.
2. Bland Angles
Another common problem is shooting your products from uninteresting angles. For example, putting your product in the direct center of your shot is uninspired and does nothing to draw the eye of your customer.
Instead, try to follow the rule of thirds, which segments a shot into nine squares and dissuades you from centering the shot. You should also take multiple shots of your products from varying angles. This allows the customer to see it from different perspectives, letting them check its integrity and appearance through your website.
3. Unprepared Products
No matter what product you’re selling, you can’t take photos of it without preparing it. Just like how models apply make-up and fix their appearance before photoshoots, your products should also look their best.
Clean them thoroughly and make sure they’re spotless before the session. Clothing must be ironed beforehand, to remove unwanted folds and wrinkles. Choose products with packaging that isn’t damaged or unseemly.
Your customers will be more likely to purchase products that are well-presented and pristine.
4. Incorrect Lighting
One of the more technical problems you can encounter can be rectified digitally. However, you could solve this type of issue yourself by paying attention to the lighting. Natural light and sunlight are too inconsistent to rely on.
Instead, focus on controlling electric lights. If they’re too bright and you can’t reduce their settings, use deflectors, like umbrellas or softboxes to diffuse their light. By carefully controlling the amount of light in your environment, you prevent products from looking overexposed or too dark. Either condition misrepresents the true appearance of your products and dissuades customers.
Without excellent product photography, your site visitors won’t have much to go on when inspecting your products. Give them well-lit, interesting, and appealing photos, and you’ll secure the patronage of potential customers
