The eCommerce photography is a mandatory requirement if you are stepping into the eCommerce business world. Your product should look catchy on the screen of your potential customers so that it becomes easy for them to make purchasing decisions. Also, the big online shopping websites like Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, etc have some product photography rules and regulations before accepting your product. If your products and the pictures of your products are captured perfectly then, the websites are definitely going to accept your products for selling.
If you have a studio and professional photographers of your own, you can perform the product photography on your own. But, if you do not have then you should definitely approach some organization that specializes in eCommerce photography. Working on your own can save you some money but, your photography team needs to be versed.
We have something that can help you perform the product photography well. In this article, we will share with you the 4 P’s of product photography i.e. Planning, Photographing, Post-processing, and Publishing. The successful implementation of these P’s will result in great product pictures.
Let us have a closer look at the P’s
PLANNING
Before starting the product photography, it would be great if you have a plan in your hand as it will make the execution easy and fast. There are a lot of things that need to be considered before the actual shoot such as your budget, equipment for the shoot, the place you are going to shoot at, etc. You should be ready for all the answers before you touch the camera. Let us see what should be considered and how we can tackle all this.
Where are your images going to end up?
This means you should know beforehand where your images are going to be used. In the e-commerce business, there are two types of images, one the lookbook images and the other typical product images. The lookbook images are fully styled images that look captured at a location while product images are the images taken inside a studio with a white background. Know where and for what your images are going to be used.
What’s your budget?
Know what your budget is because it is your budget that is going to decide certain important decisions of the shoot. For instance, check if hiring a professional model is in your budget or not. The professional models are obviously good at their work but, they can increase your budget. So, if you have a tight budget make use of mannequins. Not only in the case of models, consider your budget for everything.
What shots do you need?
Have a list of images you have to shoot; the products you are going to shoot, the angles needed for the shoot, and the combination of different items or use of props. Having a list will help you maintain your workflow. You can complete your work as soon as possible.
Where are you going to shoot?
Many big brands have an in-house studio but, if you do not have any you can always rent a studio. Hiring a professional studio is not cheap but, it will definitely lessen your workload. Also, you can learn how things work at a professional studio and then later implement it yourself. If you are a DIY photographer then, you can always choose or make locations according to your wish.
What equipment do you need?
The requirements of the equipment depend on the budget of the product you are shooting. The gears required for most of the products are a DSLR camera, tripod, backdrop, and an artificial lighting kit. It is also recommended to have a laptop so that you can shoot and immediately transfer your files to see how they have turned out.
PHOTOGRAPHING
When you have a plan and needed gears in your hands you are ready to shoot your product. Now, what should be considered while photographing the product? Product Preparation, Styling, Lighting, and Camera Settings should be considered. Let us see how we can do all this.
Product Preparation
Your product should be ready before you start shooting. Like, you should iron apparel if there are any wrinkles on it or remove dirt from a mirror. Keep your product neat and tidy before they face the camera.
Styling
Styling your product will make your product more attractive. You can hire a stylist or do the styling yourself. Just make sure you style the images well and don’t just create a mess.
Lighting
Light plays an important role in photography. Decide beforehand if you are going to shoot in natural or artificial lights and then do the setup accordingly. Natural lights are great and do not leave any harsh shadows whereas artificial lights or inbuilt flash do create some harsh shadows.
Camera Settings
Camera settings are very important as your whole shoot depends on it. You should thoroughly know the manual mode of the DSLR camera. You should be fast at setting and adjusting the ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed of the camera. If the use of these three functions is perfect you are definitely getting amazing shots of your product.
POST-PROCESSING
If there are any small glitches in your images do not worry as you can work on them in post-processing. Use software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, etc for post-processing.
PUBLISHING
When you are done with the shooting and editing of your pictures, the final step is the publishing of your images. Share your images with the world. Also, different eCommerce websites have different criteria for uploading images. Check all the requirements and then upload the images accordingly.
If you understand these four P’s well and execute them in a proper manner then, it is very obvious that the results are going to be positive. If you wish to know more about the topic, do visit this well-written blog by Shopify. Share your views on this blog in the comment section below and also if there are any queries feel free to ask.