In this article, I am going to explain how to take photos that sell products. I have broken down the types of photos into eleven categories.
Each of these categories will help you narrow in on what type of product photography you should use depending on your target audience.
Let’s get started.
Product Photo: Basic representation of the product
(Tip – When taking photos, stay about three to four feet back from the subject. This will help to ensure that everything is in focus.)
Your main product photo should represent the product in its most recognizable form. If your product was, for example, a washing machine, then the photo would show a washing machine with no background. If you were selling an earring, then show only the earring. This seems simple enough however it is done a great deal of the time incorrectly.
Make sure that there isn’t anything else in the photo, and make sure to use lots of light when taking the photo. I will often see photos that have good composition however the plain background looks dim and the features of the product are not easily visible.
If you are using a cell phone, you can increase the light when taking your product photo. Open your camera and point it at the subject and center it on the screen of the viewfinder. Next, touch the screen and you will see a box appear.
Slide your finger up or down and you will see the light change on the viewfinder. Increase the light until it looks bright and clean. Hold very still and take the photo. This should give you a very good photo to work with. Use the editing software on your phone to make any final edits.
If you are having problems getting enough light or have a grainy-looking photo use a couple of lights at 45-degree angles to the product.
Product Angle Photos: Getting different shots to spotlight features.
(Tip – To give your angle shots a little more of a dynamic look, place something under them to raise the product off the ground. It is best to use something small that can be hidden in the finished photo. The idea is to make it look like your product is floating. As we discussed before, the same rules to lighting apply.)
When taking the product angle shots, I like to divide the product into four sides, as well as a top and bottom. If you find that there need to be more photos to represent the selling features, then please take more.
As an example, let’s say we are taking photos of a gift box with four sides. I would place the box on a small block or scrap piece of wood to elevate it off the ground.
The block should be small enough that it is hidden in the final photograph. Elevating the box slightly will create a soft shadow under the box, giving it a floating appearance.
I would then take my photos from the edge of each corner of the box. This gives the viewer a very good idea of how the product will look from all angles. For the top shot, I like to shoot from one of the corners and bring the camera up until I can clearly see the top of the product as well as the two sides.
This will help people construct a better 3D image in their minds. For the bottom shot, I will turn the product on its side so that it is clear that this is indeed the bottom.
If you need a tool to remove the background, I highly recommend the Pixelcut app. This app lets you remove the background very easily. You can check it out here. https://www.pixelcut.app/
Environmental Photos: Where does the product live?
Product environmental photos are presented in a documenting style. This should represent the product in its natural environment.
For example, you are taking photos of a bread mixer for use at home. You have to ask yourself, where would one find a bread mixer?
The top answer would probably be a kitchen. So we would place our mixer in a kitchen environment, ready to be used. I would suggest trying to tell a story with this kind of shot.
I would add a mixing bowl or two in the background and sprinkle some flour on the counter to make it look like the mixer had just been used. You could also have a finished loaf of bread cooling in the background.
So, what’s the story? Someone has just used the mixer to make delicious homemade bread for the family. I also like to use soft light with a warm hue, as if there is a fireplace casting light on the kitchen.
Example number two, let’s say you are selling tractors. A great environmental shot would be from above as the tractor plowing a field. Or another nice shot could be a shot from the ground as the tractor passes by, showing a clean-cut lawn.
The last shot could be from an angle with the tractor sitting in the middle of a freshly cut field.
The idea is to present the product in the proper environment and to show its usefulness.
Emotional product Photography: How it makes you feel.
Emotional photography is my favorite. It gives you a chance to show people how your product makes people feel. Show how a product will change their life in a positive way.
These types of photos can, however, be used to show destruction, corruption, fear and a wide variety of topics and emotions. You will often see these photos on news programs, blogs, and newspapers to get the viewer interested in the news story.
For us, however, I am going to focus on the positive side of things. When focusing on emotional photos, always ask yourself how does this product make me feel or how it should make a user feel?
For these types of shots, I use a model or two using the product while smiling or laughing. I stage these shots to look like you are seeing life through someone else’s eyes. I use an intimate approach to setting up the scene.
Imagine you just walked into a room where two friends were telling each other fun stories, laughing while drinking coffee. We all know what it is like to laugh with a friend and when we see that interaction happening, it instantly tells us a story.
These two people are friends, enjoy each other’s company, and are relaxed and at ease with the world that waits outside the door. This coffee break is not just about coffee its about how this particular coffee will reunite you with the feeling of belonging and peace of mind.
Okay, did I go too far? Believe it or not, this does ,in fact, work on us humans. Maybe we aren’t going to turn a tea drinker into a coffee drinker.
However, we are selling a feeling the product is just along for the ride. A great example of these types of photos is from Coca-Cola. People are pictured drinking Coke on the beach with their friends or at dinner or barbecue.
Also, cigarette companies use these photos in their ads all the time.
Emotional photos should not be overlooked when putting together your product photos. Remember you are telling a story about how this product will make you feel.
If you don’t tell a story that creates a feeling, you won’t make the sale.
Keep in mind that if you can make your viewer laugh, cry, feel hope, feel smart, or feel proud, you are much closer to closing them on your product or brand.
I suggest looking through magazines and ads that pop up on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media outlets to get more ideas on creating emotional scenes for products.
Lifestyle photos- Showing a way of life.
Similar to the emotional style of photography, lifestyle photos convey a way of life. It says people who use our product live like this.
We are strong, and we are outdoors people, we ride motorcycles and wear leather gear, we are family-oriented, we are wealthy, we like the club and party scene, etc.
Sometimes these photos just show a lifestyle scene and the product isn’t even in the photo. Perfume and cologne ads show this type of photo to promote that which cannot be seen, such as a fragrance.
When taking these photos, put yourself in the shoes of the user and imagine a great lifestyle to convey the product. When you use our product, you’re one of us. Then fill in the blank with what that looks like. It’s okay to have more than one idea. You can always refine it as time goes on.
Personal product photos- Targeting a narrow market
A personal photo would be one that represents how a product relates to the user. This also falls into the emotional realm of photos.
These photos would be directed at a specific demographic such as new moms, man or woman homeowners, sports car owners, etc.
These would be very similar to emotional, environmental and lifestyle topics with a very narrowed down audience.
Here’s an example, A new mom needs a car seat for a minivan. This would target a female parent who is interested in the safety of their child while driving her minivan.
You could do the same photo but replace mom with a dad. Each of these photos would be used for separate ad campaigns, one targeting women and one men. These types of campaigns are split in this way to run what is called an A / B test to see which one performs better.
Action product photos- Your product in action
Action shots are fun shots to take. It shows the product in use and these can be still photos or videos. These could be shots like wine being poured into a glass or a weed wacker cutting grass along a sidewalk. Simply put, catch your product in motion doing whatever it does best.
Size – Comparing the size of your product to something else
Size photos are just what it sounds like. When setting up the shot, place something that is commonly recognizable next to your product. For smaller objects, this could be a quarter or a ruler to show the size. For larger items, this may be represented by graphics over the image showing the height, width and depth.
I noticed that Apple used this in an ad where they showed the different sizes of iPhones and IPads. Today I see many companies using the leasing graphic over the photo, as I mentioned before. This does seem to be a very effective technique in advertising.
Compatibility images – What can be used with your product
When thinking about compatibility photos for your product, I like to use the example of cell phones. The cell phone would show the charging port as well as the charging cord. They may also show a port for the earbuds.
A vacuum is another good example. A vacuum would show the add-on attachments such as brushes and different-sized vacuum hose attachments. They may also show hardwood floor attachments or the type of electrical cord that runs the vacuum. To sum it up, what powers the device and what cool feature can be attached to the product?
Colors – What colors does it come in?
It’s a good idea to take a photo of every color your product comes in.
Here is a pro tip for you. If you have a product that needs lots of colors, you can hire a photoshop expert to change the colors of the products without having to set up a photoshoot for every color. This is well worth the money and it shouldn’t take them very long.
Stock Photos –
(Beware) Avoid using only stock photos if you are selling a manufactured product. It is okay to use them but make sure you add some of your own as well. By adding your own photos you build trust that you have experience with the product.
If you use stock photos only Google will penalize you for using the photos because the algorithm sees them as copied content. The algorithm is looking for original content that can best help people searching for information on your type of product.
Using Description Tags – Tagging your photos on your website.
When tagging photos on your website, make sure that you fill in all the fields.
Description Tags:
- Alt tags – Alt text
- Title –
- Caption –
- Description –
Alt tags – You should write your alt tag to describe what is happening in the photo. They are used to help visually impaired people to understand what the photo is all about. Include the scene, the product type, and how it’s being used. This will also help your website SEO and help you to comply with ADA rules (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Title – The title should represent what the product is. This title should also be represented in the first sentence of the description.
Caption – The caption is the heading under the photo when it’s displayed on a website. The caption can be turned on and off depending if you want it to show or not.
Description – The description should reflect the title’s keywords and sell the benefits of the product as succinctly as possible. Try only to mention your product name or keywords once or twice. Excessive product and keyword use will cause you to be flagged for keyword stuffing which will penalize your website on search engines.