Creating effective product photography is far more challenging than Instagram might have you think. If you sell jewellery, clothing or furniture, each photo shoot will have its unique challenges to make sure that your images display your products in the best possible light. Whether it’s snapping your products without live models, or choosing the wrong lighting, we’ve listed the most common mistakes that people make with ecommerce product photography, so that you can be sure to avoid them.

1. DO use the right lighting

Lighting is everything and inexperienced photographers risk making things worse when experimenting with professional lighting equipment. This will inevitably result in severe, dull and low-quality images. Avoid any obvious glare and steer clear of shadows, unless you’re creating white-on-white shots where it might be inevitable. Ensure that the product is lit well from every angle and use white light not yellow when shooting indoors. You also need to make sure to adjust your white balance settings according to your light source.

2. DO use live models and/or mannequins

Many business owners are put off hiring live models to show off their products because of the cost or the perceived hassle that this might add to the shoot. But using a live model or even a mannequin will bring your products to life in a far more effective way and push those all-important sales for great return on investment. This type of “live” image helps bring the consumer closer to the products so that they can imagine how they might look and feel when wearing the pieces themselves. Recreating a real-life experience will make all the difference between a dull photo and one that really sells the products.

3. DON’T crop too much

Consistency is absolutely essential with product photography to ensure that your images are uniform and easy on the eye. This is why you need to avoid getting “crop happy” at the editing stage – as long as you have a crisp white background without any clutter, then it’s (usually) absolutely fine to have a larger background. With strong photography, the product will still be the focal point and any image that has been cropped too closely will appear off-putting and amateur. Along the same lines, you should also consider positioning your products in the same direction and format (i.e. vertical or horizontal) so that your ecommerce shop, catalogue images and any other multi-product material will be pleasing to the eye and encourage the consumers to zoom in of their own accord to see more details.

4. DON’T take too few shots

Some business owners think that less is more when it comes to selling their products, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. As long as your images are of high quality and varied, this will only serve to enhance the positive features of your products and allow customers to look at them in more detail. When purchasing online, the images are what sells the USPs of the product, so make sure to include overhead shots, as well as ones from a range of angles and those that show off the details of each piece.

If you would like more top tips on how to create powerful and effective product photographs, get in touch with our expert team today.