How can you sell more with product photos?

Product photos play an important role in consumers' purchasing decisions, especially in online sales where the absence of physical contact with products makes images essential.

A high-quality product visual can attract attention and generate interest among visitors, who will be more inclined to add the product to their shopping cart. These visuals are the visitor's first point of contact with an online product, and complement the text descriptions throughout the product sheet, providing a quasi-tangible dimension.

In this article, we'll show you how to create attractive visuals for your product pages, from the right equipment to optimizing visuals.

The right equipment for product photos

The choice of equipment is very important to obtain quality visuals.

The first thing to consider is the choice of camera. You have two choices: 

• A digital SLR camera (DSLR)
• A smartphone

Despite the considerable advantages of DSLRs, which enable you to take high-quality photos in low light, high-end smartphones are sufficient for taking product photos. You do, however, need to ensure that the details of your products are visible in the photos.

To ensure that your photos are stable and sharp, you can use a tripod to prevent blurred photos. Again, this can help in dark surroundings. Other accessories can help you get a better look for your product photos, including spotlights that will help you emphasize details.

How to control lighting?

To master lighting when photographing products, it's essential to understand the different options available. The two main sources are natural and artificial lighting. 

• Natural lighting, ideal for shooting outdoors or near windows, provides soft, even light. 
• Artificial lighting, which is more controllable, is suitable when natural light is insufficient.

To avoid shadows and reflections, position light sources judiciously and use reflectors to soften shadows. Softboxes and diffusers are effective tools for diffusing light evenly and reducing unwanted glare.

Diversify product shots

Diversifying shots is an essential strategy for fully capturing the essence of a product and attracting the attention of potential customers.

Offering customers a complete view of the product is crucial to helping them make an informed purchasing decision. This involves capturing the product from a variety of angles: an overview to showcase its general features, close-ups to highlight details and texture, as well as unusual angles that can reveal unique aspects of the product. Showing the product from all angles gives customers a clearer idea of what it really looks like.

You can also include animated media. Videos are dynamic formats that can capture viewers' attention in a unique way. They allow you to showcase a product's features in an interactive and engaging way. For example, a video can show how to use a product, its different configurations or even demonstrations of how it works.

Retouching and optimizing product photos

How do I retouch product photos?

Retouching photos is a crucial step in ensuring they reach their full visual potential. 

Among the most highly recommended retouching software, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are popular choices due to their versatility and power. Photoshop offers total control over every aspect of the image, while Lightroom is particularly effective for mass retouching and cataloguing photos.

The essential adjustments to make when retouching include brightness, contrast and color: 

1. By adjusting brightness, you can balance the dark and light areas of the image for a more uniform appearance.
2. Contrast enhances detail and adds depth to the photo. 
3. As for colors, it is essential to correct them so that they are faithful to reality, while adding effects to enhance visual appeal.

A key tip for achieving a natural, professional look is not to overdo retouching. It's tempting to go too far with adjustments, but this can make your photos look unrealistic and unattractive. The aim is to enhance the photo while preserving its authentic character.

How to optimize product photos for the web?

Once photos have been retouched, it's crucial to optimize them for effective online presentation. Optimization mainly concerns two aspects: resolution and file size.

Resolution refers to the amount of detail present in an image, measured in pixels per inch (dpi). For web photos, a resolution of 72 dpi is generally sufficient, as computer screens and mobile devices are generally unable to display more detail. Reducing the resolution of photos reduces their file size, which is essential for fast loading times on the web.

Recommended file formats for web photos include JPEG, PNG and WebP. JPEG is ideal for photographs rich in detail, while PNG is preferable for images with areas of solid color or transparency. WebP is a more recent format developed by Google, offering more efficient compression with no loss of quality, making it an ideal choice for performance-oriented websites.

Finally, file compression is essential to reduce file size without compromising visual quality. Online compression tools or plug-ins available in retouching software such as Photoshop can reduce file size while preserving quality.