Product Photography – a Brain Shake
There are a large number of different Product Photography ideas. Product photography covers a huge range of items, from food to perfume, but each of these involves a unique approach to capture the message the manufacturer or retailer is trying to convey, in order to make sales.
Product images not only testify to the quality of your product, but also serve as your shop window for your eCommerce store. What this does is create two essential elements in the buying process:
Transparency and Trust
Potential customers are looking for proof of quality and value.
Images create that vital first impression, the aim is to push them over a tipping point where they go from being just another visitor to becoming a customer.
Remember: the clients vision will be different to yours. By all means offer advice but at the end of the day it is their product and their vision.
In this article, I will explain the different types of product photography and where to use each.
What is Product Photography?
There are different types of product photography, but essentially product photography uses specific techniques to showcase products in an attractive way which hopefully will entice potential customers to buy products.
Product photography is an essential part of both online and offline advertising, specifically when selling products direct to the consumer.
Why Photography Increases Conversions
As we go along our daily routines, 90% of information we see is transmitted to our brain as visual input. No matter how brilliantly written, your website visitors are first engaged by visual elements, not written copy.
Photographs are a key part of a consumer’s decision-making process, ultimately determining conversion and long term retention rates. The quality of a product photo should reflect your brand; it should convey quality and longevity, both of which form their first impression. As we know, ‘first impressions last!’
The key to making the most of their first impression is to present polished, professional images that evoke maximum engagement.
One of my most recent clients wanted me to photograph a fishing bag on a white background. Not the sexiest of products, and not the easiest to position due to the thick material, but with a bit of persistence I got there. To be honest I did suggest that lifestyle photos would work better but they wanted it on a white background. I think it turned out OK but more importantly they loved it and have subsequently booked me for a far bigger job in 2022.
Quality visuals enhance the shopping experience
In surveys 93% of consumers consider images essential in purchasing decisions.
Your product images represent your product’s perceived value and quality. They speak directly to your target audience, making your product page and content more relatable.
Contrary to popular belief, as a store owner you don’t need a huge budget to create polished and professional product photos. This was shot in a lightbox on a white tile using a 100mm prime.

ISO 100, f.8 1/30sec @70mm
Images are a Key Element to a Company’s Branding
How much more appealing do these cup cakes appear compared to how they might look if they were in their box. A bit of a messy job but the results speak for themselves.
Branding should be front and center in every decision both you and your clients make, including:
- social media marketing
- website content, and
- every aspect of their marketing efforts
Product mages run the show for your brand. They grab passing attention, engender trust, and invite customers to ‘come on in‘.
Everything about your images, including the quality, subject matter, color theme and style, should speak to your target audience like a choir, in one uniform voice.
If you want longevity for your photography business then your overall goals should be to form long-term relationships with your customers, and product photographs are the most effective tool in your arsenal to achieve that.
Even with the most mundane products a great image will spark your customers imagination. This piece of steak would look fairly bland on a chopping board, or as part of a bigger display, but with a little creativity the customer can be drawn in.
Not all images are successful. If we look at this image, (which is promoting the sun glasses by the way), it isn’t crystal clear who is the star of the show, the jeans or the glasses. It is a good concept but not quite there.
Two Main Types of Product Photography
In reality, there are two main types of photographs that should be used on your product pages and across your marketing channels.
The first are clean-cut, white background, product-only images. These should include your featured product, and a variety of images showcasing your product from different angles. Below is an example of Happy Places’ product-only shot which was used on Etsy and Amazon.
The second is contextual or lifestyle photos that show your product being used in its intended environment or alongside complementing products. Here’s the same product in a lifestyle or contextual shot.
Product-Only Images
Product-only images are meant to show your product in its best light from a variety of angles. They are most commonly shot on a white background, helping to create a consistent look, with the focus purely on the product.
These type of product images should describe your product at a glance, and their function is to maneuver your visitor from browser to customer.
In a lot of cases, less is better but with product images, more is definitely better. Contrary to what you might assume, you actually need about a dozen images on your product page, not just one or two.
Even on Amazon, as long as your main image is on a white background the others can include lifestyle or in-context images.
Product-only images are generally the most suited for product pages, as they have a significantly higher rate of conversion.
Contextual Images
The candle image above would look great in the context of a family room and similarly with these brioche buns. Shot on a stark white background they wouldn’t look anywhere near as appealing as they do in context.
Source: Howard’s Butchers, Leominster
Where to use Lifestyle shots
Lifestyle shots, ones that tell a story, are best suited for social media, blog posts, emails, and other marketing channels.
I prefer to shoot outside when possible, I find that I can achieve really great results if I shoot early in the morning or in the late afternoon sunshine. Whatever choice you make, you should make sure both your hardware and software are up to the job. You really need the best camera and setup for product photography. Hiring a professional is the best option, and although it might cost you a lot more than shooting with your mobile, the resulting professional images will repay you over time through repeat sales.
The success of an image comes down to planning, creative vision and skill. I invariably get asked for product photography to promote a particular brand or style through product advertising photography. For example the clay jugs below.
Amazon & Etsy Product Photography
If you are looking for an Amazon product photography service, then you are looking for images with a white background such as the candle image below. The same applies to Etsy. If you are using the product images on eBay, then the white background isn’t mandatory and you can use more lifestyle type images.
This version of the same product would be suitable for eBay. This lifestyle product photography style is seen more on websites where the owners are attempting to sell a certain vision to their potential customers. For the candles my next step would have been to photograph them in context maybe in a low lit room, with some soft furnishings and someone curled up reading a book. The idea would be to ensure the candle stood out, where the whole image implied relaxation, calm and a sense of peace and happiness.
Telling a Story with Product Photography
I much prefer to tell a story with my product photography, after all it’s just another form of still life. Food is an excellent subject if you want to get creative. This set of scales and potatoes were great fun.
By using a very narrow depth of field I was able to put the focus on a the main ingredient, which prevented it getting lost in what was a busy picture. In contrast these pottery jugs required a bit more thought to make them pop. Usually I rely on textures and contrast but in the case of these very plain, but beautiful jugs, I simply played around with the limited colour palette and some creative lighting.
For these chocolate cubes I used a narrow depth of field, some lights, some cocoa powder for texture and lit them from the side to show off the textured finish to the cube. A random dried flower seed head was placed on top for interest. As you can no doubt see different types of product require different types of product photography.
Sometimes it is very difficult to turn a pigs ear into a silk purse! The owner of these water bottles wanted to portray them as high quality items. This might have been easier if I could have used a lifestyle type of product photography, however he needed a white background. As a result there is nothing to support the intention that these are high quality and not just another mass produced plastic water bottle with some fancy graphics.
In contrast, this Seiko wrist watch looks more than it is simply because of the staging. In essence the staging is very simple but the combination of lighting, shallow depth of field and macro feel give a far more luxurious finish than it would have on a stark white background. This style of product image would be ideal for posting on Instagram or Pinterest as part of a branding campaign.
Types of Product Photography
Below is a list of some types of product photography: –
- confectionery
- drinks
- clothing
- footwear
- makeup
- consumables
- liquids
- fast food
- perfumes
- specialist food
- soaps
- jewelry
The list goes on.
I hope that you enjoyed reading this article. In the next I will take a look at a typical product photography shoot.
If you would like to book me to take your product images then call me , email me or follow this link to my product photography page.