Top Product Photography Ideas to Level up Your eCommerce Website (Tips & Examples)

If you’ve got a product to sell, we’ve got the best product photography ideas to offer. Whether you are a rookie seller who is navigating your brand’s identity or a seasoned retailer whose products need a breath of fresh air - this guide will have you covered. To create a product that sells, first, you have to show it in its best light. But how? Find out all about it in this blog post.

How Important is eCommerce Photography?

eCommerce, or online shopping - as we have known it for decades, is basically a brick-and-mortar shop brought to the World Wide Web. This means buyers need to be provided with everything they need to make a purchase from the comfort of their own home.

In that regard, product photography is one of the most vital details for attracting visitors, keeping them, and driving up conversion rates.

That said, do eCommerce sellers need to shift their focus too much on this matter? Will a typical product-on-a-white-background method suffice for eons to come? The answer is: yes and no.

Don’t get us wrong, we do love a simple product image that gets to the point at first glance, but for certain niches, adding a little bit of spice could do wonders. Having an eye-catching product image is excellent, especially when a study from MIT suggests that the human brain can identify images in a mere 13 milliseconds. Below are the most prominent benefits of product photography for a digital storefront:

• Create a memorable first impression
• Convey the product’s information, function, and unique value proposition (UVP)
• Showcase brand identity
• Compile a detailed product catalog for revision and future use
• Improve SEO marketing

Learn more: 24 One Product Store Ideas in 2024

Commerce Product Photography Starter Kit

Brilliant product images cannot be manifested out of thin air. A basic starter kit is a must, and we will tell you all about it.

Learn more: Shopify Starter Plan Review: Who Is It For?

Camera & Lenses

A decent camera is an essential part of photography.

DSLR or mirrorless cameras are the way to go for taking high-quality product photos. These kinds of cameras are easy to configure and mostly compatible with many types of lenses. If you prefer detail shots where the products take up the spotlight, opt for a macro lens, or else a standard kit lens will do just fine.

Pro tip: To start, check out this pro tip on how to start an eCommerce business with no money, as well as essential tips to help you kickstart your entrepreneurial journey successfully.

Learn more: Start A Profitable T-shirt Business: The 2024 Complete Guide (+ Exclusive Promotion)

Tripod

Tripod offers great support for taking product pictures.

Tripod prevents shaky shots and offers convenience for all types of photoshoots. There is a wide range of products to choose from, thus, if you are only starting, there is no need to spend the big bucks. A standard tripod that costs around $30 will be steady and versatile enough for your product photography.

Lighting

Lighting gives photos versatile light sources to mimic different settings.

Having proper lighting is essential to produce uniform shoots. Softbox, reflectors, lightbox, flashes, etc. are all basic equipment to assist you in taking the best product photos. That said, if you are a beginner, utilizing what is already on hand is not a shabby idea. Natural light is a top-notch alternative for product photography ideas at home that many cosmetics and handmade product brands have made use of to showcase their goods.

Backdrop

A solid-colored background is crucial for product photography.

A simple background is the unsung hero in various photography settings. Small items, large merchandise, models, and the like all call for a quality backdrop. White is the most common color to highlight the products, which makes it foolproof for businesses with different needs.

Learn more: Top 15 Trending Products To Sell on Shopify (2024)

Monitor

Constant checking and reviewing is an integral step of a photo shooting session.

A monitor is a worthy investment, especially if your products are taken alongside models. It is attached to a camera and offers a larger display for more convenience. Your photoshoot session will be way smoother with this simple addition.

Editing Software

Editing photos ensures a professional and coherent look for all the product images.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are reputable names for editing software. With product photos, it is important to ensure clarity rather than opting for fancy filters. This is the final step that ties the whole process together and produces images that are qualified for commercial use.

More from GemPages: Shopify Product Images: A 10-minute Guide for Beginners (2024)

The Best Product Photography Ideas to Utilize for Your eCommerce Store

Photography is a great medium for self-expression, which is why each original artwork is a one-of-a-kind. However, there are rules of thumb for eCommerce product images, especially if you want to try out creative product photography ideas. Below are the tried-and-true practices that business owners have implemented to achieve excellent results for their stores. Let’s see what they are all about.

Include Lifestyle Photographs

QALO’s products are shown in different settings to appear more personable and versatile.

This GemPages-powered store will give you an idea of how to incorporate lifestyle shots with various products. Specializing in contemporary silicon rings, QALO products are stylish and suitable for different activities. To convey their versatility, lifestyle photographs are added to studio shots. This type of photography is ideal for jewelry, clothing, accessories, and footwear brands.

Showcase Different Angles

Seeing a product from different angles is a required step for shoppers to analyze and make a purchase in their best interest.

Allbirds stands proudly among the top shoe brands on Shopify, and its attention to detail can be seen via the way the products are shown. Shopping for footwear online can be a hit or miss, so the brand makes sure that its clients can have the most thorough look at the products with the assistance of different-angled photographs. This is also a clever medium to display first-rate features naturally.

Take Flat Lay Photographs

Flat lay is a photography style where various items are arranged neatly on a surface and taken from above. This style can be seen in food photography, and it also works excellently with similar-sized items for a clean product image. Brands like Manscaped have mastered this style to show their products from the best angles. This bird's eye view also required minimal background and lighting, granting rookie sellers who are on a budget the liberty to try out without redundant preparation.

Include Before and After

Adding a before-and-after helps potential buyers decide before buying, especially with a cosmetics brand like Topicals.

Topicals is a young brand, but it seems like its team always aces in every facet of its branding. We have given praise to the company in our list of most-loved Shopify beauty stores in 2023, and Topicals’ product images are also excellent. By using before and after photos from its clients, the brand has managed to show direct results on the product page without visitors having to look for customer reviews. It is one of the most effective skincare product photography ideas for business owners in the same field to utilize.

Feature Models

Models are an integrated part of the fashion industry, as Lucy and Yak has portrayed on their website.

If you are a part of the Gen Z community, you have probably heard of Lucy and Yak - a chic fashion brand that offers sustainable unisex clothing. It is only natural that you will find models of all shapes and sizes on the company’s website. The model shots demonstrate how the clothes will look on the body, and give Lucy and Yak a rich collective of professional product photographs. If you are in the apparel sector, collaborating with models is a must for outstanding product photography.

Implement Close-up Shots

Omsom features an unconventional close-up picture that instantly catches buyers’ attention.

Some products require us to take them off the shelf and take a closer look at them. To replicate this action in a physical store, close-up shots are a godsend for eCommerce companies. It allows buyers to inspect the quality of the products further and make an informed buying decision or in Omsom's case - just to boast about how good their noodles look!

Make Them Float

A small item like earplugs is perfectly exhibited through this simple visual effect from Loop.

If you are constantly having problems falling asleep, Loop Earplugs could be your next best friend. The products are designed to give you a good night's sleep, and what’s a better way to show them in all their glory than making them float over a velvety, matching colored background? With such a small item, the brand has done an amazing job at photographing it.

Use Props

not pot is a master at selling top-notch products via a hip and distinct approach.

Props are optional, but when used right, they could be the perfect aid to your products that you didn’t know you needed. Take not pot as an example - this Shopify-based store sells all things CBD for your anxiety problems. Instead of placing the items before a single-colored background, the brand chose a unique approach where more is more is the motto. This photography style flows well with the dreamy vibe that the not pot website encapsulates, which can be a source of inspiration for many.

Add Graphic Elements and Texts

The graphic elements highlight Kokada’s products while remaining unobtrusive.

Similar to on-set props, graphic elements and text are common details in post-production. They grant brands a distinct look and make them more memorable. Kokada’s specialties are tasty coconut spreads, and its product images are just as flavorful and fun to behold with cutesy graphic elements. 

Briogeo cleverly uses text to showcase its product’s effectiveness.

An instance of a business using text to its advantage is Briogeo - a hair brand that aims to revolutionize our haircare routine. Its product page features multiple photos with text to transmit the item’s benefits, without obstructing the appearance of the product itself. By breaking up the text into small sections, buyers will have an easier time taking in information and placing an order.

Spice It Up with GIFs

The use of GIFs and videos is a superb gateway for sellers to give a detailed look at their products. For cosmetics or food businesses, featuring GIFs showcases the texture, consistency, color, etc. of the products without extensive descriptions. 

Cocokind is a beauty brand that has tapped into the use of GIFs as an added visual to demonstrate the product’s exact texture. GIFs are also excellent for unconventional products where still photographs are not enough to capture their essence.

Minimal Background

 

We have gone through various photography styles, and it would be flawed to not include the most simple yet efficient photo layout: a product in front of a minimal background. This photography style eliminates extensive planning, which sellers can achieve with a basic equipment kit. A straightforward good like these CBD dog bites from Honest Paws is a perfect item for this style for it to shine.

Feature Natural Shots

Nature shots are a must-have for companies whose catalog revolves around outdoor and activewear.

If your catalog is all about sustainable products or outerwear, why not take it out into the wild? Mother Nature is the best background to highlight your products. This style often features models doing outdoor activities and varies from campaign to campaign, just like Trew Gear - an activewear company has done with their collections.

4 Tips to Master Product Photography and Stand Out from the Crowd

Stay Consistent 

To enforce a solid brand identity, product photographs need to be consistent across different collections, campaigns, and platforms.

If you have implemented one photography style, refrain from using other mismatched styles. The uniformity is also present in photo dimensions and sizes, which largely contribute to a website’s performance. Once you have gotten this figured out, the customer experience will be improved in the long run.

Let Your Personality Shine Through

Depending on the field you’re in, it is always a good idea to use product photos that speak to your brand’s mission. If your target audience is Gen Z-ers, keep them modern and fresh with playful descriptions to go alongside. Your model picks also play a huge role in determining the characteristics of your business.

Keep It Seasonal

If you have a limited catalog, try to refresh the product pages by adding seasonal photographs. Your product images don’t have to be a one-and-done ordeal, especially when you know how to leverage tools like user-generated content (UGC). 

For instance, a jewelry business can run a Valentine’s Day campaign by offering bundle options for existing products. This enables the sellers to have new pictures taken for this specific holiday and present buyers with new shopping options at different prices.

Passionate about jewelry? Learn more about jewelry product photography ideas with our articles on this popular niche:

All About Shopify Jewelry Stores: A Beginner’s Guide

Top 20 Shopify Jewelry Store Examples and lessons to learn from (2023)

Leverage AI Tools

Artificial intelligence (AI) has never been this prevalent. No matter what your stance on this matter is, there is no denying that it has opened many doors for inventing useful tools in the eCommerce industry alone. With apps such as Pixelcut and Pixlr, editing photos for commercial use is as simple as ever.

Learn more: Image-to-Layout: How GemPages' first AI-powered feature helps you build faster

Over to You

We have compiled these ideas for you to spice up your photography skills, now it is time for you to cherry-pick the tactics that suit your brand’s image the most. With showcasing your products in the most appealing state as the end goal, you will be able to level up your product photography and see your business blossom.

FAQ about Product Photography Ideas