Let’s try to understand the biggest constraint for having good quality image? Is it only budget which allows big ecommerce giants to prosper in marketplace, but if it’s so -how come new innovating entrants are changing rules of competition and quickly gaining market share. Research shows biggest barrier for lucrative photo is not budget, but knowledge. In an era where average person is carrying 12 Megapixel camera and most powerful image editing software are available for free, product photography need not necessarily have to break one’s bank. One need to understand tools & techniques prevalent in marketplace (for good photography), when one should outsource digital content, how much to pay and from where to seek help in such cases. Difference between photography as an art and e-commerce photography is obvious, where former tries to reflect perspective of photographer but later is product centric and is more of science rather than an art.
An e-commerce photographer need to step out of his own shoes, and put on those of a prospective buyer. He need to anticipate as what customer wishes to see and what he needs to know. Accordingly, product photographer need to provide apt answer and if not done correctly, photographs provides an illusion of a product which is not accepted by customers, leads to product rejection & hampers brand equity of seller, hampering his future sale prospects. This has led to mushrooming of ecommerce photography, which provides end-to-end solutions along with world class photographs for online retailers of all sizes from Fortune 500 companies to small start-up businesses. Innovative software like Instalog (cloud based) has tried to automate ecommerce photography by producing 2D, 360 degree and 3D images, wherein one just need to place product, and software tells as how the shot need to be taken, lighting & background pattern, shoot angles etc. After all, one need to differentiate it’s offering from competitors and often it’s small touches like custom buttons or signature/number in images which make them unique, for instance- in jewelry focus on stones/clasp, for textile items show the weave.
Photos are how shoppers judge fit, quality and overall desirability of products and brands. The care one put into imagery reflects the care they put in their business and establishes credibility of seller. So in nutshell, sharper and beautiful picture answers questions without words, make business memorable and any ecommerce player can’t ignore product photography. Players new and experienced alike, need to understand customer problem by putting oneself in their shoes and making end user experience as memorable as possible.