In this article I am going to give you some suggestions about photographing your products for your website catalog. The images you use in your catalog are the most important features you will be deciding on. The images sell your products. The text and everything else are important, but if theimages are not well-done, then your sales will suffer.
- Make Sure A Professional Is Insured
- Quality Images MAke You More Sales
- Hire A Professional Photographer
There are experienced product photographers available and using them will guarantee that you have the very best photos for your catalog. While some products can be sent by FedEx,others like food are best shot by a local photographer. If you are wanting for a local photographer simply use Google local search by adding the name of your city with the search. For example I live in San Antonio so I would search for San Antonio food photographer if I required food shots. If I wanted standard product shots I would again use the name of the city in the search. I might modify it a little each time. For example one search would be product photographer San Antonio or professional product photographer in San Antonio. While, professional services are not come cheap, it can make you a profit when done right. If you decide to do it yourself, you can save a lot of money but may slow your sales if not done right. Just be sure you are sureconfident that you can produce high-quality photos for your web catalog or doing it yourself photography can be very costly in the end.
The first rule of quality product photography is to photograph your products alone. Group photos of most products do not sell as well as individual images. Choose appropriate backgrounds for your images. You want the product to stand out in the picture, not the background. If your product is white, use a dark background. Add contrast to your photos. Take several photos of each item so you can decide later which ones are the “best of batch”.
If you are skilled with Photo Shop you can enhance the images of your products. Shadowing is a great method to use when you are displaying high end products like wine, jewelry, or artwork. If you do not know how to use Photo Shop, you may want to get a professional graphic artist to touch up your photos for you. Why all this trouble for just a handful of images? You want to present your products in the best light, no pun intended. Your pictures must speak to the client for you. By taking the extra time to make each and every image a virtual showcase for your product, you make the potential client want to see more of your online store then purchase your products.
To the consumer, the quality of the image equates to the likely quality of the product. When people see an image that is pleasing to them, they want to purchase it. If you want them to “purchase” your product by ordering it, you have to make them want it. Qualityimages are the best way to do that. You can use a high-quality DSLR to photograph your products with. Personally I recommend you go with a lower cost DSLR and better quality lens if you are going to photograph your own catalog products. In the end it is the lens quality, lighting and photographer skill that makes a good image, not the price of the camera.