We live in a visual world where everyone has a camera in their hands, and thanks to platforms like Instagram, the quality of photography has skyrocketed. But it’s still tricky to take a great product shot with so many factors to consider: lighting, angle, focus, and, most importantly, composition.
Getting it right is imperative. A great product shot captures a customer’s attention, tells them almost everything they need to know about your product, and showcases your brand. Nail it, and you may gain a new customer, or perhaps they just might share it on their feed!
Store owners often have product photos that require minor tweaks before uploading, and sometimes this involves changing the background, placing the product in fun or relevant scenarios, or simply removing a busy background.
There are a few ways to solve this including new AI technology. We’ll get into this topic further later in the blog post.
Online editors like Canva and Pixlr are powerful web-based tools for content creation, allowing business owners to do their own image editing relatively easily. They’re user-friendly and don’t require professional-grade tools like GIMP or Adobe Photoshop. They even offer a wide range of advanced features for photo editing, including precise background removal and image manipulation.
These programs have a steeper learning curve and are expensive, which may not be suitable for everyone, especially those with minimal photo editing needs. Alternatively, business owners can outsource their photo editing tasks to professional photo editing services, which offer quick and high-quality photo editing, including background removal, but at a cost. For owners who are on a tight budget or prefer to handle photo editing tasks in-house, outsourcing may not be a viable option.
These tools offer basic photo editing features like cropping, resizing. However, background removal is a subscription-only feature. While these tools are made for quick and easy editing, their capabilities are limited compared to more advanced desktop photo editing software.
Creative photography ideas include using objects or backgrounds that enhance the object being photographed or showcasing how the product is used. When photographing a product, it is critical to consider the environment in which it will be used and to highlight the product’s unique qualities and advantages.
Get the lighting right:
Make sure that you have the right lighting to show off your product.
- Natural light works great, but there are instances where using flash can enhance the visual impact.
- Properly positioning the product in the frame, such as aligning key features with the rule of thirds grid, contributes to professional-looking composition.
- Maintaining a clean and neutral background helps to highlight the product beautifully.
Mastering the settings on your camera is also essential:
- Nail your focus. Utilize single-point autofocus or manual focus for precise focusing.
- Keep ISO low. Maintain a low ISO setting to minimize digital noise in your photos.
- Choose the right lens. Opt for a macro lens when working on detailed shots and consider a long focal length lens for compression effects.
- Use a tripod. Stabilize your camera on a tripod to ensure sharp overall images.
- Set appropriate shutter speed. Match the shutter speed to your lens length, such as using a minimum of 1/90th of a second for a 90mm lens, to prevent image blur.
Not only is it essential to have clean and neutral backgrounds for your basic product shots, but incorporating in-situ photos can also prove to be a powerful selling strategy. By presenting your product in an appealing, professional setting, customers get a sneak peek into its potential uses, sparking their curiosity. In-situ photos not only heighten visual interest but also tell a story that resonates with customers.
As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life, and promoting your products is no exception. Play around with camera angles, lighting schemes, and background settings to craft a one-of-a-kind product portfolio.
Having the skills to shoot and edit great product images is incredibly useful for creating beautiful scenes to promote your product, but we live in an age where this is no longer a necessity. The world is rapidly changing due to the development of AI, and e-commerce and photography are areas that are experiencing massive impact. An AI image recently won the Sony World Photography Award, which would have been unthinkable six months ago. We now have access to tools that streamline background photo editing and photo management, improve product image quality and consistency, and save time and money for store owners, all of which contribute to enhancing the customer experience.
FinalTouch is your one-stop AI application for product photo editing. In addition to neat features like background removal and AI generated backgrounds, FinalTouch uses AI to suggest appropriate backgrounds for your product images — a powerful tool for those moments when you’ve hit a creative slump. The app provides an easy-to-use interface that makes editing simple for non-professional photographers and business owners alike, with features specifically tailored to the needs of Shopify and Etsy merchants.
Check out FinalTouch today to see if it meets your needs. And don’t forget to browse more of Cloudinary’s AI-powered features.
