- Gina Dantuono
Why You Need A Product Photographer
If you have an ecommerce website or any type of online marketing presence you should know the importance of quality product images. Your product images are meant to be the next best thing to putting a product in a potential buyer’s hand. Product photos need to convert your browsers into buyers! That means images need to be clear, focused, and not pixelated. High quality shots will show various angles of your product, display color accuracy, and also be relative to scale. Your photos should represent what your buyers can expect to receive.
High quality images are important tools to better your conversion rate and increase sales. According to Etsy, 90% of its shoppers rely on the quality of a product photo to influence whether they make a purchase or not. And 87.6% of overall online shoppers rank clear product photos above all else for positive shopping experiences.
Not only are people buying more online but the number of brick and mortar shoppers that now begin product searches and research online has also increased to almost 90%.
And according to a recent survey, 9 out of 10 businesses are now selling through social media channels. Social selling is a popular way to build your brand loyalty and develop client relationships. It is an easy way to prioritize your product message towards the ideal audience. According to LinkedIn, 78% of social sellers outsell competitors that do not use social media.
What do all of these very high percentages mean?
Simple.
So if you are wondering whether you should take your own photos to save money or if it is worth it to hire a photographer, think about what would increase your sales and decrease your number of product returns.
And then ask yourself, are you more inclined to purchase the product that looks its best or the one that looks like the product was placed on a counter, with no lighting, and lots of shadow?
If you are trying to figure out how to be a photographer as well as maneuvering the nuances of a digital marketer, prepare to feel like you're spinning your wheels. Learning to shoot top-notch photos is a lengthy process, requires equipment, and (at the least) an understanding of photo editing basics.
Your time may not be time well spent.
Professional product photographers know how to impress your customers and influence them to hit that buy button. They understand your end goal and are familiar with various specifications required by ecommerce sites such as Amazon, Shopify, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
Better photos show better quality. Better quality indicates brand awareness, and brand awareness leads to brand loyalty. This all adds up to more sales for you, and more ROI for your product photos. Think of these professionally shot product images as essential pieces in your overall marketing plan. The right photos can be used for advertising purposes as well.
And before you panic about project costs, not all ecommerce photography has to be super expensive. You can still get super photos at great prices. Check out Smart Product Shots’ competitive product photography pricing. Prices range from $35 - $48 for standard product photography, and $42 - $52 for jewelry and apparel photography.
There are many advantages to hiring a professional photographer for your online store:
Professional equipment
Professional editing and post production
Strategic lighting to show shape, texture, special features, color, size, etc.
Experienced knowledge of setting up a shot
Familiarity with online retail specifications
Experience and insights with product photography specifically for online sales.
Finding a product photographer that will work with you to get the most out of your product images is beyond helpful because you get the advantages of a technical process with creative results! But keep in mind that the photography industry is a broad spectrum of specialties. Be sure to research photographers so you know they specialize in product photography. A wedding photographer or a portrait specialist is not going to give you the desired results for online shoppers.
Always review a photo studio’s portfolio and find out if they have photographed products similar to yours or have examples of how you envision your products to appear.
Jewelry is a great example of this. Jewelry is one of the hardest things to shoot. Jewelry photographers understand how to delve into the intricacies of a piece, highlight its value, and display its beauty. Try to find product photographers with a niche in the jewelry industry. If you need a jewelry photographer take a look at Smart Product Shots jewelry images.
The best way to sum up why you should hire a professional photographer is that if you have the best product photos and images that you trust to get your message across, then those images will do the work for you and products will sell!