Tips for Taking Holiday Season Product Photos for Ecommerce Portal

The ‘Holiday Shopping Report’ by global digital targeting experts Criteo came up with some intriguing numbers for online shopping recently. According to them, 40% of sales happened through eCommerce websites, in November.

Owing to intensive digital promotions, in-store shopping falls significantly post-Thanksgiving, boosting online sales further. In the week before Christmas, as much as 26% of sales happen online. Holiday season shopping has evidently become a very important time for online selling.

It is no wonder then, that quality support in terms of product photography, is of utmost importance to eCommerce sites, during this period. Good product photos provide customers with:

• • Instant information about the product
  • Can be circulated digitally among friends and family for their opinions,
  • And they boost the ranking of the eCommerce website on search engines since the text associated with images gives search engine indexers more information to pull from.

The holiday season is the time to scale up your photography operations both as an eCommerce business owner and a product photographer. A professional appearance increases customer trust in a product while shopping online. Here are 5 tips to keep in mind for taking holiday season product photos for an eCommerce portal:

Let’s Discuss Each Point in Detail

1. Chalk out a Concrete Plan of Action

Both the collaborating parties need to form a clear idea about their holiday season needs. In addition to the regular need for product images, the online seller may ask for holiday-themed product images to feature throughout their website and holiday-themed photo sessions for social media advertising of their products. It is important to discuss the requirements and finalize the photography settings, lighting, size, number of photographs, and number of angles that the client wants, for a photographer to work efficiently and reduce delivery time. Having an option to pay for the photos only after approval can save vital resources at both ends.

2. Concentrate on Images Rather than on Text

Clear, compelling images of products help customers to get to know the products before they buy them. The attention span of online customers is usually short, especially during the holiday season shopping frenzy. It is wise to let high-quality, engaging product images do the talking rather than product descriptions or infographics on the product listing.

Good product photographers understand this and have the expertise and equipment to deliver the right results. For certain kinds of products, like cosmetics and toiletries, things like the color, shade, and packaging of the product play a very important role in their marketing. These are some of the most popular items on holiday shopping lists. Photographers with beauty product photography experience help boost the sale of such products.

3. Provide Good Primary and Secondary Images

For an eCommerce website, the main image of a listed product is the most important thing that grabs a customer’s attention. Product photographers should be good at product photography with a white background. This helps get a better image, with fewer background distractions. Natural shadow or reflection in product photographs also helps the website look professional.

Most online retailers need secondary images of the product so that the customer can view it from different angles and different levels of detail. Choosing the right angle and resolution helps get secondary images that keep the customer interested. With the number of online sellers growing, the one who can capture the attention of the customer fastest and keep them interested for the longest makes the most sales during the holiday season. Good primary and secondary images of listed products are invaluable for this.

4. Expertise and Professionalism Matter

Experienced product photographers are familiar with the product image specifications of popular eCommerce websites like Amazon, eBay, Pinterest, etc. Even if the client’s e-commerce website is of their own, industry knowledge is always helpful for producing high-quality results.

ECommerce product photography experts can provide images that will load quickly and optimize site speed. Product photos have to be mobile device friendly. Experienced photographers know the technicalities involved in making them so. Efficient post-production processing can save time and money and increase your product image quality. Consider these factors while planning for product photos.

5. The Cost of Product Photography

Product photography pricing is an important factor to consider. Going for a high volume of photographs is beneficial for an online seller as well as the photographer. Enough numbers and various resolutions of photographs make marketing a product easier. Consequently, product photographers can provide attractive pricing rates for big orders. It is also possible to get some basic re-touching, getting a clipping path, and masking options free of charge from good product photographers.

Engaging the Customer

During the holiday season, successful online sellers need to build a mobile experience that keeps the customer engaged through constant feedback and attractive imagery. Good product photography highlights the essential and best features of the products without misleading the customers.

Hiring a commercial product photography service makes it easier to create a brand image for products, increasing the number of customers as well as customer loyalty. The best product photography services understand the importance of keeping up with industry trends. When the goal of both parties is to provide the best experience to online retail customers that makes for a successful partnership between eCommerce business owners and product photography services.