what is product photography?
Product photography is simply imagery and photographs of physical goods sold by brands and companies. While it's often called e-commerce photography, product photography applies to any type of business and anywhere goods are sold - whether that's an online store, in a catalog, or in a brick-and-mortar store.
What sets product photography apart from other photography is the style, the variety, and the need to follow the requirements of the platforms like Shopify, marketplaces, or stores where your products will be sold. We'll give an overview of the basics and dive into Shopify image requirements in more depth.
styles of Shopify product photography
There are no rules to product photography, but there are certainly styles that you'll need to create in order to optimize images and to deliver great product photos tailored to Shopify.
product on white background
Product on white background is the starting point for all product photos. Product on white allows users to pay attention to the details of your product without any distractions.
Many merchants try to take short cuts using a smartphone camera, makeshift tripods, and low quality lighting, but good product on white photos are deceptively difficult to take. Professional photographers take into account natural light versus artificial light; hard shadows versus soft shadows; truly seamless backgrounds; right equipment; and have knowledge of the photo editing process to get the perfect pure white backdrop look seen online.
Ensure that each product on white photo is a high quality image as these appear on your product landing pages. That means that these images are the ones most likely to be zoomed into with every detail in full view for your potential customers to see and shared across other websites as your products gain traction.
Optimizing your website's loading speed and ensuring professional-looking visuals are important factors in creating a successful ecommerce store. One key consideration is selecting the right image format, and file size, as outlined in our Shopify spec guide. By following the recommendations in this guide and choosing the appropriate photo sizes, you can improve your website's speed and user experience, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
lifestyle photos
Lifestyle photos allow customers to imagine your product in the situations and settings where they'll be most often used. Lifestyle shots can be created in any number of settings both indoors and outdoors. Finding the perfect room is essential to create attractive photos that tell the story of your brand and allow customers to imagine your products being used in their daily life.
products in action
Models are an important creative solution to add to your product photo mix. Models are for more than just clothing and fashion photography. Models give life to electronics, home goods, furniture, and so much more. They truly make good images turn into high quality product photos.
At soona we offer hand models, full body models, and even pet models with a license to use every image in perpetuity so that you can bring any vision to life at a reasonable price.
styles of Shopify product photography
There are no rules to product photography, but there are certainly styles that you'll need to create in order to optimize images and to deliver great product photos tailored to Shopify.
product on white background
Product on white background is the starting point for all product photos. Product on white allows users to pay attention to the details of your product without any distractions.
Many merchants try to take short cuts using a smartphone camera, makeshift tripods, and low quality lighting, but good product on white photos are deceptively difficult to take. Professional photographers take into account natural light versus artificial light; hard shadows versus soft shadows; truly seamless backgrounds; right equipment; and have knowledge of the photo editing process to get the perfect pure white backdrop look seen online.
Ensure that each product on white photo is a high quality image as these appear on your product landing pages. That means that these images are the ones most likely to be zoomed into with every detail in full view for your potential customers to see and shared across other websites as your products gain traction.
Optimizing your website's loading speed and ensuring professional-looking visuals are important factors in creating a successful ecommerce store. One key consideration is selecting the right image format, and file size, as outlined in our Shopify spec guide. By following the recommendations in this guide and choosing the appropriate photo sizes, you can improve your website's speed and user experience, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
lifestyle photos
Lifestyle photos allow customers to imagine your product in the situations and settings where they'll be most often used. Lifestyle shots can be created in any number of settings both indoors and outdoors. Finding the perfect room is essential to create attractive photos that tell the story of your brand and allow customers to imagine your products being used in their daily life.
products in action
Models are an important creative solution to add to your product photo mix. Models are for more than just clothing and fashion photography. Models give life to electronics, home goods, furniture, and so much more. They truly make good images turn into high quality product photos.
At soona we offer hand models, full body models, and even pet models with a license to use every image in perpetuity so that you can bring any vision to life at a reasonable price.
different types of product photos
Selling products online has unlocked a variety of media types and image formats that make shopping online more dynamic and immersive. Shopify supports many of these media types including GIFs, 3d models, and interactive spins and, while these may not seem like traditional static photography, they're an important aspect of the product photo mix that can drive conversion and set your product apart among potential buyers.
There are a handful of mobile apps that help you create these solutions at home, but even a professional studio may not have all the right equipment needed to create these styles. No surprise here, but soona has equipped our studios with everything needed to create these more interactive styles of product photos at the most affordable prices possible.
Shopify product image requirements
Shopify allows up to 250 images, 3d models, and videos depending on which Shopify plan you have.
The main media item is the single most important product image that is displayed on the collection page, cart page, checkout page, and the homepage. They weren't joking when they said it's the main media item!
Shopify supports various image formats including JPEG, PNG, WEBP, SVG, HEIC, and GIFs. Shopify also has metafields which helps you further customize the appearance of your Shopify store's theme.
Include alt (alternative) text describing the product in your image in the instances where a customer can't load the image for any reason. Alt text is an important aspect of SEO as it allows search engines to what each image is about - keep it brief and ideally less than 150 characters.
does product photography impact sales?
Yes! Good photos ultimately impact a buyer's purchase decision and can increase website visitors, increase sales, and deliver revenue to your Shopify store. The benefits of great photos may seem intangible but they are truly measurable with sophisticated brands a/b testing different imagery to optimize conversion on their e-commerce store.
creating the perfect shot list for a Shopify photo shoot
- product on white background is necessary for your storefront
- capture multiple angles (3-5) of each product
- include shots with the packaging
- include group photos if you are selling more than 2 items
soona recommends the following product photography tips to enhance your Shopify photo shoot:
- add props & a stylist to visually tell a compelling story
- add a model to show scale and fit
- add a 360º spin - especially for Shopify merchants!
To see our full list of shot list recommendations, check out our Shopify product photography tips blog post!
how much does Shopify product photography cost?
Until recently, there have been three ways to get product photography services for your brand. Each method above has pros & cons including price.
- DIY
- Freelance Photographer/Small Agency
- Creative Production Agency
Pricing varies based on number of products and size of project.
DIY Photography Cost
Typical Range: $500-$2,500
While the DIY approach may seem like the most affordable it often ends up costing more time and money than anticipated. While your smartphone has a good camera it still may not produce high quality images needed for today's e-commerce stores. Merchants who go down the DIY path end up investing heavily in a mini photo-studio of their own as the costs of camera equipment including the DSLR camera, lighting, backdrops, and image editing software quickly adds up. Learning the intricacies of manual mode, shutter speed, interchangeable lenses, and all the editing features of cameras is a steep learning curve.
Freelance Photographer Cost
Typical Range: $2,500-$7,500
A freelance photographer is a common solution to getting product images. Make sure that this person specializes in e-commerce product photography and has experience with the requirements of a Shopify store.
Working with a professional photographer will yield high quality photos, but it's not the most affordable option. And, you will be limited to the resources available such as access to living scenes or enhancing your shoot with photo stylists, models, hair & makeup, and more. If your vision is grander than product on white photography then costs with a freelancer may add up significantly especially when considering adding lifestyle product photographs.
products in action
Typical Range: $10,000+
Larger brands may opt for an in-house team supplemented them with a production agency that has multiple specialists on staff. These agencies can deliver excellence from creative ideation all the way through to photo editing and publishing. However, this is not an affordable solution to getting product shots and many larger brands do not always opt for this approach as it is not a scalable use of budget and resources.
how much does soona's Shopify product photography services cost?
soona is the first virtual product photography studio allowing you to join your photoshoot from anywhere in the world. soona is solely focused on producing professional product photos and allows brands to complete projects of any size in a scalable affordable way.
An average Shopify product photoshoot costs approximately $750 and that often includes the use of a model, props, various backdrops, and professional editing. You can build a product photography shoot for free today.
Not sure where to begin? Check out soona's packs. We've helped thousands of Shopify brands and created a curated shot list to help you have a smooth and successful Shopify product photography session every time. We offer multiple Shopify Packs starting at just $259. Learn more about Shopify photo and shoots.
optimize product photos before publishing
Once your product photoshoot is complete, it's time to make sure each photo looks perfect with the use of post production software. Tools like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom allow you to fine tune lighting, adjust for color correction, remove imperfections, and ensure each image is as visually appealing as possible.
You'll also want to make sure that each image is cropped and resized for your Shopify template. Check out our Shopify image resizing guide and tools!
Finally, once you have your photos uploaded to your Shopify store, make sure that you take into account search engine optimization and include product descriptions and alt tags with each image.
