Can you believe it? Summer is slowly rolling to an end, and before you know it, the holiday season will be in full swing. I know, it might feel a bit early to start thinking about holiday shopping when you’re still enjoying beach days, family barbecues, and hanging poolside.
But trust me, now is the ideal time to get things rolling and ensure that your product-based business is fully prepared ahead of the holiday rush!
As a creative business owner, I bet you’re already gearing up to showcase your products in preparation for one of the busiest seasons in your industry.
You know that in order to successfully promote your products you need to have captivating imagery that pulls people in and encourages them to buy.
But often in the midst of prepping orders, optimizing your website, figuring out the logistics of your shipping system, and making sure your stock room is ready, you may not have taken a moment to tackle your product photography strategy.
Presenting your product in the best way possible involves so much more than just pointing and shooting.
It’s critical that you familiarize yourself with two essential forms of product photography:
Clean still images and lifestyle product images.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the significance of these two types of product imagery so you can understand why they are essential for online shop owners like you who want to create a strong connection with their customers.
Why Product Photography Is So Crucial For Your Creative Business
If you sell products of any kind as a creative entrepreneur, you probably have an online shop. The ability to successfully market and sell your products online can be a game changer during the holiday season!
But just snapping a quick picture and uploading it onto your site may not be enough.
Professional product photography is crucial. And even if you’re DYing your product photos, you’ll want to be strategic about it– otherwise, you’re likely leaving money on the table!
By combining clean still images and lifestyle product images in your online shop, you’ll provide your audience with a visual experience that improves their interaction with your brand. Since they can’t physically examine or try out the product, strong images play a crucial role in helping your clients make informed decisions.
Clean still images allow your customers to understand the product’s technical aspects, while lifestyle product images encourage them to imagine how the product will fit into their life.
Your images will help bridge the gap between the physical product and the digital screen.
By investing in professional product photography, or learning which tools and strategies you need to DIY them yourself, you can effectively showcase your products and create a captivating shopping experience for your customers.
Ultimately, high-quality product photography helps build trust and confidence in potential buyers, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
Still Images: Your Product Photography Foundation
Clean still images, often captured against a solid background, serve as the foundation for product photography. These images focus on presenting the product itself, highlighting its key features, and providing your customers with detailed visual information.
By eliminating distractions, clean still images allow potential buyers to focus exclusively on the product, its design, and its unique qualities.
Whether it’s denim jeans, a piece of artwork, bath and body products, or home decor, clean still images create a professional and polished look, conveying a sense of reliability and quality.
DIY Tip: Looking to enhance your product photography? Check out this blog post about using a Lightbox to harness the light and illuminate your products! It’s a trick all good brand photographers have up their sleeves– and now you do too!
Lifestyle Product Images: Your Product In Action
On the other end of the product photography spectrum, we have lifestyle product images. Unlike clean still images, these photographs place the product within a specific, intentional environment, allowing potential customers to envision themselves using or benefiting from it.
Lifestyle product images are powerful because they can tell a story and evoke emotions, helping customers connect with the product on a deeper level. By showcasing products in real-life scenarios, like handmade furniture staged in a cozy living room or baby clothes hanging in a closet, these images create a sense of aspiration and inspire customers to confidently make a purchase.
I like to take this even further and use lifestyle product images to showcase the product BEFORE your customer receives it. I believe that your creative process can be a really impactful and authentic marketing strategy.
Give your audience a glimpse of your product while it’s being made so they can appreciate the materials you use or your unique attention to detail. These kinds of behind-the-scenes product photos often align with your ideal audience’s values and are an excellent way for you to set yourself, your brand, and your product apart– especially in a saturated marketplace!
For inspiration, be sure to check out this brand shoot I did with Beard Octane.
Prep Your Captivating Product Photography
The combination of clean still images and lifestyle product images can play a crucial role in capturing your audience’s attention, building trust, and creating a connection with your customers.
If you feel that hiring a brand photographer would help you capture the quality and essence of your products, we should chat. Click here to schedule a free Discovery Call. By working together, we can create a visual narrative that enhances your brand’s story and drives sales during the holiday season and beyond.
If you’re not quite ready to hire a professional photographer just yet, I have curated a course specifically designed for creatives to help you DIY your product photos with confidence and ease. This pre-recorded webinar focuses on helping you develop your skill when it comes to taking clean still images. It’s jam-packed with valuable insights and techniques that will help you capture professional-looking product shots with the convenience of your smartphone. Don’t worry, if you have professional gear, the concepts discussed on Lighting, Composition and Editing can transfer to upgrade gear too.
Click here to access the course today!
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