Product photos are an important value in marketing. And while no one should be persuaded to do so, there are still many companies that put it at the bottom of their priority list. Some, however, completely ignore it. Saving on product photos is a straightforward marketing disaster. Not everyone is aware of the significant impact they have on consumers' purchasing decisions. What is the value of product photos in marketing? You can read more about it in the article below.
Product photos - definition
Product photos are designed to communicate the brand image, intrigue the customer and memorize him. In many industries, the image is key and is based primarily on the aesthetics of the product, and only then on its functionality. When planning a product photo, you should first of all analyze the needs of our brand.
Product photos taken today do not sell the product itself, but the mood, atmosphere and a certain "lifestyle". Pressing the shutter of the camera is preceded by a thorough analysis of the target group and the emotions we want to arouse in the recipients.
In modern marketing strategies, professional product photos showing every detail are interspersed with amateur photos showing the product as part of a specific lifestyle. There are two leading trends in creating photographic content in social media. On the one hand, these are product photos of the highest quality (appropriately styled to create a "wow" effect); On the other - lifestyle product photos, where the product merely complements a specific climate.
The so-called rotating product photos, thanks to which the customer is able to see the product from all sides. Another idea for non-standard product photos is to show close-ups of selected elements of a given product, which can increase its perceived value. Often, it is a small detail that can decide on a specific purchase decision. It is also a good solution to add an element to the composition that will graphically emphasize the product. The background and items accompanying the product will allow you to build a new dimension.
Product photos are a specific tool to strengthen the marketing message and build a specific brand image. At a time when the internet has become the first place where consumers look for information on any topic, good photos are an integral part of communication.
It turns out that product photos are more powerful than recommendations describing specific features of a given product. The photos not only make the offer more attractive, but also increase brand recognition. By creating specific emotions and moods with the help of photography, we can influence the recipient. We are also able to make him identify specific feelings with our product.
Product photos are used both for strictly sales and image purposes. They are a regular feature of websites, social media profiles, print and digital catalogs, advertisements, banners and billboards.
Product photos in e-commerce
Product photos are one of the components of each product card in the online store. Right next to it there is a price, name, unique description, and often also opinions about the product. While each of these aspects is equally important, the photo undoubtedly attracts the attention of a potential customer in the first place. Hence, it plays a very important role in terms of marketing - it translates into the sale of products.
When creating product photos, it is worth remembering that the online store - yes - sells products, but most of all sells an image of them. According to numerous studies, as much as 80% of the information that reaches us and that we remember, these are the images.
The online world is full of them, which is why we mainly pay attention to photos. And it is with the help of photos that you should conduct your marketing communication on the web. There are over 20,000 online stores in Poland. So if you want to stand out from the competition, you need to invest in good product photography.
Types of product photography
Online store customers pay special attention to product photos. Regardless of whether they buy clothes, kitchen appliances, floor tiles or furniture online. They always want to see the product in a photo that faithfully reflects its real features. To make it possible for them, it is worth choosing to cooperate with an experienced photographer who specializes in e-commerce.
Among the most popular types of product photos, photos are distinguished:
- packshot - photos of this type are taken on a solid (usually white or black) background. There are reflections and reflections in the photo, but nothing else is in the frame;
- shadowless - as the name suggests, these are photos without shadows and without light effects, and they are taken on a white background;
- 360 - are also called rotating or spherical photos. These are photos made in such a way as to create an animation of them that shows the product from all sides;
- lookbooks - used mainly when photographing collections of clothing or underwear that are presented on a model,
- culinary photography - it has its own rules, it is supposed to influence emotions, which we wrote about in one of the articles about how photographing food influences a brand's communication strategyand the confirmation of these words is one of those made by us photo sessions for Polska Press,
- creative photos - assume that the product is presented in a non-standard way, different from packshot or shadowless photos.
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Product photos building the brand image
We live in a time of pictorial culture. We analyze less and less texts, think with images and communicate using visual symbols. The advancement of the internet has made this even more visible. Currently, it is difficult to imagine building a brand without using product photos that evoke specific emotions and desires.
Internet users, especially social media users, are eager to share photos, including those presented on the official brand profiles. They collect them in search of inspiration, and then create and publish photos on their own, in which they present the products of their favorite brands in their own interpretation.
One of the most grateful industries that uses product photos is gastronomy. Product photos, using techniques that increase the appetite, are created by professional photographers on request and amateurs who want to capture what is about to disappear in their stomachs. Inviting photos of dishes are currently created not only by culinary bloggers, restaurant owners and chefs. It is also done by restaurant guests and tourists visiting street food booths.
Often, amateur photos are so effective that they could be successfully used in the official internet communication of the brand. Unfortunately, many brands still do not notice it, and it is enough to create an appropriate hashtag, thanks to which photos from various sources will start to create a kind of collage on social media, building a specific community, thus showing the strength of the brand. Another idea for the creative use of the community in social media is to announce various types of challenges and competitions using product photos. Thanks to this, we can gain not only interesting content that we will later use in our communication. We will also initiate the purchasing process as they will first need to stock up on a specific product to take a picture.
Product photos and influencer marketing
It is also worth adding a few words about the fact that product photography is closely related to influencer marketing. The essence of this phenomenon is the use of the influence of popular people on their recipients, who may be potential customers of a given brand.
Influencers, using the content published on their social media channels (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter), have a real impact on the purchasing decisions of their followers. Influencers working with companies are a kind of intermediaries between the brand and consumers. It is their authority or the trust their recipients place in them that helps companies reach potential customers.
Okay, but how do product photos compare to that? Well, the presence of an influencer in a brand's marketing communication greatly influences its popularity. As we wrote above, among product photos there is a category of creative photos, which you can safely include photos with influcencers. Photographs of a well-known model presenting underwear, a popular trainer advertising fit sweets or an interior design blogger presenting the latest collection of a furniture brand. It's all pure influencer marketing. These photos are great for product photography in your online store. Because it is worth remembering that product photos have no limitations as to the way the product is presented.
Why are product photos so important?
We think less and less of product photography as photos of products against a white background. Although, of course, this solution works well in many industries, more and more often these photos are really creative and non-standard, which is confirmed, for example, by our sessions made for Victoria Cymes if Mońki MSM.
It is worth remembering in all this that product photos largely build the opinion about your brand, as well as the trust of customers. When the goods are not as described, customers very rarely decide to buy again in a given online store. To gain credibility in the eyes of consumers, it is worth focusing on qualitative marketing, i.e. product photos that will attract the attention of potential customers.
Product photos - quotes
Nathan Jurgenson, a researcher of society who tries to understand the role of photography in the era of social media, defines photos used in social media in this way - "I understand social photography not so much as a stage in the development of photography or as a promotion of amateur instant photos in the photographic hierarchy, but greater scope - concerning self-expression, memory and its social. So I oppose the tendency among critics to look at gadgets first - to start with things, in the most literal sense.
Discussions about social imagery rarely go beyond the area of devices and platforms, technical details - which company is successful, which is failing, who is investing and who is buying whom. Meanwhile, to think of social photography simply as mobile photography or social media photography is too simple, literal and technocentric. Instead, I suggest understanding social photography as a cultural practice, especially a way of seeing, speaking and learning. "
Can product photos build relationships? "Photography is a kind of virtual reality that helps create the illusion of being in an interesting world," said Steven Pinke. The popularity of Instagram and the analysis of content published in other social media clearly show the value of product photography. Photos are now a tool for building brands, including personal brands. They help to establish relationships not only between people, but also between brands and satisfied customers.
Nothing builds a brand like a well-told story. FROMDestin Sparks' statement "Photography is a story I can't put into words." Stories is one of the most powerful marketing tools today. They influence our emotions and influence our everyday decisions, including purchasing decisions.
The importance of product photos in brand communication with the environment cannot be questioned. However, keep in mind that it is not the product itself that creates the value of the photo. Don McCullin emphasizes that “Photography is not about seeing, but feeling. If you don't feel anything in what you are looking at, you can never get people looking at your pictures to feel whatever they are. "