Product Photography
Product photography as a subject covers many different types of images, each with many different uses. To get you on the road to success, we’ve broken them down.
Catalog Photography
Also called “pack shots” or “on-white shots,” these are the images that are generally on white and exclusively feature your product or its features. If you’re selling on Amazon, this is the category your main image and secondary main image (if you choose to use one) will fall into, with specific requirements existing for an Amazon main image. This is the first impression your potential customer will have of your product, and we’ve found that clean and simple is best.
Flat Lay Photography
Flat lay photography (taken from directly overhead) can bridge the gap between catalog photography and traditional lifestyle photography. Flat lays don’t always incorporate props or settings that would make them a lifestyle shot. You might simply incorporate your branding color in the background. Flat lays are, however, a great way to incorporate color, texture, and context through props in interesting ways. While they might not work for every product, where appropriate they can really give interest and life to a product.
Lifestyle Photography
Lifestyle photography showcases your product in a real life context. If you were selling, for instance, a coffee mug, you might want to show your product next to a coffee maker and other related items, steaming and ready to be enjoyed. These are the shots of your product that you want supporting your main images, as well as used for your social media, blog and website.
Lifestyle Photography with Model
We’re frequently asked to show a product with a model, and with good reason. Having a model in your image using or showcasing your product, can help your potential customers to imagine themselves using your products. If shots with a model can help your customers envision a product solving a problem for them or improving their life in some way, all the better.
