9 tricks for an effective photo for your catalog.

What's the best way to sell something? Make it palatable. And what is the first step to make a product attractive to a customer, his photo. There is little to do, if you have a company and you want to sell something you have to have convincing and well done photographs to represent the product in the best way. In two stores, with the same product, on the one hand a photograph made well of a pair of shoes and on the other a photo done badly with the smartphone, which one will immediately attract your attention? You answered yourself. For this reason I wanted to write this article on the blog, with some tips on how to photograph objects for catalogs.

Being able to visually attract the customer is a very difficult operation and for this reason a category of professional photographers was born, the still life, with a real mission to photograph an object and make it immediately attractive.

Companies have been using catalogs for years to promote their products. For many it can be the main means in which to show their range of products. An important part of the catalogs are precisely the photos used to display the product and its characteristics. This allows potential customers to see what the product looks like and can help them decide whether to buy them.   

For this reason it is essential that the catalog photograph presents the product in such a way as to make it attractive to the public to which it is intended. But now let's stop talking and let's see how to photograph objects for e-commerce in the best way.

Choose the right opening

It is important to use the right aperture for the image when photographing products. Of course, this also applies to every other niche. However, many people are not careful enough with their settings.  

There are two common types of catalog photos: lifestyle and studio.

For product lifestyle shots, the wider aperture ( lowest f-stop ) is best. It ensures that the product is the center of attention. Everything else should merge into creamy bokeh . Be sure to photograph far enough away from the product. This will help create a greater depth of field to separate the object from the background.     

For lifestyle shots with a product and model or other object, keep the aperture around f/2.8. This allows you to focus on the product and the secondary subject. And the background does not overpower the image.  

When shooting in the studio, you don't have to worry that what appears in the background can be distracting. This allows you to set a narrower aperture to keep the product in focus as much as possible. In this way, none of the details of the product are lost in the shallow depth of field!

Use a telephoto lens

It is important that your product is not distorted in any way. Wide-angle lenses and effects lenses, such as fisheye, are not suitable because they can distort or ruin the proportions of subjects in an image. In product photography, it is important to accurately represent the product. Otherwise, you may run into problems with customers.  

Shorter telephoto lenses are the closest targets to the human eye in perspective. They do not cause any form of misrepresentation or alteration of matter. It is also useful to use a macro lens to get closer to the product in e-commerce photos.  

The best focal length for product photos is 100 mm, but any focal length between 85 mm and 145 mm may be suitable.

How to brighten product photos

The key to lighting the product set is to make sure that the object is separated from the background and is evenly lit.

You should also pay attention to the use of soft lighting in still life photography. Light modifiers, such as softboxes and reflectors, can help you achieve an ideal set and natural lighting. This is to achieve uniform light conditions. Otherwise, hard shadows can obscure some details or details of the product.   

There are also still life photo kits such as lightboxes that help you evenly illuminate your object.

Get inspired by other photographers

Take inspiration from the images that catch your attention. Study the images and notice those elements that make the photos great, such as a particular background, an interesting lighting angle or a unique way of shooting.  When you take your photos, try to put some of these elements into your work.

Find new ideas

Most marketers will tell you that the key to selling a product is to sell the product idea. Tie the product to an appealing lifestyle. It shows how much more comfortable life can be with your product. Or show how important your product is to a specific interest. The history of the product will sell it better than anything else.    

As photographers, we are tasked with creating the story, atmosphere and the world in which the product will be. Therefore, try to tell as much of a story as possible in your shot. This is where your creativity and vision will shine.  

Few elements and good

Avoid making your image too full and distract with too many elements in it. Remember.  Your goal is to sell the product.

Keep the background simple, with one or two solid colors or subtle patterns. Make sure you don't have anything in the photo that isn't relevant or doesn't add value. Try to keep the product in the spotlight, whether it's through composition or smart lighting.  

Use color theory to influence your viewers

For lifestyle product shots, color theory is key to attracting the right customers. Here comes the study of how colors influence human psychology. Put simply, certain colors or color combinations bring out a specific idea, emotion, or characteristic in a person.  

Studying and understanding color theory can help you create more visually appealing photographs. In fact, you'll be able to use colors to influence how your viewers react to a photo.

In product photography, color can help attract the customer. 

Complementary

With the complementary approach, choose colors facing each other. This creates a dramatic and dynamic color palette in your image, with a lot of contrast. 

Complementary divided

It's a little easier to get and less bold. After choosing two opposite base colors, also use two colors adjacent to the initial ones. 

Triadic

This approach uses evenly distributed colors around the color wheel. Create very vibrant color swatches that tend to be eye-catching and flashy. 

Analogous

The analogous approach uses colors next to each other. The use of such close-up colors creates a sense of comfort and nature. 

Avoid accidental reflections

It is important that there are no strange reflections on the product! This is one of the most common mistakes made by product photographers, especially in the beginning. To avoid this, pay close attention to how your lighting or even yourself is reflected in the product.

Use the reflection and include it in the image or remove the reflection altogether.

Try different locations

Studio shots and lifestyle shots are the most common in product photography. But you can also find photographers who like to think outside the box. 

Conclusion

Product photography is a niche that uses specific techniques to make products as attractive as possible. You need to pay close attention to the lighting, background and placement of the product. 

I hope these first tips will help you start photographing products for your catalogs or your ecommerce site.