Amazon is among the leading online marketplaces alongside other giants such as eBay and Alibaba. Unlike a physical shop where the buyer would have to see and touch a physical product. Online marketplaces depend on images’ power to get customers’ attention.
High-quality images can go a long way in boosting a customer’s trust in a brand. Fortunately, you do not need to spend an arm and a leg to create compelling images for your Amazon storefront. If you hope to get positive results, here are some best practices you want to consider when DIY-ing your Amazon product photography.
Invest in Proper Gear
Almost everyone has a smartphone that takes pictures, meaning many people can fit into the classification of a photographer. However, the fact that your phone can take nice pictures doesn’t mean that your smartphone is the right gear for product photography.
If you want the best results, you must invest in proper gear such as lighting and a camera, preferably a DSLR camera. You do not have to go for a high-end DSLR at first; an entry-level DSLR will do. You may also consider investing in a product photography booth. With these items, your images are bound to reach a new level.
Get Proper Training
Everyone can take pictures, but it takes special skills to get stunning product images. So it would help to acquire skills by enrolling in photography classes.
If you do not have a budget to pay for photography classes, you could benefit from some free online photography tutorials.
Some of the most critical aspects of photography you will need training in include lighting, set-ups, and editing. You may also want to peep at what your best-performing competitors are doing to determine what works or doesn’t.
Start With Branding
If you are new to marketing your product on Amazon, you want to ensure that you nail your branding first because you want your presence on Amazon to match your presence on other online platforms. Branding includes choosing a product name, color schemes, logos, and other symbols.
These items will be your trademarks, and having another person use them, can have your potential buyers buying from another, potentially damaging your brand’s reputation. The best way of ensuring that you have exclusive rights to your trademarks is to register them. Having your trademarks registered means you can sue anyone that infringes on your exclusive rights to them. Also, it allows you to use the registered trademark symbol ® alongside your image products which boosts consumer confidence.
Don’t Include Other Items in the Images
When potential customers see an item on Amazon, they will assume that the images represent what they will get after placing an order. For example, if you are selling a camera and take photos of the camera and memory cards side by side, a customer may assume they will be getting the camera and the memory card.
Therefore, if you deliver a camera without a memory card, you will have an unsatisfied customer. The best rule of thumb is not to include anything you will not deliver when a customer makes an order.
Take As Many Photos As You Can
Modern cameras have no limit to the number of images you can take as long as you have enough storage space. So you may want to take as many images as you can. With the many photos, you can then choose the best among them to use in your marketing.
Also, ensure that you take pictures from all angles. Most customers want to view images from all angles before deciding whether to order or not. Amazon allows sellers to upload several product images per post, so you will want to upload one photo for every angle.
Do Not Color Grade
It is not uncommon for photographers to color grade their creations. However, color grading is only best when used for portrait photography. When doing product photography, you want to ensure the image’s colors represent the product’s actual color.
While you may need to do some touchup to your images to make them pop, the best approach would be performing a few tweaks in lighting and cropping while leaving the color as it is.
Color grading can distort your customer’s perception of your product, leading to unsatisfied customers when they don’t get the colors they expected based on your images.
Clean Up Your Product and Image
While Amazon mainly deals with new items, you could also sell specific used items on the platform. If you sell a used item, ensure that you clean it first. The same applies to new products if they have gathered dust or dirt.
Sometimes you could take pictures of an item only to discover that there was a blemish you forgot to get rid of. Fortunately, you can use editing software like Photoshop to clean it up without having to do another shoot. The cleaner an item is, the more compelling it will be.
Try Branded Stock™ Amazon
You can always hire a professional service to take care of your Amazon product photography. Getting hundreds of high-quality product photos has never been easier, faster, and stress-free.
With Branded Stock™ Amazon, you only pay for the images you use! Get a custom library with photos that actually sell your products in 4 simple steps.
Let’s Sum it Up
Here’s how you can DIY your Amazon product photography:
- Invest in proper gear
- Get some training
- Start with branding
- Don’t include other items on the images
- Take as many photos as you can
- Do not color grade
- Clean up your product and image
- Try Branded Stock™ for Amazon
Learn how to optimize your Amazon product images in 5 steps. And don’t forget to check out our tips for Amazon product photography so you can drive sales easily!
If you liked to read about how to DIY Amazon product photography, make sure to check out the Cherrydeck Blog for more photography insights, DIYs, marketing, and other interesting articles.
