How to Take the Best Furniture Photos for Your Ecommerce Store

You’ve got your eCommerce store all set up and ready to sell your furniture, now you just need to take photos of the stock so you can create listings for each piece. Follow these tips to know how to photograph your furniture the right way.

Visuals are crucial to increase conversions, it’s not just a case of snapping a few pictures and uploading them, though. If you want to increase your sales, then you’ll need to take the best photographs possible. Here’s how to do it.

Clean up the goods

Firstly, you need to look at the piece of furniture you’re looking to sell and ensure it’s as clean as can be. This is especially true if you’re selling second hand or upcycled furniture. There’s more than likely to be some dust or dirt on it, and you don’t want the camera to pick that up.

Give the piece a good cleaning, polishing it with furniture or multi-purpose polish. That will help you buff out any marks, and it ensures the piece is as perfect as can be before you ship it too.

Pick the right location

The right location is crucial to getting the best shot for your piece. The location of the photograph will influence buyers. It will help them envisage how they would use it in their own home.

Clean out the area, and use an attractive backdrop if you’re using a studio. Wrinkled backdrops will distract your customers from the item you’re photographing. Get as much natural light as you can, as that will always help your furniture look its best. You may want to use a bounce or reflector to get enough natural light to fill the room.

As well as that natural light, you’ll probably need some fill light too. This is what you’ll use to keep shadows to a minimum and keep from any areas of the picture looking too dark.

Get a good angle

When you take a photo of yourself, you’ll always be looking to get the most flattering angle. The same will be true when you’re taking pictures of furniture. If you photograph it head-on, it’s not going to show it in the best light. It’ll make it look flat, so the customer can’t see its dimensions, and it can often look clunky.

Instead, get the furniture at a good angle. You’ll want to be able to see all aspects and features of the piece, so the customer can really see what it has to offer.

Use a Tripod

You can take a picture while holding the camera, but you’re not going to get the clearest shot this way. Some feel that a tripod is constricting, but it’s essential to help you get that shot. You’ll be able to get the low shutter speeds that help you make the most of natural light with one.

As well as this, using a tripod helps you keep your hands free, so you can rearrange the shot as needed. It ensures that your framing is consistent across all your shots.

Pick the right props

Having some props in shot will help a lot, as it helps the customer see the furniture as it’s meant to be used, and get an idea of how it could look in their home. Using props is an art. You need just enough to get your idea across, without obscuring the piece itself.

For example, if you’re photographing a sofa, adding a few throw pillows will add some texture and color to the shot. You can also add a plant to the photo, as it adds some color and life to the picture without taking away from the furniture.

Try removing the background

Some eCommerce sellers like to remove the background of the shot to really help their pieces stand out. If you want to try this, you can use tools like Photoshop to remove it all and present the furniture with no distractions. This is a skill though, and if you’re not able to do it yourself you can hire experts to help you.

Bonus: Try Cherrydeck Branded Stock

For brands with oversized products such as furniture, beds, desks, etc. – Cherrydeck offers a fast and cost-effective solution. With Branded Stock Plus, you can work with one or multiple photographers to shoot your products in different on-brand locations and get outstanding results.

Next time you’re taking shots of your products, try these tips to get the most out of the process. You’ll see they make all the difference.

Did you like to read our insights on how to take furniture photos for your e-commerce store? Explore all you need to know about product photography for e-commerce or other topics on the Cherrydeck blog.

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