Marketing

Why impute

Good product photography should increase sales

Steve Jobs, founder of Apple said, “People do judge a book by its cover,“ he wrote. “We may have the best product, the highest quality, the most useful software etc.; if we present them in a slipshod manner, they will be perceived as slipshod; if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities.”

Product photography imputes the quality of the product. It just doesn’t show how the product looks like, it also presents the context for owning the product. Good product photography doesn’t require fancy and expensive equipment.

Four things matter:

1. One size doesn’t fit all. Standard photos are fit for marketplaces. Branded ones are for publicity and advertisements. Lifestyle shots are useful for aspirational settings. Detailed shots are for highlighting key features.
2. Lighting is more important than the camera. Soft and even lighting is helpful. Natural light works by avoiding extra bright spots and super dark shadows.
3. All photographs should be from the same angle and distance for consistency. Tone and colour palette should be the same.
4. Smartphones will do the job. Use tripod for keeping camera steady. Use basic poster board or large sheets of paper to use as backdrops. Use white foam board to diffuse.

Follow six simple steps for great product photography.

1. Make a mood board.
2. Decide what you need.
3. Set the scene.
4. Take and retake photos.
5. Make edits and selections.
6. Optimise photos for the web.

Cheat sheet: Social media images sizes Link