Even for B2B online stores, product photography can sometimes make the difference between a purchase and a bounce. Here are a few tips to help you give the products in your online store the best possible chance to succeed.
My own photos vs. the manufacturer's photos
If you sell products that you don't make yourself, it's obviously a lot easier to use the photos you receive from the manufacturer. But taking your own product photos also has its advantages:
- Consistency: You can make your photos consistent by always using the same background.
- Branding: You can add your own logo to the photos so they can also be found on Google Images.
- Unique: Speaking of Google Images, you also stand out from competitors who all use the same photo
- Target Audience: Your target audience is different from that of your manufacturers. For example, you may sell certain products primarily to individual consumers.
If that last point applies to your organization, then you’re actually better off using your own photos. Although B2B buyers are, of course, people too, B2C buyers are more drawn to photos that highlight the decorative qualities of your product—such as what tiles look like when laid on a garden patio, or how wallpaper looks on the wall of a living room.
Materials
Of course, your products need to look good. You don't need a professional lighting studio to do that. With a small light tent and a few softboxes, you can already achieve great results.
Your camera doesn't have to be top-of-the-line either. Just make sure you can control the shutter speed, aperture, and focus. An (online) photography tutorial wouldn't hurt either.
Photoshop
With the right software, you can take your time retouching your photos afterward. Adobe Photoshop is the most obvious choice, but you can also perfect your photos using free alternatives such as Picasa, The GIMP, or Pixlr.
Branding
As we mentioned in point 1, consistency is important. So make sure your product photos always have the same background—preferably a neutral color. After all, we want customers to focus on your products, not the background.
You also need to think about SEO. If you want your product pages to be found, you need to make sure that, in addition to having relevant product descriptions, your photos have the correct filenames and alt text. By “correct filenames,” we mean keywords, of course.
If you keep these four points in mind, you’ll quickly build an online store that gives your products the attention they deserve!
