Buying online can be difficult sometimes — you cannot physically see or touch the product, so all you have are the images to communicate your product’s quality and benefits... if you’re lucky, a product video.
Think about when you browse products online yourself: you’re looking for a brand that solve your problems. If their images stink, you’ll feel you cannot trust their product to deliver, and move on. After all, If the level of attention dedicated to their marketing is low, so could be the care taken in developing the product.
Amazon images can really make or break your product listing. Having produced images and videos for Amazon FBA sellers for over 10 years, I have learned a thing or two about what works. Here's my big guide to Amazon product images that work.
What's your Amazon product images job?
There are different aspects to consider for your product images to convince potential customers, and the ideal images cover them all.
Originality
The hero image is paramount to getting people to click on your listing. When customers search for a product on Amazon, while price and ratings will have an influence on which listing they pick, the most important factor is the product images. You only have so much control of ratings and reviews, but you can really use your product images at your advantage.
I often receive requests for product images from new sellers who are looking to get main images that are very close to competitors. I strongly advise against this. With most people browsing on their phone, this gets even more important. To grab attention, you need to be different. The challenge is to make even the most mundane products look incredible, to take your customers to specific moods and situations, from relax time, to party time, to family time.
Keep in mind, your main image is the only one that is required to be on a pure white background. You can be creative with the other images and introduce your brand colours for example or more engaging designs.
Videos are also highly engaging, and If well produced, will definitely add value. So If you can, include a video.
First impression
Your images need to communicate all your products benefits. You don’t want to leave something out thinking you have it listed in the product’s description. A lot of people don’t read, and even when they do, they will read after seeing your images.
Make sure your product content covers all features and especially highlights USPs. (Unique Selling Points). You have worked hard to create a product with unique features, now make sure that distinctive benefit is very well communicated, and that all other features are shown first, described second. High quality photography will only need nice clear text to leave a great first impression.
The worst thing you can do is cram your main image with lots of elements. I understand some products, like the below, have a high number of small pieces, but having them all show and repeat around is just going to make them smaller. Most images for this kind of product are this way, this doesn’t mean that it’s the best way...in fact, you want to differentiate yourself, and clarity stands out among the mess. You want your potential customers to see your product clearly, with main features king in the main image, but giving a sense of order and professionalism so you are seen as a serious brand.
Conversion rate
This relates to the number of images and videos you have available and their quality. A number of images and well designed infographics contribute to increase trust in your brand and have people order your products. Most sellers find that the more images the better...however, let's not forget they all need to be of consistent, high quality.
Lifestyle images
Lifestyle images are very helpful at presenting a function or showing how your product works. These can involve a significant investment, however they are key to engaging potential customers and making sure they are confident their purchase will satisfy their needs and wants.
They also serve to engage your customers, as they will identify or connect with the subjects.
TIP: If you’re selling in the UK and US, you want images that look like they’ve been taken in those countries. You need to know who your target customers are. The choice of models or other talent and locations then is very important.
In this regard, there is a tendency to think that “photoshopped” stock photos will do. These in fact completely ruin all efforts put into your listing when they’re badly done.
To achieve realistic composites the lighting, angle, colour grade and focal length need to match to be convincing. It takes time to find suitable images and then to shoot to match and photoshop into final images with matching colours and realistic shadows. If the results are not top notch, because perhaps you didn’t want to invest in high quality stock images or you haven’t selected a photographer that had enough experience creating these, it’s a disaster. Before long you’ll realise that you would have been better off investing in an actual lifestyle shoot. Most people might not realise they are photoshopped, but they will feel soemthing's off with them and that will likely put them off the product.
Another issue is product’s size. I see this too often: the product has been photoshopped into a stock image at the wrong size, usually too big. This will give a distorted idea to your customers, as they will understand size better in a lifestyle shot than in the dimension image, and If they’re not attentive enough to realise your product has been photoshopped in the wrong dimensions, they might order but then return the product.
I would recommend, If you don’t have the budget for lifestyle images, that you create your own content presenting the product yourself in an honest, unfiltered video. Lower production value here is OK, it’s you as the brand owner showing how you use your products and your passion in having created something quality and that works.
TIP: If shooting outside, shoot early morning or afternoon. Make sure nothing distracting is in the frame, and that everything looks clean and tidy. Try to inspire emotions in your model to evoke the same feelings regarding your products in your customers.
TIP: sometimes photo shoots can be organised affordably, so ask your photographer and, If you can, include real lifestyle images as opposed to Photoshop disasters, that just break your listings. Investing in a lifestyle photoshoot with the right photographer will have very high returns.
I have recently had a new client who wanted to upgrade some of her product images and include new lifestyle images. This was also her first Amazon product. I recommended against mixing my work with other images, as the difference would have been too striking. Even then, I tried to help and created some images for this Amazon seller, trying to combine multiple benefits into fewer images than usual, so perhaps those would be enough to upgrade her listing and add to in the future. A few great images are still always better than more images of poor quality.
She did realise herself that using both my images and some of her existing content wasn’t working when I delivered final files. So side tip: listen to your photographer! :)
Sell to the decision-maker
Often sellers forget that certain products, while they need to attract their target market, need the approval of the actual buyer. Products such as toys, games or other products aimed at young people, will likely be purchased by their parents or relatives. In that case, make sure to include them in your images and reassure them that your product is safe and will make them also happy.
The question of equipment
There is a particular aspect to be considered: product photography is one of the hardest If not the most complex type of photography. Depending on the product’s design and materials, different lighting and setups could be required to show off all aspects of your product. I know photographers who specialise in portraits for example, who wouldn’t dream of taking product images: they detest it as they find it so hard. This is because you need to know lighting and how to control it.
When you don’t have professional photographic lighting and suitable modifiers to create the effect you need, you’re just waiting for the right lighting to present itself, for the sun to come out at a specific time of the day and maybe could we have a cloud partly obscuring it so the light is not so harsh? You can see how this is not going to give you high quality images unless you have an amazing struck of luck. A good product photographer will be able to create nice images even with cheap lighting equipment or modifying natural light. Unfortunately the contrary is not true.
If you ask me, how good your camera is, is relatively important. Especailly for web images where resolution is not an issue and in fact images that are not too large are required. Photography is first and foremost about lighting, and your images aren’t being printing on massive billboards, so you don’t need massive resolution. That’s why some photographers can take great images with their phone: they know how to work with light, create a nice composition and use the camera they have available to its best.
If you have a background in photography, consider the specific challenges in photographing objects and doing it in a way to highlight your products features, styling, creating moods and all of the above.
Images on pure white are actually the most difficult for beginners, and when your product is also white or very light in colour, then you either end up with a blownout image if you’re trying to achieve pure white in camera, or with an underwhelming photo where your product is badly cutout as there’s not enough contrast for automated cutout software to cut along the edges. Main images are at high risk of being boring for their nature...plain product, pure white background...If to that we add bad lighting resulting in underexposed or badly lit products, then noone will notice it.
Consider your products features when deciding whether you should take your product images yourself. Hiring a professional might save you 3,699 hours of your time, as it will accelerate your brand growth and leave you time to focus on other tasks in your business and marketing efforts.
Transparency
Because the customers cannot see the product in person, it’s important to show every angle and communicate all information about your product. All aspects we have discussed such as realistic size, accurate colours, approriate image resolution and overall image quality, are crucial.
The ideal content set creates trust and reduces the dreaded Amazon returns.
All that considered, are you confident you can create your Amazon product images to a sufficient standard?
You might be tempted to try a photography service that Amazon provides, however in the few cases I’ve seen, surprisingly, images quality isn’t great.
Conclusion
With product photography being one of the most challenging and requiring appropriate lighting, colour accuracy and in some instances advanced retouching or compositing, it’s something that requires a good investment and someone who knows how to solve problems in all these aspects.
Truth is, you could have the best quality product in your niche, but If you product images stinks, why would anyone trust that it solves their problems? They would hardly see the quality and benefits in it.
You have invested so much time, effort and money, If you overlook the importance of product images now, it will be all for nothing!
By assigning this task to a professional product photographer, not only you will get results and a return on your investment, you will also be able to use your time for tasks that you’re good at, or even to take a break and giving it a fresh look in a week’s time. Sometimes that’s the best thing you can do for your business.
Why choose Eye Queue Studio?
When it comes to Amazon product photograophy, you realise it's important to work with a photographer who has plenty of experience and understands requirements and the finer details in crafting a perfect Amazon listing.
Having created images for Amazon sellers for over 10 years, I can provide not only top quality photography and video with beautiful infographics: I will create a set of images that works. Not by chance the tagline is "smart visual communication". One thing is to create beautiful images, another is to create beautiful images that work!
I listen, ask questions, research and analyse, to create images and videos that are really made for you and communicate effectively to your audience. To maximise your efforts, If you have done your own research - as you should - on your product and competitors - It is important that you share it with me.
There is also additional value I provide to my clients. I've noticed through the years, that a lot of Amazon sellers focus a lot on the products, which is great, however they create consistency in style among their listings, When you have an Amazon registered brand, potential customers might browse your range of products. If each has different graphics or quality, this will impede the development of trust and hurt your sales. I can help you develop your brand image, as I can design infographics that attract your prospect customer and are consistent avross all listings.
Chat with me about your product images or check back soon to learn more about the ideal set of Amazon product images.