Although selling products online is fantastic in so many different ways, one of its pitfalls is the fact that customers cannot pick products up to examine them closer (like they can in a store). The way businesses get around this is by providing high resolution images of their products.

Seeing as product photographs play such an important role in the process of selling products online, it only seems sensible that you hire a professional photographer to take them for you. Here we will provide our top tips for hiring a professional photographer to take your website photos.

Ask your web designer for advice

If you have just recently had your website built and want to populate it with the perfect product images, then it may be worth asking your web designer for advice. They will be able to offer you guidance on the type of images you should be looking to capture for your website. For example, they may have built your website with lightbox (a JavaScript plugin that makes thumbnail images pop up in a larger box on the same page) or added a 360 degree viewing feature. These added photo features on your website may have an influence on the type of photos you need.

Decide on the types of images you require

When it comes to photographing products for e-commerce websites, there is not a one size fits all approach. You will need to decide on the types of product photos that will best suit your website. For example, you need to decide whether you want your products to be shown in their environment or against a plain white background. By their environment, we mean where they would be used. For example, if you were selling cookery accessories, you would photograph them in a kitchen. If you are selling clothing or fashion accessories, you also need to decide whether you are going to feature them on models in your photographs or are instead showing the products on their own.

Finding a great photographer online for your website photography

Finding a photographer is easy, just look on Google and you’ll find plenty, to find a great photographer though is a different matter! To find one ideally suited for your needs follow these tips:

1. Ideally look for a company relatively local to where the photo shoot will take place
2. Look at the quality of the photography on their own website
3. Specifically look for website/Ecommerce type photography
4. Visit online review sites to check ratings/comments that may have been left about the photographer
5. Search for positive on comments social media about the photography company
6. If there’s a particular website you like the product photography for why not call them and ask who the photographer was?

In closing this section it would be remiss of us not to mention that Caroline Trotter Photography offer a specialist commercial photography service. Give us a call on 07933 510243, whatever your needs for website photography are we can help.

Find out what’s included in the price

When asking photographers for quotes, always find out exactly what is included in the price. Ask questions such as whether the price includes editing and whether or not by paying for the photographs, you will own the copyright to them. It is much better to know this information up front as it makes working together easier later on and adds clarity.

Conclusion

If you want the product images on your website to stand out for all of the right reasons, we highly recommend hiring a professional photographer to take them for you. Keep in mind these top tips when making your decision and don’t forget to contact us for further tips and advice!