Why is Product Photography Important for Brands?

Product photography isn’t as simple as just photographing a product. It’s about translating its value and appeal in a way that connects to the audience and drives sales.

It’s a massively important part of the buying process, also. As many as 75% of online shoppers rely solely on product photos when making purchasing decisions.

So, is product photography important? Yes. Very. But why? Let’s dive into this below:

1. Enhances Purchasing Confidence

Crisp, clean, and professional images provide customers with the confidence they need to make a purchase.

This was backed by research performed by Slazzer. They found that up to 90% of internet consumers suggest that photos are the most crucial element of an online purchase.

We get it, also. Would you purchase from a site with poor imagery? Likely not. It’s hard to give money to a brand unless you absolutely trust the seller.

2. Improve Product Understanding

When you add a new product, either to your store or a third-party store, like Amazon, it’s easy to focus on the product description, FAQs, etc.

However, though still important, you should spend an equal amount of time on your product photos. That’s because 50% of buyers feel like images are actually more important than product descriptions or reviews.

Think about that for a second. A quality image is more important than two areas of a product listing. That’s how much of an impact they have on a buyer’s decision.

3. Reduces Product Returns

We’ve all been there – We see a beautiful social media ad and an even better product page.

We think, “Yes, this is just what I’ve been looking for”. Place an order and wait. A few days go by. A package arrives at your door. “It’s that thing I ordered the other day”, you think to yourself.

You’re full of excitement, and you rip open the package and think, “What even is this?”. “This looks nothing like what I ordered”.

This hasn’t just happened to you. It’s happened to all of us. And it’s the reason for 22% of returns, which costs businesses thousands.

If, however, businesses had quality product photos that accurately represent the product, they wouldn’t encounter this issue.

4. Boosts Brand Trust and Professionalism

46.1% of users consider a website’s design (including photos, interface, navigation, etc.) a huge criterion to whether they’re trustworthy and professional.

Consistent, high-quality photos don’t only represent your products in a clean light. It represents your entire brand. This, itself, is worth every single penny.

You only have a few seconds to build trust with customers. If you fail to do so, you may never get them to trust you, ever. Though this may not cost a lot on paper, it’ll cost a fortune over a lifetime.

5. Increased Engagement and Sales

Including the above, product pages that include professional images receive a 94% higher conversion rate compared to those with low-quality photos.

This is because of all of the above reasons. It increases customer confidence, it improves product understanding, and it builds trust between the brand and the consumer.

If you combine all these together, you get increased product engagement and sales. It’s inevitable.

People purchase from brands that are trusted and professional. Simple as. If you’re unable to meet these requirements straight off the bat, you’ll struggle to grow your brand.

6. Creates an Emotional Connection

A very specific type of product photography, lifestyle photography, also connects with them on an emotional level.

Lifestyle product photography is all about showcasing the product in its actual setting. For example, for a fashion brand, you have models. For a sports car brand, you’ll have a race track. For office chairs, you have offices, etc.

It’s all about the “lifestyle” of the product. Where does it go, how is it used, etc? Then, representing this in an image so somebody can quickly look at it and go, “Ah, that’s what it’s used for”.

7. Sets You Apart from Competitors

We can all agree on one thing. The online market is huge and often saturated. Standing out isn’t easy, but those that do put a lot of effort into doing so.

One way they’re able to do this is through quality product photographs. They can then use these as product images, in advertising, on social media, etc.

It’s just one of many ways to set yourself apart from the competitors. There are a million others. However, it’s a way that’s easily accessible for everyone to start standing out today.

8. Support Future E-commerce Trends

Photos of products can also be used to future-proof yourself from specific e-commerce trends—for example, 360-degree photos, augmented reality (AR), and 3D visualisation.

Throughout the years, people have dabbled with these product images. And some industries, like fashion, have seem some incredible success, so we believe it’s something more brands are going to do in the future.

That being said images can actually help with all of these future trends. It requires a slightly different strategy, but it’s possible if you take enough photos.