There is absolutely no way around it. People are extremely visual creatures. This becomes even more true when it comes to online shopping. Because we cannot see the products in person or experience them, it is critical for the customer to be able to trust that they can see the product in enough detail. Speaking from personal experience, I have totally forgone getting a product if the pictures weren't available or up to par. Clearly, you don't want this to happen to you. You want your customers to feel confident in their purchases. With that being said, here are some tips for taking photos to increase your sales.

1. Get a Good Camera

It is true that cameras on smart phones are getting increasingly better, but there are many features that smart phones don't have that traditional cameras do have. You can add different lenses to a camera, change the settings to adjust the background of a photo taken, or any other feature you can think of. The list goes on. Let's not forget to mention the fact that the resolution of cameras is superior to that of smartphones. Yes, they're getting better, like I said, but they can't come close to the real thing.

When I travel, I trust taking pictures with a camera as opposed to my phone. You should probably hold this same standard with taking product photos. With a camera, the pictures aren't blurry or fuzzy and a customer will be able to see all the details of the product. For consumers who won't see the products in person, this is very much needed in order for them to gain trust in the product.

2. White and Seamless Backgrounds

When it comes to showcasing the product, a white seamless background is the way you want to go. A seamless background will appear infinite and will not detract your customer's eye, allowing them to focus solely on the product itself. For obvious reasons, this is how you want to display your products. Having a background with colors that clash with the product will turn off the customer instantly. Additionally, having a background that isn't seamless is equally distracting. To achieve a seamless background, you can use a sweep/infinity cove (a curved, all white space) or you can use Photoshop to digitally alter the background.

3. Avoid Filters

There's nothing worse than being cat-fished online. This goes for human interactions as well as products. It would be extremely frustrating for a customer to fall in love with a product that has been amplified with filters, only to get it and find that it wasn't the same thing at all. There's nothing wrong with touching up a photo or editing it, but a filter is unnecessary. The purpose of a filter is to alter the image. For obvious reasons, you don't really want to do that. Try to keep the image as true as possible so that the customer knows what they are getting.

4. Have Pictures for All Styles

I find it just a tad bit inconsiderate when I click on a product, realize there are different styles or colors, and then find that I cannot view the other styles as there is no image for it. How is a customer to know how they feel about the product? Imagining it based off of the one photo available is not easy or desirable. If you want your products to sell, you want to make sure that all of your images have photos.

There once was a time when this happened frequently, but I find it happening less and less. This is probably due to the fact that store owners understand that a consumer will not be able to connect with an item without seeing it. I can guarantee that you'll lose sales this way. Granted, there will likely be times when you will not need separate images for a product. This could be true for tools, or skincare, but it doesn't hurt to keep it in mind as a rule of thumb.

5. Employ One Type of Lighting

When taking your pictures, you'll want to decide which type of lighting to use and utilize that one for a given picture. Utilizing different types of light, such as artificial or natural light, in the same photo will cause discord in the photo. For different types of products, you'll be able to decide which lighting is more efficient to best convey the image. This will come down to your own preference and taste.

It wouldn't be against the rules to have different modes of lighting of the same product but in different photos. This will give the customer a chance to see what the product looks like in different types of light. This would in turn allow them to make a more informed decision and perhaps sway them to purchase the product.

Conclusion

There are hundreds of other ways to improve upon your photos, you'll just have to find what's best for you. The ones above are probably some of the more common ways to boost photos. A good way to discern the changes you might want to make would be to view the photos of a website that you frequent. See if there are any tips you can pick up from them. Since you already trust that site and purchase from them, you know what consumers might be looking for. All in all, once you put in the work and do the research, you're sure to see a boost .