For any online retailer, your product photos are without doubt the highest profile and most persuasive ingredient of your online offer.
Did you know that half your website visitors will go straight to your image gallery before they read anything on your page?!
So, now you have their attention, how can you make your product images work harder for you?
By creating a story that leaps off the page, rather than displaying a static product shot that is sterile and lacking in emotion, giving your customer nothing they can relate to.
The expert team at Target Studios, a leading commercial photographer in the Midlands area, explains how…
This is where the storytelling comes in – bringing your product to life by setting a scene around your product and creating a context for its purpose.
There is great power in the ancient art of storytelling. It blends experience with emotion, to convey a message in a way that strikes a memorable chord with an individual.
In the same way, if you can weave storytelling into your product photography, it will make the product resonate with the viewer so much more than an ordinary product shot with no props or setting could ever do.
When you set a scene, you are drawing in your audience, creating a deeper connection through the narrative you build. They feel emotionally invested and their curiosity is ignited.
Your customers are making buying decisions based on your product photography.
Grabbing and keeping their attention is crucial to your sales, and storytelling through product photography has become an integral part of a successful marketing campaign.
When your customer looks at your product photography, you want them to connect with what they are seeing, by showing them a world they feel they could step into and live in themselves.
The right props, setting and creating the right vibe can all be incredibly persuasive with your target market.
Also, the quality of your product photography says so much about your brand as well as the product itself. It reinforces your brand messaging, reaffirming what you stand for and reminding your customer what they love about your brand.
Storytelling through product photography is not a new concept.
However, the incredibly high technical quality of today’s photographic equipment means that, in the right hands, your product is shown off in the most flattering way possible, beautifully lit and feeling like you could almost touch it.
A photographer with a creative eye can compose and capture impactful images that grab the viewer’s attention in a split second.
Basic, stand-alone product shots aren’t enough to get your customer’s attention anymore.
Everything is so fast paced now – you have a split second to bond with your potential buyers and show them the effect your product will have on their life.
Your brand is important, and creative imagery is important too but, to tell a captivating and believable story, you most of all need to think about the person who will be buying and using your product.
To make your storytelling genuine and authentic, which is always the best way to connect with your audience, it’s a good idea to ask your customers what they tell people about your product.
We use this information to think about how people use this product in their lives, and put ourselves in their shoes, thinking about their whole life experience.
This then sparks our creativity and helps us to choose the right props, background and other elements; always focusing on the product being the hero in that lifestyle shot.
We talk to our client, and make sure we really understand the personality of your brand and the message you want to convey in the product shots.
During the photo shoot, we take a variety of shots to show the product from all angles - and demonstrate its use - and we strike a careful balance between keeping the shots fresh and different, whilst maintaining a thread of consistency throughout.
After the shoot, we may employ subtle post-production creative adjustments to further enhance an image and increase its intrinsic value as appropriate.
When we are composing product shots that incorporate storytelling, we consider the following questions:
It’s all in the preparation!
People have an ever-diminishing attention span in today’s over-stimulated world, especially when they are scrolling online, so it’s important to ensure that your strongest and most striking, eye-catching image is the first one your customers will see in your gallery.
Hopfully this article has given you some useful food for thought when you’re thinking about your product photography needs.
At Target Studios, a leading commercial photographer in the Midlands, we can work with you to create the most impactful storytelling for your product photography, which will then give you the best chance of maximising your online sales.
We pride ourselves on our technical expertise and for being a friendly, collaborative team. Although we are based in the Midlands, we are happy to travel wherever you need us to be across the UK.
If you are looking for high quality product photography, please get in touch with us, via
email, our
contact form on our website, or why not pick up the phone?
This is the quickest way for you to give us a feel for what you need, so that we can deliver the best results for you as soon as possible.
Our number is 0116 270 1666. We look forward to hearing from you!