Undeniably, high-quality images play a crucial role in the eCommerce world.Talking about professional Amazon product photography, it is all about alluring the customers and making them make a purchase. A few researchers claim that the human brain can process pictures 60,000 times quicker than text.
So, the proverb – “A picture speaks a thousand words” – is true.
Therefore, a product’s image is the first big opportunity to generate a sale, simply because it’s the first impression of your entire product listing.
On that note, let’s comprehend the idea behind professional Amazon product photography guidelines and how to optimize so that it also accomplished higher organic rankings on the Amazon SERPs.
Quick Guide:
What Is Product Photography?
How Does Photography Increases Conversion Rates?
Amazon Product Photography Tips
How To Take Product Pictures For Amazon?
Amazon Product Image Requirements
How To Add Photos To Amazon Product Listing?
Amazon Image Aspect Ratio
Amazon Product Image Optimization
So, let’s get started.
What Is Product Photography?
Well, product photography utilizes certain techniques to showcase the products in a striking way to entice potential shoppers to make a purchase. It is an important part of both offline and online advertising – be it catalogs, magazine ads, brochures, online ads, company websites, or billboards, specifically while selling products directly to the consumers.
Now, let’s further understand why pictures are so important while selling online.
How Does Photography Increase Conversion Rates?
We are in the era of visual information, a time where visual data plays a significant role in each stage of life.
When you perceive how much amount of data has been expanded, it is quite alarming. Say, for instance, Google receives over 2 million searches per minute. Now, on a bigger scale, human beings generate about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day.From a human’s perspective, visualization works because he or she responds to it and processes the visual data much better than other data types.
You will be fascinated by reading the fact that a human brain can process pictures 60,000 times quicker than text. (Source) About 90% of the information communicated to a brain is through visuals. Every human being is a visual creature. This makes it great for big to implement creative solutions to leverage data visualization and unveil their true perspective to meet the business goals.
Talking about online shoppers, they are first attracted to the visual elements and not the written copy.
Now, the product’s photo quality reflects the brand image, building the first impression. This is a great opportunity for sellers. Every image should be appealing, polished, and professional enough to evoke maximum engagement.
The right photography of a product can call for greater conversions. Wonder how?
Well, here are a few aspects to note.
Images Serve As A Key Element To Branding
When it comes to “branding,” product photography is one of the best ways to strengthen it. It also ties it across a strong web presence. It is vital to your product’s photography consistent in terms of style. This makes sure that your brand has its digital persona.
Quality Images Can Attract People To Buy
Undeniably, many product listings on Amazon have low-quality images and the probability of those listings generating sales is much lower than the ones with better quality pictures. Now, the whole idea of taking pictures perfectly is that you do not have to explain them in words.
Amazon Product Photography Tips
It is true when they say, we purchase with our eyes, meaning only if we like it, we get it. Often this decision-making process – whether to buy a product or not – solely depends on if the product is visually appealing.
No wonder nailing your product images should be your top priority! Product pictures serve a key purpose – to grab a buyer’s attention while searching for your product. Your listing should try to invoke affirmative emotions, and if you manage to get this done, there are higher chances of converting those shoppers into customers.
Your product can speak a lot about your brand, and the kind of buyer you are marketing it to is a sign of the price of your product. When it comes to Amazon product photography, sellers are frequently overwhelmed with that list of priorities. It all starts by spending hours taking multiple shots of the product from different angles just to get that ideal shot.
And that’s not over yet. Further, you have to spend hours picking and editing the best photos, to accomplish a consistent feel in every product photo.
So, how could you cut the lengthiest portion, and then, streamline the entire product photography process?
Sounds interesting?
Well, that’s exactly what the idea of this guide is. It is all about how you come up with fantastic photos of your product and yet keep the process simplified. For sellers who do not have a knack for photography, it is probably wise to hire an amazon product photography service / Product Retouching service or a company to get the job done perfectly for you. On the other hand, for sellers who prefer taking this task into their own hands, there are a few important tips to remember in order to achieve attractive and professional product photography.
1. Begin with a consistent plan
Now, if you are selling just one product on Amazon, it is pretty easy. However, if you have a whole catalog of items that you sell at the Amazon Marketplace, it will take some time. You can start with branding. Plan on how your product pictures should look and how they can relate to your online presence. Be it a logo, settings, or color scheme. Since potential shoppers are navigating to your listing, no photo should appear as if it belongs to some other website. You have to keep them consistent.
2. The magic of white background
Not only Amazon but most eCommerce websites have their items displayed on a plain, white background. Ever wondered why? Well, this is because of three simple reasons:
It minimizes unwanted distractions
It makes the product the center of attraction
It creates a consistent feel
From an aesthetic perspective, plain, white background gives a more professional, and much cleaner finish. It also helps colorful products pop up. Using a photography shooting tent or curved backdrop helps in eliminating the shadows, and cancels the sharp angles that might leave a picture look a little harsh.
There is most definitely a dispute for in-context product photography. While some products look the best in the natural environment, others might not. If you are unsure what option can drive in more sales, it is best to experiment to see what is the effective option.
3. Set the right lighting
If you have been taking selfies, you would know how the right “lighting” can change everything. This also applies while taking products. The right light setting can transform even the dullest-looking product into its best form. This, in turn, also helps in converting sales.
Most items look better when shot in natural light, preferably a soft setting that is distributed evenly across the product. While this may not be an option always, you can try using artificial lighting with the help of umbrellas/reflectors or a DIY light-box. This is to check what option gives the perfect results.
4. Keep the image resolution high
When you click photos of your product, make sure that they are taken using a good camera with a high-resolution lens. Every photo that you upload must be of incredible quality and never be blurry.
Every image must convey product details upon viewing. On the other hand, the lighting at the time of shooting the product should neither be too dull nor too bright. Keep it mediocre, as it enables the buyers in making a proper make a buying decision.
5. Pay attention to the product size
This is something every seller must pay attention to – the product’s size. It shouldn’t be shot in a way that it looks too small or too big. If you click the product in a way that its size appears very small, you will observe plenty of white space surrounding it and chances are that a few important details might be missed out. On the other hand, if you click it in a way that the product’s size appears very big, then a few of its features might be out of focus.
These problems will eventually lead to a poor shopping experience and can affect your ratings as well. Hence, it is important to remember the amazon image aspect ratio guidelines before planning to shoot.
6. Show different angles of the product
It is always good to have a few photos of your product than just one or two. This is because the people whom you are selling it to might not have experienced the product physically yet. They have no idea what your product looks like or feels like. Therefore, it is vital to give them an ample amount of pictures shot from different angles.
Talking about Amazon, the first image, which is shown on the product & search page is known as the “main image.” Keep in mind that this so-called main image always displays the product’s front view. Therefore, showing the product’s back view doesn’t make sense. However, the rest of the photos must cover the product’s every possible angle to help a buyer understand how the product will actually be when they receive it.
7. Use a tripod or a steady surface
You shouldn’t make your potential buyers suddenly think that they need glasses to view your product. Instead, eliminate the chances of camera shakes. This can be best avoided by using a quality tripod or perhaps, anything that has a steady surface – it could be even a box or a book for that matter.
Your product will look crisp and sharp, just the way you want it to be.
8. Avoid placing additional items with the product
When it comes to online selling, maintaining “transparency” with your buyers is one of the key aspects. Photographing additional items along with the product might confuse the shopper and might cause disappointments when they don’t get those accessories they had seen while purchasing.
Hence, it is important to show only what you are selling to the customers and not anything that they will not get at the time of delivery.
9. Do Not Put Immodest Content
As far as amazon’s reputation is considered, it is one of the best when compared to other platforms. It paves the way for selling to different customers across the globe. Hence, the sensibilities of every buyer should be considered prior to upload any product image.
It is important to focus on your product rather than the mannequins or models while shooting, especially intimate apparel. Also, uploading indecent images isn’t allowed. It will only cause rejections from Amazon.
Amazon Product Photography – Useful Tips & Tricks That You Should Know
How To Take Product Pictures For Amazon?
When it comes to eCommerce, every product photo is a deal clincher. Hence, if that look and feel are missing, you will be losing out on sales. The experience that a customer gets when he or she is in a physical store is something that you cannot bring in the virtual world. But you can certainly use high-quality pictures of the product to bring about as real an experience as possible. In fact, this plays an equivalent role.
The only way to accomplish this is by hiring a professional photographer. However, if you are tight on your budget, then renting a studio or hiring professional photography can turn out to be expensive. The best thing is that you can even do this at home. Although you can employ a lightbox for shooting small products, the tips given below focuses on taking photography with natural light. This technique is called the “Window Lighting Technique.”
Now, you will be fascinated at how effortlessly you could turn your spare bedroom, garage, or living room into your photography studio and how you can consistently shoot quality images of your product.
Once you identify a spot to shoot, start equipping it. Even you know that the list of equipment used by professional photographers is long. However, you do not need too many tools.
At home, just make sure that you have the following things:
1. A good camera
These days, a majority of people have a good camera. However, if you don’t, purchase it from a reputed brand that has manual exposure settings besides the auto functions. To create those fantastic pictures, you do not necessarily need a costly camera. Note that a camera is not “the” but “one of the” factors that affect your final outcome. The other factors include product styling, studio setup, the right amount of lighting, and post-production practices.
2. A nice tripod
Tripod is essentially one of the important pieces of equipment you need to invest in because it helps in stabilizing your camera at the time of the shooting. Since you are setting up a studio-like feel at your home, you should take shots at a spot where the lighting isn’t optimal.
This is because low lighting requires longer camera exposure, which in turn, increases the possibility of camera shakes when you breathe. When using a tripod, ensure that your photos aren’t hazy or blurred due to camera shakes.
3. A memory card
So, the next thing that is crucial for product photography is certainly the SD card. Your memory card lets you store all your photos and further, transfer them to a laptop from your camera for post-production works and archiving.
These are inexpensive and hence, it is good to keep a few handy.
4. A white paper roll
Since amazon’s photo requirements call for a “white background,” it is important to invest in a quality white paper roll. This gives a smooth background for all your photos and minimizes the post-production tasks. So, a roll of 10 – 15 feet is necessary because you will need the long, white sheet positioned behind the product. This gives a seamless background. Make sure that the roll’s width is about 50 inches in order to accommodate or cover the majority of the product.
5. White foam boards
A white foam board comes in handy. It helps in reflecting and increasing the available light. Buy a few of them and utilize them in order to reflect light to the product from the window.
Doing this will also help in reducing the product’s shadow and provide that “fill light” aspect for a complete, clean, even look.
6. A folding table
A good folding table helps you in laying the white paper roll as the paper background while prepping for the product shoot. This table can have a normal height to help you adjust the tripod’s height and shoot from the angle and height you want.
7. Clamps & Duct Tape
Besides the above things listed, you will also need a few clamps and duct tape rolls in order to secure the white background roll onto the table and walls where you place your product. This prevents the product from moving at the time of the shoot.
You can even use clamps if possible to make it easy. It becomes convenient to clean after the shoot.
8. Window with enough natural light
Lastly, your window is the best light source. However, you require access to big windows close to the shooting spot. All you need is to clear the area around the windows to have an adequate place to keep your background, table, and move around at the time of the shooting.
Keep in mind, larger windows give a better shot, as they emit higher natural light and help the product to be shot more evenly. On the other hand, light from small windows can be a little directional.
If your product size is small, you can manage it with the help of small windows. However, a big product definitely needs a larger light source.
Are all things ready? So, what to do next?
If you have all the equipment ready, the next step is to start setting them up. Follow the instructions given below:
Step 1: Keep the table close to the window.
Step 2: Spread the plain, white paper roll from the table’s bottom, stretching all the way to the wall, creating a smooth curve.
Step 3: Secure the paper roll with the wall and table using the duct tape or clamps.
Step 4: Keep the foam core board in an angle that the natural light from your windows reflect on the product.
Step 5: Use the tripod and set it to a proper height.
Step 6: Fix the camera on the tripod.
Step 7: Start taking photos and experiment at different angles to see what gives the best results.
Amazon Product Image Requirements
The product image that you submit to Amazon should meet the technical specifications mentioned below:
The image file should be in any of these formats: TIFF (.tiff or .tif), GIF (.gif), PNG (.png), or JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg).
The image dimension of every image should be at least 1000 pixels or larger in either width or height preferred.
The color mode of the image should be either in CMYK or RGB.
Every file name should contain the product’s identifier (13-digit ISBN, Amazon ASIN, JAN, UPC, or EAN) followed by a period and the file extension (e.g. C000163789.jpeg or 455678967845.tif).
Note: Using special characters like dashes, spaces, or any other character in the filename prevents the image from being published online.
For images that are named by the product identifier without any variant code or perhaps, named with the MAIN variant, Amazon has a few image standards, which include:
For Main Image:
Any kind of illustration or drawing for the product is not allowed.
The image should be the product’s professional photo or cover art that is being sold.
The image should not contain confusing or gratuitous additional objects.
Every image should be professionally lit, scanned/photographed, and be shot in proper focus with smooth edges and realistic color.
The images of music, DVD/video, and books must be as the front cover, and should occupy 100% of the image’s frame.
Promotional stickers, cellophane, and jewel cases aren’t permitted.
All the other products must occupy 85+% of the image’s frame.
Note that the entire product should be in the frame.
The background should be completely white (or RGB: 255,255,255).
No image should have additional graphics, inset images, or text.
Offensive or pornographic material is not allowed.
For Additional Images (apart from the main image):
Every image should pertain to or be of, the product that is being sold.
Every image should be professionally lit, scanned/photographed, and be shot in proper focus with smooth edges and realistic color.
Other objects or products are permitted only to help express the way how your product can be used.
Backgrounds and other environments can be used for 1-2 images.
The props and product together must occupy 85+% of the image frame.
Any image that is in close-up or cropped state, will not be allowed.
Demonstrative graphics or text are allowed.
Offensive or pornographic material is not allowed.
Before submitting your product photos, ensure that the following specifications are met:
Note: Every photo submitted to Seller Central will be modified to 500 x 500 pixels regardless of the photo’s dimension and size provided. A photo that doesn’t have a dimension ratio of 1:1 is padded with some white space at the shorter sides.
How To Add Photos To Amazon Product Listing?
There are two ways to add a product to your product listing.
Method 1:
With this option, you can add the products using a “product tool.”
Method 2:
If you want to change or add any images that you have uploaded, use the “Manage Inventory Tool.”
Amazon Image Aspect Ratio
As far as we have researched on the Amazon website, there weren’t any mentions on the technical requirements of the aspect ratio, or how many pixels should the longest side have in order to enable the zoom-in feature. It only said that it can be either height or width, whichever is preferred.
However, when we went through a few forum answers and checked one of the help pages of Amazon Seller Central, we found about the aspect ratio. Here are the details:
Image Requirement Aspect Ratio Preferable
Dimension Ratio (maximum) 5 – 1 1:1 or 2:1 is preferred
Amazon Product Image Optimization
Besides clicking high-quality photos of the product, it is important to keep them optimized as well. Amazon incorporates CTR (Click-Through Rates) as well as CR (Conversion Rates) in their algorithm.
Only if your product is frequently clicked and purchased by the buyers, Amazon’s A9 algorithm lifts the product’s position higher in their organic search results.
Now, this means that both your CR and CTR have a direct impact on the product’s ranking. However, it is vital to understand that just quality images won’t guarantee higher rankings.
This is where “Optimization” comes in.
Keep the following factors in mind in order to have an optimized image:
Use all the images on your product listing
Keep the image quality high
Images must be 1000 x 1000 pixels minimum
1. Use all the image space allotted for your listing
So, this is something everyone is doing and seems obvious. But there are even listings that don’t include many pictures of the product. It is either 2 or 3.This is an opportunity to enhance conversions. The photo gallery shows your product’s value or worth to the shoppers.
Therefore, include as many images as possible in the available slots (amazon gives you 9 slots). Try to include the product pictures shot in various angles, show its details, close-up views, and how it is used.
Amazon ranks the products that have a higher number of images. However, your main image must be with a front view without packaging. Keep the shot clearer and bigger to help the customer get an idea of what he or she is going to receive after making a purchase. On the other hand, with secondary images, it is permissible to display photos that add value or aid the buyers in their buying process. The product’s intended use and action shots make a great addition here.
Infographics are yet another incredible way to utilize that extra image spot. But ensure that they are 100 percent about the product and its quality is outstanding.
2. Keep the image quality high
The reason we are stressing to keep the image quality high, again and again, is because it is vital to increase conversions and is required to let amazon zoom in on your pictures. Ensure that every image is attractive. Your main image must be on a white background and should occupy 85% of the image frame. On the other hand, secondary photos are okay to be with backgrounds and action shots (how to use your product).
3. Images must be 1000 x 1000 pixels minimum
Make sure that your main image is capable of zooming, and you will give people better reasons to learn about your product. As said earlier, the preferred file format is .jpg. However, .gif and .png can also be used. In addition, digital graphics that look like your product – 3D rendering with your label are accepted. Once uploaded, make sure to see how your photos look on your listing page.
Autumn 