What Is Amazon Product Photography?

There are a lot of elements that go into creating an optimized Amazon listing. Many new sellers forget the importance of this element - including quality photos for your listing. Amazon Product Photography is the broad term for this kind of Amazon optimized photo that assists sellers in showcasing their product professionally to their customers.

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Every Listing Needs These Photos

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This is your basic white background shot that will showcase your product without other distracting elements and should be the image that is shown on an Amazon search.

It is critical that this image is shot professionally and on a white background - the vast majority of items that make it to the top page on Amazon are as such. If you’re looking to rank well, you need this hero image.

Looking for help getting a top-quality hero image that will convert? Our professional product photography team can help.

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Infographics

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Infographics are critical for converting on Amazon - as they enable your customers to understand your product in detail without requiring them to read your entire listing. Think of your infographics as the “hook” that draws your reader into the rest of your description.

These infographics need to be crisp and filled with solid copy that grabs a customer’s attention. The use of professionally taken photos and/or 3D renders will take your infographics to the next level. 

It can be helpful to have multiple infographic images within one post - some that feature your product from multiple angles and maybe even one that features a lifestyle shot with your product in action. All infographics should highlight key details about your product like size, description, uses, and standout features.

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Lifestyle Photos

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Lifestyle photos show your product in action. They help to communicate to your customer the use(s) of your product and draw the customer in. In order to create effective lifestyle images, you will once again need professionally shot pictures and settings that are geared toward your specific niche. 

Without lifestyle photos, your customers have nothing else but their imagination to go off when it comes to seeing themselves using your product. Lifestyle imagery gives a consumer a way to see how they might enjoy what you are selling! 

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How Does Amazon Product Photography Increase Conversions?

Online shopping is a highly visual game. Your customers will judge your product first and foremost by the first image they see on an Amazon search and compare your image to the images of other competitors within that search. 

Though there are many factors that determine which listing a customer will click on for further information (number of stars, number of reviews, etc.), the quality of your image is one of them. If your image is low resolution, difficult to see, or modeled poorly - you’re not going to get nearly as many clicks.

The fact is that customers don’t have patience for unprofessional sellers when there are thousands of listings for nearly every search on Amazon. You will get lost among the crowd without professional Amazon product photography services.

Using Professional Amazon Product Photography ensures that you catch the eye of more customers looking for the best product out there, gets you more clicks from the search results, and therefore boosts your organic traffic as Amazon prioritizes your successful listing.

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Does Amazon Provide Photography Services?

Amazon is testing out a beta imaging service that will enable you to pay a small fee for a basic listing photo directly from your Seller Central Account. This feature is still undergoing testing and may change as time goes on. It is a very basic feature and does not include many of the perks and add-ons that you can find when using a third-party photography studio or an Amazon product photography service.

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Because there are so many elements to consider when getting your Amazon photos (hero images, infographics, 3D renders, lifestyle shots, etc.), we recommend working with a trusted professional photography and graphics team who can handle all your needs on top tier level. Our Amazon Photography Services Team can help you with just that!

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Creating Your Own Product Photos

If you find yourself on a budget and aren’t ready to contract out help with your images, you can create your images at home (although we don’t recommend it - more on that later).

In order to do so, you’ll need a couple of things.

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A high-quality camera

While smartphone cameras have come very far in the past few years, a DSLR camera would still be best for shooting your images. Maybe one-day smartphones will be sufficient for all our needs, but for now, stick to a professional camera.

A variety of backdrops

You’ll want a white background backdrop and a black background as well. Doesn’t hurt to keep a green screen on hand and a variety of items you can use as props to showcase more lifestyle-type photos.

A PhotoBox

For smaller items, you’ll want a photo box. These types are all white and enable you to the perfect lighting for main listing images.

Lighting

You can find affordable photo lighting on Amazon that will help you get that lifelike luster on your images without the glare, and ensure your colors shine.

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Graphic design software and skill

For infographics, you will need to be able to use or access design software like Photoshop and Illustrator. These are pricey and there are other alternatives, though the Adobe versions are the best in the game.

Models

For lifestyle images, you may need to find a friend (who hopefully is photogenic and knows how to pose well in photos) to model your images.

There may be other needs that come up like product photography guidelines as you begin taking photos, but that gear should get you started. You’ll first want to do some research on Amazon about similar products to yours and how they are showcased. Check out competitor images and photos for ideas when it comes to angles and lifestyle images.

Layout your plan as far as what shots you need, maybe white background images or other colors, what angles, which graphics you are going to create, and what lifestyle shots you will take. Then get to work and start shooting away! If you’re new to a camera, take some time to get yourself familiar with your camera and with the art of photography.

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Why You Should Consider Using a Professional

As you see, producing all the necessary photos at home is possible…but possibly not ideal. Even a used DSLR camera alone will cost you upwards of $250 - not to mention the cost of all other accessories and software. Even if you’re able to obtain all these items, you may not have the time to train yourself in the art of photography (it’s not as easy as it looks). 

If you are a gifted photographer who already has this equipment or some portion of it at home, it is possible to create your own product images that look similar to professional photos. If not, you’re likely better off investing those resources in the trusted work of someone who does this for a living. You’ll save yourself many headaches, a lot of time, and money, too.

Conclusion

Amazon product photography is essential to creating a listing that converts and gets you customers. All listings should include a hero image, infographics, and lifestyle images! You can have these photos produced professionally from our amazing service, learn to create them at home, or try Amazon’s new beta feature to get your main listing image. Depending on your budget, all of these can be great options for new sellers - though we recommend using a professional third party (even if it’s not us!). 

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