Picture This: Better Photos on Your Website

But shooting snaps of vacations and get-togethers isn’t the same as product and merchandising photos. Your web images need to show off the items in just the right way.

“Photography really does matter for shopping online,” noted Shannon Cottrell, adjunct faculty member for the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, in her CAMEX21 educational session, Build a Story: E-Commerce Product Photography.

Product images are central to the decision to buy in 93% of instances, Cottrell said, and 22% of returns are because the item looked different than it did online.

Campus stores don’t need to invest in a lot of pricey equipment to get good images, she said; an iPhone and a few inexpensive tools will work just fine. She offered a number of tips for improving your e-commerce photos.

Your phone’s camera has built-in controls to help ensure images are sharp, properly exposed, and composed in an appealing way. Use the auto-exposure and auto-focus features; to activate the AE/AF lock, just hold down on the image. On an iPhone, a yellow square will flash when the focus is set.

Turn on the grid (the slider can be found in Settings > Composition) to compose the shot. “Think of your image as being divided into nine equal parts,” Cottrell advised. Position the important elements of the photo along the grid lines or intersections.

Turn off HDR (high dynamic range) on your camera. It exposes for highlights and shadows “but it’s mostly for landscape photos, not product,” she said. Set your format to Most Compatible, which will convert the image to a .jpeg. Your camera may offer HEIC (high efficiency image coding) but this format “is often not compatible with design apps,” she added.

Cottrell recommended using natural lighting whenever possible, but you may have to settle for in-store lighting. If shooting a product, place foamcore under and behind to create a neutral background; add foamcore on the sides to control directional lighting. For a soft, overall light on the product, place tracing paper “or anything translucent” over the top to diffuse overhead light, she suggested.

Cheap clamp lamps can provide additional lighting or fill in shadows from directional lighting, if needed.

In addition to shots of the entire product, be sure to take photos of product details, too.

If you have the budget to buy photography accessories, Cottrell recommended these four:

• LED Studio Light Box (for taking product photos, instead of a foamcore box)

• Tripod (eliminates camera shake)

• 5 in 1 Reflector (instead of tracing paper or foamcore)

• LED Lighting Kit (better than clamp lamps)

Another helpful camera accessory is a polarizing filter. It clips right onto your phone and can be used to eliminate glare on products, such as glassware. “It’s a great tool for shooting window displays,” Cottrell said.

A flat lay photo tells a visual story by grouping related products (laid flat) with props, all photographed from above. Cottrell suggested turning on your grid to make sure your photo is level (the grid will turn yellow when the lens is parallel to the lay). She recommended avoiding overhead lighting because you’ll end up with shadows from your camera or arms.

Place items at angles, making sure not to “let the star of your image get lost,” Cottrell said. Adding a “human” element—such as hands reaching in from the side, or drawings, photo prints, handwritten notes—can enhance the visuals. Try different arrangements and shooting from different sides until you find the right combo.

Cottrell recommended Adobe Spark Post and Lightroom Mobile for easy editing. Her suggestions for improving the image at the editing stage:

• Brighten the lighting.

• Tone down any coloration that distracts from the image.

• Add contrast. “It makes your subject pop.”

• Crop the image for the aspect ratio needed for the platform where it will be posted. Instagram is different from a web banner or a product shot, for instance.