Why your small business needs professional-looking lifestyle product photography

How times have changed with bricks and mortar stores slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past, disappearing along with the high street. However, whilst we're all pretty mortified to see our favourite stores go, there's no greater time to think about your own online presence and "shop window".

"Your product photography speaks volumes about you as a business owner, and the perception of your brand".

You may be surprised to learn that when faced with poor product imagery certain split-second psychological processes take place in our brain whilst we consider making a purchase. Factors such as TRUST. What's more, when we're eager to see more of a product but there is only one lacklustre photo available it's a sure-fire way to lose a potential sale. Your customer will click away, quicker than you can say "Please don't go".

"Stop allowing your product photography to cheapen your brand reputation and see off potential sales. Do something positive and change the narrative around your brand perception".

In this virtual world of ours, the only way a customer can get a feel for your product is by viewing photos of it, therefore, it's crucial that your imagery immediately engages them, keeps them interested and enables them to see more.

"Remember your hero shot is the carrot, so make it a juicy one".

Recently, I was looking around online to purchase a set of medium-sized refillable amber bottles to store my bathroom essentials such as shampoo and body wash. There are many such bottles available from any number of small businesses along with larger eco outlets, but, frustratingly, the majority had poor-quality product imagery.

I struggled to make my purchase as I flicked from store to store. The product imagery was a mix of poorly lit photos, one distorted image, and some didn't offer enough angles or any perception of size or scale.

Also, many were suppliers' imagery which when seen on repeat across various websites is in itself off-putting. Couple it up with comparing prices/delivery costs and checking to see if signing up for a newsletter will reveal a discount and it starts to feel like hard work. It's a minefield out there.

I know what the bottles look like, but I wanted to see them in context and get an idea as to how they might appear in my bathroom, but all too often these simple expectations are not met.

I still haven't made my purchase as I quickly became bored/distracted or both. However, had I come across beautiful imagery offering context, size and scale, a few clicks later the bottles would've been winging their way to me.

Update as of April 2024.