A picture is worth a thousand words. And that is the essence of product photography!
When shopping online, all your customers have to go on is the product photo and its description. So, it’s only natural to adhere to the best guidelines for Product Photography at Amazon.
There are a few things to follow to get the best picture quality. For starters, always set proper lighting before taking the photo. And if you’re unsure what background to choose, you can never go wrong with white. Moreover, always use sound equipment to ensure a high-quality product image.
Apart from that, you’ll need to stick to the criteria Amazon has laid out for product images. Otherwise, you’ll not be able to publish your photo online.
Know Your Image
To get the best results, you can’t just take the images and put them up randomly to get the best results. You have to know your pictures and where to use them.
Main/Hero Image
This is the first thing your customers will see when they click on your page. Think of it as your showpiece. You need to put extra care into it to increase your conversion rate.
Here are some pointers to optimize the perfect hero image for your product:
- As per Amazon’s rule, the image has to have a white background.
- The only thing the photo should have is the product itself, nothing else; not even text, logos, or any graphics.
- You should frame the shot properly so that no part of the product is cut off.
- The photo can’t show more than one angle of the product.
- If the product has more than a single part, you can include that in the hero image.
Secondary Images
Suppose you’ve put up the main image, good job! But your work’s not over yet. Amazon offers you six more slots to show off your product. You need to use them well. These images are used to provide more information about your product.
How you use these secondary images is entirely up to you. You can either use infographics or lifestyle images. But why not use both?
You can use infographics in various ways. For example, you can use them to describe your product’s features or make a comparison with competing brands.
Or, if you want, you can include instructions on how the client can best use your product. The infographics can also help you announce your brand mission!
However, when adding infographics, make sure to follow these instructions:
- Always make a purposeful infographic.
- Good composition is a must.
- You can never fail with large text.
- A well-branded product shows that you’re proud of it.
- Only add the essentials, so the reader doesn’t feel dizzy going through the infographics.
Adding Copy to Images
Another weapon that you have in your arsenal is adding copies. If properly used, it can be compelling. To use this correctly, you must ensure that what you say meshes well with your brand. But don’t just blabber on. Keep it within 200 characters. And to keep it family-friendly, try sidestepping restricted terms.
Product Photography Rules at Amazon
Like all organizations, the Amazon marketplace also has a list of criteria you need to follow. Here are a few pointers:
Image Size
On the vertical axis, your image needs to be a minimum of 1000 pixels, and on the flat side, it has to be at least 1600 pixels. However, the vertical limit cannot exceed 10000 pixels.
File Format
Your image file needs to be in any of the following formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, or TIFF files. The best choice would be JPEG.
Image Frame
The product should take up at least 85% of the frame. So, don’t leave too much dead space.
Background Color
When posting in Amazon listings, your product must have a pure white background. You can either use a white backdrop or edit in the post-processing.
Color Mode
Amazon only accepts CMYK or RGB color modes. Any other color modes, such as Grayscale, are not acceptable.
What to Avoid During Amazon Product Photography
Taking product photos doesn’t mean you can go overboard and unleash your entire set of creative skills. For better or worse, Amazon has introduced some pointers about what to avoid while taking pictures of your listings.
Don’t Go Overboard with Editing
While post-processing can help bring clients into your sales funnel, excess of anything is wrong. Too much editing can rob your product of its original look. This can leave your page with many bad reviews and increase your bounce rate.
Colorful Backgrounds Are No Good
Amazon requires your product to have a white background to give their listings a consistent look. So, avoid using colorful backgrounds since you have to change them back to white anyway.
Know Your Angles
While you need to show off your product from different angles, so there’s no surprise; you need to click the photos from the right angles. Even a great-looking product can look terrible from the wrong angle. You don’t want that, do you?
Pro Tips for Amazon Product Photography
Your product photo can make or break your sales. So, you need the perfect image to put your best foot forward. Thankfully, you can tick a few boxes to help you capture the perfect shot.
Use Tripod
Blurry photos are a major turn-off. You can’t expect your customers to buy a product they can barely.
To avoid such unfortunate occurrences, always stabilize your camera with a tripod. And you don’t even have to worry about the cost since you can get a decent tripod without spending too much money.
Lighting Is the Key
Since your clients can’t touch the product and get a feel, the best thing they have is the product image. So, you need to present every aspect of the product to help your customer decide on your product. And for that, you’ll need the perfect lighting.
But that doesn’t mean you must flood the photography session with light. Overexposure can hurt the image as well. So, make sure to find the optimal balance between the light and dark sides.
Standard Lenses Are the Best
Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Your product photography session should not be your experimental session. So, it’s best not to mess with telephoto or wide-angle lenses. Instead, you should stick to what you already know works – regular lenses!
Standard lenses will help you capture the product almost as the human eye perceives it.
Don’t Forget Touch-ups
No matter how good the photo looks, you can never go wrong with a bit of post-processing.
For example, you can remove any blemishes in the photo or take care of any unwanted shadows using photo editing software. However, make sure not to overdo it. Otherwise, the image will not look realistic.
Some Amazon Photography Tricks That Work
Tricks sound like shortcuts. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to success. However, you can do a few things to help increase your sales.
Focus Is Key
Your product photo needs to grab your audience’s attention to the product. So, make sure that the image focuses only on the product itself.
To that end, do not add any additional items to the photo. It takes away the attention from the main product and leaves the client unsatisfied when they don’t find the extra item in the package.
Use All the Photo Slots
Amazon offers up to nine photo slots to represent your product. Don’t leave even one of the slots unused.
Please take photos of your product from every angle so that there’s no room for surprises and the client knows precisely what they are buying!
Since your buyers can’t exactly pick up the product and see it from every angle, you need to give them the option to do so. That’s why you need to provide photos of the product from every angle to help them decide.
Properly Frame Your Image
If you don’t use proper framing, your client will be confused about your product.
Suppose your product is a piano. Now, if the image of the piano is too small, the client will be confused about whether the piano is full-sized or a miniature version. So, you must ensure that the product photo properly represents the product.
Final Words
In the game of online shopping, your product photo can make or break your sales. So, it would be best if you ensured the best pictures possible. Now that you have the best guidelines for Product Photography at Amazon, that should no longer be impossible. Remember the do’s and the don’ts, and you should be good to go. Au revoir!
