Amazon product photography on a white background

Sellers are always looking for new and different ways to increase Amazon sales, but the answer is right under their nose. Improving Amazon product photography not only attracts more traffic to your pages but also gives your shoppers a more detailed understanding of the product, which can, in turn, increase sales on Amazon.

The problem is that photography uses a different skill set than retail, so many sellers simply don’t know how to take a good product picture. To help you get started, below we share 7 tips on how to optimize your Amazon product photography to increase FBA sales or Amazon sales in general.

1. Show Different Sides of the Product

One of the inherent problems with eCommerce is that shoppers cannot pick up or interact with the product — they rely on product photography to judge the item’s shape, weight, and moveability. So to give shoppers the fullest understanding of what they’re buying, show the product from different angles, in different forms, inside and outside the product packaging.

It helps to shoot multiple angles of the product against a white background, just like the one required for your main image. Be sure to include a shot of everything unpacked from the container so your customers see what they’re getting, but also include a shot of the package before it’s opened. If your product has moving parts or accessories, show them in use, too.

2. Use Creative Camera Angles

Aside from the main image requirements, you’re free to include additional, more creative product photography ideas. These can be instrumental in increasing Amazon sales if you know what kinds of photography shoppers want to see.

Infographics outlining features — You’re free to add text to some of your photos, so try pointing out certain features or hard-to-see parts, so shoppers know they’re there.
Products in use — Show actual people using your products so the customer can imagine what it’d be like to own it themselves. You can also use this style to demonstrate certain features that aren’t obvious.
Secondary objects — Include another object in the photo as a frame of reference for size and to be suggestive. For example, include an actual strawberry next to a strawberry-flavored product.
Show movement — If your product has moving parts, try taking multiple pictures of the parts in different positions so shoppers know its flexibility.

You also should strongly consider Amazon product videos. Product videos are known to boost sales because they show off the product better than still photos. Customers can see how people use the product, and you can even demonstrate certain features that photos still can’t convey.

3. Minimize Empty Space

A common piece of advice expert photographers give to beginners is to “fill the frame,” which essentially means minimizing the amount of empty space in the background. Your product should be the main focus of attention, so make sure it takes up the majority of your shot. Try to get the camera close enough to the product that the background is hardly noticeable.

In fact, one of the Amazon product photography requirements states that, for the main image, the product must take up 85% of the frame. Aside from the main image, you’re free to play more with perspective, but minimizing empty space is a good photography tip in general.

4. Follow the Amazon Product Photography Guidelines

Even more important than attracting shoppers is following Amazon’s product image requirements. There are some particular rules you don’t want to accidentally break, and by learning the requirements, you can better understand what kind of pictures you can and cannot use.

Specifically, here are some key takeaways:

1000-pixel minimum on either width or height
use either color mode sRGB or CMYK
the format must be either JPEG, PNG, GIF, or TIFF
use a true white background (RGB: 255, 255, 255) for the main image
do not use additional text, graphics, or inset images for the main image

As you can see, taking product photography with a white background is necessary for at least one of your photos. However, you can make the most out of the white background by shooting multiple angles, as we advised in step 1.

5. Learn How to Retouch Photos

Even the best product photographers still use photo editing software to touch up their photos. Retouching product photos is the norm on Amazon and most other eCommerce sites, so if you want your pictures to compete you’ll have to learn some of the basics.

The good news is that you don’t need to drop hundreds of dollars on Photoshop. You can find cheap or even free photo editing software online. This can help with aspects like brightening the colors, removing dust or other blemishes, and allowing you to superimpose text or overlap images.

6. Use Proper Equipment

While you can technically take product photos on your smartphone, you’ll get the best results with proper photography equipment, including both a camera and lighting. To maximize results, you’ll also want accessories like a tripod and an adequate white background.

The best cameras for Amazon product photography are usually mirrorless or DSLR. As for artificial lighting, try LED or incandescent lamps. However, be aware that these aren’t always cheap. If you want to keep your budget down, consider working with someone who already owns these things, which brings us to our final tip…

7. Work with Amazon Product Photography Services

While these tips are designed to improve the work of an amateur photographer, you can’t master the art of product photography in a few weeks or months. If you want truly mesmerizing pictures, you may want to hire Amazon product photography services.

If you’re worried about money, hiring a professional Amazon photographer means you don’t have to buy any new equipment. In this sense, you’re coming out ahead in the cost ratio because you can leverage professional-tier equipment without actually having to buy it.

But more important is the skill of professional photographers, who have spent their lives honing their craft and can understand concepts like angles, lighting, and how to use a camera. A professional photographer will know the right settings and angles by heart, and if you work with an Amazon service, they’ll also be familiar with the image requirements. If you’re interested and want to hear a quote, schedule a free consultation call now, up to 60 minutes. We’ll answer all your questions and explain how we can help!

Even with the best products at the best prices, shoppers will still pass you by unless you have eye-catching photos. Mesmerizing Amazon product photography is the best strategy to increase Amazon sales, but for most sellers with backgrounds in retail, photography is not a skill that comes naturally.

We’ve already explained the basics as they apply to amateur photographers with our DIY guide to Amazon Product Photography, but sometimes the basics aren’t enough. So in this guide, we share 7 expert ideas on creative Amazon product photography styles that you can use to stand out. These ideas aren’t your average run-of-the-mill product photos, so their unique imagery is sure to get your products noticed and increase sales on Amazon.

1. Blurry Outdoor Background

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Amazon product photography on a white background is a requirement for your main image, but your other images have more leeway. In addition to doing a standard product-in-use photo or infographic, you can also showcase your product against a blurry outdoor background.

These photos work because they help the shopper imagine what it’s like to use the product without the risk of distracting them with background images. It’s also easy to shoot: just set your camera to a wide aperture (a low F-stop number). You don’t even need to worry too much about where the background is because the shopper won’t see much of it.

2. Floating over White Background

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If you want some homemade special effects, you can shoot your product against a white background so that it looks like it’s floating. This not only satisfies Amazon’s main image requirements for white backgrounds, but it also creates an interesting effect that your customers are more likely to remember.

There are essentially two approaches to get this effect:

suspend your product with a fishing line or use invisible adhesive to keep it upright in front of a white background
take a normal picture against a white background and edit out the floor with photo editing software like Photoshop

Regardless of which approach you choose, consider keeping in the floor shadow to leave some realism for the shopper.

3. Infographic with Labeled Parts

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Infographic images are great for when you want to both show and tell. Some products require a little explanation about how they’re used, and infographic images are more likely to be seen than the instructional text in the product description.

But instead of listing the features of your product, try labeling each part to explain what it does. For one thing, this is another excuse to show a detailed close-up of your product. More importantly, it gives you the opportunity to explain all the beneficial parts of your products, such as interesting features the shopper may not have noticed from your other pictures.

This type of Amazon product photography works twice as well with control panels and interfaces where the buttons are not self-evident.

4. Visual Effects To Show Movement

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Moving parts can be a huge advantage to some products, especially if competing products aren’t as flexible. But how can you show movement in a still photo?

Using basic photography or photo-editing techniques, you can depict movement in still photos by either of these two methods:

Set a low shutter speed on your camera to create a motion blur in the actual photo. (This can be difficult without photography experience, as you risk blurring the parts of the photo you actually want the shopper to see.)
Take a sequence of photos with the moving parts in different positions. Then, in photo-editing software, overlay all the photos on top of each other, with some transparency (as in the example). This shows the shopper the range of motion your product has.

These techniques can get a little advanced, especially if you don’t have much experience in either photography or photo editing. If you don’t feel confident in your photography abilities, you can always use Amazon product photography services. Here’s how to hire the best Amazon product photographer.

5. Glass Floor

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Although this Amazon product photography idea won’t work with all products, for some, it’s the perfect way to show off some hard-to-notice features. If your product has an interesting bottom, such as shoes with special treads or an appliance with gripped feet, you can display them with a glass floor angle.

The easiest way to do it is to place the product on its side and shoot from an angle that looks like it’s underneath. If that’s not possible, you can also set the product on top of a pane of glass and take the picture from below. This gives shoppers a view of the product they would never see otherwise and can verify the safety or sturdiness of certain products.

6. Testimonial Cards

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Just like our idea for infographics with labeled parts, you can use your images to communicate certain benefits that the shopper might not bother reading in your product description text. In this case, you could use the product images to feature any famous brands or publicity your product received.

While this Amazon product photography is not exactly about the product, you can still use the image to feature a brand logo or testimonial quote of a famous or noteworthy supporter of your product. Shoppers respond to social proof, so if they see another famous brand logo in your images and read that they endorse you, that’s a big step to make a purchase or even increase FBA sales.

7. Silhouettes of People

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Brick-and-mortar stores use mannequins because the shopper can imagine themselves wearing the clothes. That same principle can be applied to Amazon product photography by using nondescript silhouettes of people.

Keeping the person in the photo vague — such as an outline, shadow, or cartoon — has two main advantages. First, like the traditional mannequins, an ambiguous person in the photo makes it easier for the shopper to imagine themselves in action, as opposed to a more intricate model. Second, using silhouettes minimizes the details that aren’t related to the product, so the shopper can focus more on what you’re selling and less on who’s in the picture.

Tag: Amazon product photography on a white background

Must-Follow Product Photography Tips From Our Expert

1. Show Different Sides of the Product

2. Use Creative Camera Angles

3. Minimize Empty Space

4. Follow the Amazon Product Photography Guidelines

5. Learn How to Retouch Photos

6. Use Proper Equipment

7. Work with Amazon Product Photography Services

7 Creative Amazon Product Photography Ideas To Stand Out

1. Blurry Outdoor Background

2. Floating over White Background

3. Infographic with Labeled Parts

4. Visual Effects To Show Movement

5. Glass Floor

6. Testimonial Cards

7. Silhouettes of People