15 Types of Product Photography For Ecommerce 2023

Updated on November 14, 2022 in Photography by Nishant Shrimali

Product photography is a part of commercial photography that is used to capture your product in its best photographic representation for eCommerce.

According to a report, good product photography can increase the conversion rate by almost 30%.

Considering the fact that we are visual learners, it is clear that professional product photography is really important.

There are numerous types of product photography based on every product.

Be it Ring Photography, t-shirt photography, table photography, studio product photography and the list goes on for each and every product you can think of.

But in order to help you better understand each one of them, we have divided product photography based on different criteria.

Here, you will be learning about different types of product photography for eCommerce and how to capture them in the most efficient manner.

The breakdown also focuses on the various product photography trends that you must be aware of when getting started.

Hence make sure you go through them all and shortlist the photography types that appeal to you the most.

Most commonly, product photography is done on a plain consistent background that allows a customer to interact with the product, without getting distracted.

It is recommended to use 8 images per product to ensure that customers are able to see it from all sides and angles.

As per Tech Buzz Reviews, if you increase the number of images per product, it positively impacts the customer experience and sales of the product.

15 Types of Product Photography

Here are 15 types of product photography for eCommerce that you must learn more about:

1. Individual
2. Group
3. Normal Size
4. Large Size
5. Macro Size
6. Scale
7. Packaging Shot
8. 360
9. Process
10. Lifestyle
11. Flat lay
12. Hanging
13. Mannequin
14. White Background Shots
15. Social Media Shots

1. Individual

(Based on number of products)

Let’s start with the number of objects in the frame. Individual objects in the frame are among the most common type of product photography.

It is used for certainly every and any kind of product that you see on the internet.

Be it a catalog, banner, eCommerce product page, or any situation where only one product is in the image is the individual product photography.

As a photographer make sure that you are aware of the purpose of capturing and use of the image. It will let you choose a better studio setup lighting accordingly.

In case you have a large number of products that are to be captured individually you must create a  controlled set up before you start shooting.

Fix your camera, lighting, background, and every other element in their respective place.

This is to make sure that all the elements stay fixed and all your product images are consistent with lighting and the overall photography scene.

2. Group

(Based on number of products)

Group photography is rare, especially in eCommerce product photography. Most eCommerce prefer to capture individual products and merge them in post-production for social media.

But if someone is selling multiple products together (like a gift hamper) group photography shall be used.

This type of product photography for eCommerce lets the customer see how the package will look and what is included in the following order.

This is among the types of product photography used mostly for commercials ads and social media purposes.

If you are a beginner, try following pre-established composition techniques to arrange your products in the frame.

You can use Symmetry, Grid, Framing, color contrast, etc. which are some of the well-renowned techniques for group eCommerce product photography. 

Moreover, you can even refer to this in-depth guide on 24 Composition Techniques that will improve your photos.

Here, you can read and learn about composition techniques used by professionals all over the world.

3. Normal Size

(Based on the size of products)

It is among the types of product photography, which has the most vivid range of products.

It includes products from the fashion industry, food industry, tech industry, and anything else that you might generally think of.

Generally, normal size is among the types of the product photography that needs less preparation, compared to large size and macro photography

Products in the following category can vary exponentially.

The best practice to start or choose the eCommerce products is by ensuring that they are easy to handle, and move during the shot.

Here, the main focus of the photographer is to make sure that product details of the products are clearly visible and the overall image looks professional to the audience.

4. Large size

(Based on the size of products)

This is the type of eCommerce product photography where the size of products is huge.

It requires extensive efforts to carry out product photography and capture the whole product in single shots.

You will also have to consider the cost of transport, and sometimes the cost of storage before you finalize any deal.

In addition, you must consider whether or not your studio is suitable to carry out large-size product photography shoots.

If yes, what’s the storage limit and moving capacity to carry out a shot successfully.

If you believe it would be a lot of effort, then maybe you can consider going to the location of the product and conducting your portable product photography shoot.

5. Macro Size

(Based on the size of products)

These are the most delicate shots when compared to all types of product photography.

It requires you to set up your photography studio, use photography props to hole the products, and set up lighting accordingly.

The most common example of this would be jewelry product photography.

An important aspect of macro photography is to capture the products from close proximity and capture the details.

You are also required to make sure that the whole product is in focus and not just one section of it.

So when you encounter this type of product photography, don’t hold yourself back from using a macro lens.

Also, I highly recommend you use a tripod for much more stability in the frame. Macro-photography is prone to capturing such fingerprints and dust particles.

You have constantly make sure the product is clean and use hand gloves when you are adjusting the product in the frame.

6. Scale

(Based on the size of products)

Scale is a type of product photography in eCommerce that is used to tell the customer about the size of the product.

Rather than using graphics or an actual scale, this type of product photography puts the product and a day-to-day product together in the frame.

Because people are already aware of the day-to-day product size, it is easy for them to get a better context of what the actual size of the product is.

A good and the most common example would be a model carrying a handbag. Handbags are of various sizes making it harder for customers to actually understand the product. But when the model is carrying it, they can instantly learn more about the product through your photography.

In this type of product photography for eCommerce, it is really important that you use familiar objects that people can easily compare the product with.

7. Packaging Shot

(Based on the style of products photography)

Packshot is among the most common types of product photography. Here, a product is captured from different angles.

This allows us as a customer to see the products from all sides product.

It sometimes also includes product packaging to show how a customer would be receiving the product.

It is one of the most important types of product photography for eCommerce as well.

Because people rely only on the product images, looking at the product from all angles, builds trust and hence increases eCommerce conversion.

8. 360

(Based on the style of products photography)

360-degree eCommerce product photography is the style of the future. Here, a product is placed on a round, rotating table, and shots are taken from various angles and sides.

Also, in case the product is too large, it stays still, while the camera moves around to capture the product.

All the images, from different sides and angles, are then edited and processed to create a single, synced-up image.

Customers can interact with this image and look at the product as they wish. You can learn more about 360 product photography in our guide.

9. Process

(Based on the style of products photography)

Process photography is a kind of sneak peek of how the product is being prepared.

Especially if you are dealing with fashion or food photography, the process of making a product is a great way to communicate with the audience.

Brands also use process photography to showcase their claims of hand-made products, natural ingredients, etc.

10. Lifestyle

(Based on the style of products photography)

Lifestyle types of product photography are all about showing the product in its natural environment or in its working environment.

Customers can judge the product based on how the product looks and where they can use it once they buy it.

These are highly used in online and offline advertising mediums and hence are considered under premium photography styles.

11. Flat Lay

(Based on the style of products photography)

The flat lay photography area is among the types of product photography in which you lay down the product on a table and shoot it from above.

Here the tables become the backdrop and you shoot a bird’s eye view shot.

We have created a step-by-step guide to capture flat lay perfectly, so do read it if you are interested in the new trendy photography style.

12. Hanging

(Based on the style of products photography)

As the name depicts, hanging photography is among the types of product photography where a product is hung with a hanger or strings.

This is a great way to give a product a 3D effect and look more real.

It is mostly used in apparel photography to make the clothing look wrinkle-free and easy to compare with other products on the site.

It also gives an overall view of how a piece of clothing looks from front and back.

13. Mannequin

(Based on the style of products photography)

Ghost Mannequins photography is another great way to show the volume of a product and is the best option for clothing photography.

It gives a better perspective of how the clothing will look on a client and what kind of fabric it is.

In addition, there is also a growing demand for Ghost mannequin images, where clothes are captured on the mannequin, and in post-production, the visible areas of mannequins are removed. This gives a more professional and seamless look to eCommerce.

14. White Background Shots

(Based on the style of products photography)

The white backdrop is among the most basic product photography types where products are captured on a white background.

White is a great background as other colors are easy to judge without the effect of the surrounding colors.

Due to the following reason, Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are highly specific for sellers to use a white background.

15. Social Media Shots

(Based on the style of products photography)

At last, social media shots are among the types of product photography used for brand awareness and social media handles.

These are more lively and fun images to play with.

You can add different backgrounds, graphics, perspectives, and different styles of photography to showcase your product.

Wrapping Up

And with this, we conclude our breakdown of the types of product photography. As you can see, the above criteria are a great way to sort down your preferences and start your product photography career.

Moreover, if you wish to learn more about photography, you can read our amazing blog- What Do You Need To Know To Make A Career In Photography?

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