For all those self-starters, digital marketers and creatives trying to figure out how to approach a mission of doing a product photoshoot for a clothing online store, we have compiled a thorough guide of tips and tricks, best practices, dos and don’ts.
We asked our co-founder and Head of Production, Mitya, to provide some insider clues. Kind as he is, he gladly shared with us his years of experience in a professional product photography. So please, meet Mitya!
Mitya has over 10 years of experience in the field of professional photography and editing. Perfectionist by heart, he values when the work is done perfectly, so every single shot made by Squareshot is double-checked by him. He loves talking about photo editing and enjoys Guinness. That's how we tricked him into helping us.
This step-by-step guide on how to photograph clothing for online stores is good for beginners as well as seasoned marketers, for art directors as well as ecommerce store owners. If you are a bit of a control freak, a perfectionist, a pedant or just want to make sure your first photoshoot yields best results and improves your site’s conversions – this is an article for you.
Product Photography is used to capture and render the visual image of an item on sale.
A professional photographer uses a number of know-how techniques to best portray an object of the process. Many factors play into the outcome, no detail is too small: lighting, angle, depth of field, focus, background, composition are just a few of them. All balanced professionally, they create a seamless shopping experience for customers and a solid digital brand image.
If you look onto major e-commerce KPIs, all of them can be improved by providing high-quality imagery to the products on sale in your online store:
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every clothing online store out there, generally speaking, a professional approach to product photography is both: an expected foundation and the point of differentiation in this industry.
For the clothing photoshoot to be a successful one, some basic requirements should be adhered to:
1. Proper lightning: too much light or too little light will both make the image unappealing or looking unprofessional.
2. Well-prepped presentable condition of the item: way too often we have seen a creased skirt on a model – however basic it may sound – the clothing must look brand new and be well-ironed. If you don't have enough staff to do that yet, just use a photostudio with additional services – at Squareshot we can iron or steam your apparel to save your time on prepping:)
3. Right quantity: there is no golden rule really, but having just one or 2 images representing a 1000-dollar nightgown is likely to be seen as an insult to a buyer.
On the other end of the spectrum – images should not be repetitive and spammy – having over 12 pics per item may defeat its purpose and confuse the customer. Perfect situation: 4-7 shots per item to notice all details and not get overwhelmed.
– Mitya, co-Founder and Head of Production at Squareshot
4. Proper angles: you want to make sure you have covered every nuance and detail, that fashion designers worked so hard to create. Exhibit every meaningful angle of the item on sale but, again, make sure not to overdo it.
5. Consistency: while every item is unique – many of them are sold in the frames of the same e-commerce store. Having them produced, shot, retouched in a consistent manner bring about the sense of credibility, stability, professionalism.
6. Storytelling: integrate the target audience’s stylistics as much as possible – be it in the form of a model or by combining few items in a shoot or by providing a certain background to the image. Telling a story through clothes photography is not only possible but highly advisable to mold a point of differentiation in the customer’s eyes.
7. High Resolution: at last but not at least. Your imagery should be minimum 1024x1024 pixels to look good and allow enough detail while zooming is used. Take note, that 2400x2400 is a maximum here – detailed enough still not too heavy. By theway, note that large platforms like Amazon, Shopify, etc - even have their own requirements here.
An image should be tack sharp. When you zoom in and the see the texture – then it’s shot correctly. Don't undersetimate that: you put enough efforts into designing your apparel, so let your shoppers take a close look and appreciate your work.
– Mitya, co-Founder and Head of Production at Squareshot
If the images are going to be very matter-of-factly or full of story, if you need objects in the pristine photo studio environment or in the city with models, if you are envisioning a static shoot or a dynamic session – you need to be able to articulate that to your product photo studio expert. Ideally, you will have a few references to the websites, that you hold in high esteem and think they have done a great job with imagery on their website.
The pricing of your products also should be taken into account if you are contemplating on the nature of the session. Premium segment expects a lot of attention to details and studio shots are a must.
In the case of mass-market products – the clothing online store owners might also wish to zoom in on the details – so that to align clients’ expectations with the quality of the product. The more true-to-life your imagery is, the fewer returns you will face down the funnel.
As in every mission, when it comes to photographing clothing, proper preparation is half the battle. The better a photoshoot is organized, the smoother it will go – and the better impact it will have on your sales.
So ideally you would commission the photography to a professional, in which case clothing e-commerce store owners must approach the task of finding the right product photography company with thoroughness and even pedantry.
Make sure, that:
Once a fashion store owner figures out which photography service vendor to entrust this vital mission, it is paramount to plan ahead – so that to ensure a smooth process and ROI-rich results.
There are 3 major types of e-commerce product photography for clothing: flat lay, ghost mannequin, and pinned / hanging apparel.
Flat Lay photoshoot: is often chosen for male clothing, accessories, and basic wardrobe items, like T-shirts, trousers, socks. They are predictably basic in many cases – so require no extra depth or complexity.
For the flat lay photography, the items are laid out on the surface – be it a table or a floor – and shot from above at a 90-degree angle. This method is used a lot for Instagram, in which case the object may also be positioned in a way to leave space for text and graphic elements.
Flat lay is the best option for clothing with standard tailoring that a customer can easily imagine it on themselves. These could be T-shirts, sweaters, straight jeans or sport pants. Still, you might think about other options for the clothing made of elastic fabric, for apparel with complex tailoring or fit clothes.
– Mitya, co-Founder and Head of Production at Squareshot
Ghost Mannequin: allows for a 3D image and provides a more true-to-life vision of the piece of apparel. It require some Photoshop work to combine the front and the inner back of the item in one image. Objects are shot from an eye-level and the resulting clothing shots may look more persuasive to a client, as more true-to-life.
Ghost mannequin photography is better for clothing with a tighter fit. It gives customers a better understanding – how this apparel will fit the body, so is often used for women clothing.
You can use this type of shooting to showcase your collection from elastic fabric, or for the apparel with a complex design – the wrinkles usually look natural. Minuses are increased shooting and editing time, a higher level of complexity, hence, higher rates.
– Mitya, co-Founder and Head of Production at Squareshot
Pinned/Hanging Apparel: is also used to take photographs at an eye-level. So it has the flatness of a flat lay technique to it combined with the advantages of the gravitation. This method is extensively used for accessories, that may hang from all sorts of props.
Pinned apparel images is kind of a compromise between Flat lay and Ghost Mannequin. The clothing is photographed hanging and the gravity works as a stylist.
This type of photography best suits pieces made of flowing and lightweight fabrics like silk. Shooting itself is usually faster than Ghost Mannequin and more pleasant for the budget.
– Mitya, co-Founder and Head of Production at Squareshot
While setting up the photo session scene is crucial for the mission’s outcome, the equipment check requires a pro – so we will only briefly highlight the major clauses from ours checklist. Each of them has 10-20 sub-clauses, that help our team to make sure nothing is left to chance. For you to have an idea of what your photographer should do before the photoshoot, it's three major thing:
The process is full of professional tricks that ensure the high-quality outcome. Below we list the major topics.
1. Shooting angles: specify shooting angles that must be chosen as technical requirements. While you may choose whatever angles seem appealing to you, there is still some “classics” here. All close-up and details are shot at a ¾ angle.
2. Framing: an object of the clothing product photography must be placed in a way to achieve the right amount of prominence in the image. If you’re using some marketplace as a selling channel – put attention on its requirements. It may require 85% /100% of product size inside the image. Take a note, that elongated items must be shot with the camera in a vertical position.
3. Leveling: both table and camera should be 95% in the horizontal position. Sure thing, retouchers can edit nuances later, but it's better to use a chance to make everything right from the beginning.
4. Symmetry: symmetrical shots are important for symmetrical clothing simply because of the aesthetics of it. We all have seen internet memes named “Perfectionist’s hell”. On a psychological level, some asymmetrical shots may make a person feel uncomfortable to look at a disorderly thing.
Editing can fix some minor issues, that appear in resulting images – but it is important to know what exactly can be fixed by retouching and what cannot. Some things and imperfections are easier and quicker to be removed or adjusted at the stage of editing and some – at the shooting.
You better double-check when providing the technical task for your photographer or studio, that will result in a much better outcome and fewer rounds of revisions (which could be not free). The following aspects are vital to address during the editing stage:
Generally speaking, it is important to make sure, the photography has to be visually appealing, high quality and allow for zooming in. Photo editing will help fine-tune and perfect the missing touches.
SEO optimization is as important for images as it is for textual content. All the requirements and rules for better rankings may not be that obvious, so we collected them here:
While we have covered a lot of useful information on the topic, this guide is intended for fashion online store owners, who prefer to approach any mission well-armed and with know-how in mind.
DIY photography is always an option at some stage of any business development. But when it comes to establishing a serious player with increasing metrics of users on-site, growing CTR, longer dwell time, higher conversions and lower return rates – only a professional photographer can deliver that level of the product photography.
Have a tip to share or a best practice that worked for you? Want more insider wisdom on product photography? Stuck with planning a product shoot? Need a quote for your upcoming photoshoot? Drop us a line, we will be delighted to help!