How to take photos for your online shopping cart

If you're planning to sell products online, nothing helps encourage a sale like a well-taken photo or two. In an ideal world, every business would have the budget to hire a professional photographer, but sometimes you may need to cut a few corners and take the snaps yourself. Before you begin, make sure you know some of the secrets that allow the pros to charge so much.

White background

No matter what your product, you want it to stand out having a white background helps it achieve just this. All you need, depending on the size of your product, is a piece of paper or a bed sheet. Tape this background behind and underneath your product, with a slight curve to avoid an unseemly joint.

Show products in use

While sometimes an object is best shown on its own, in other cases you may want to show a product as it looks in use. Clothing stores have been doing this for a long time and jewellery makers can also benefit from showing rings and necklaces on a model.

Steady hands

Even the slightest tremble as you take a photo can cause a blurring in the shot, turning a potential sale into a shopper looking elsewhere. To avoid this, invest in a tripod and use your camera's timer setting to give you sharper-looking images with no hassle.

Show all the variations

If you sell a product in a number of different styles or colours, the simple option is a line of text that says, "Also available in..." The better choice is to upload photos of all the different options available, giving you a better chance to impress the shopper. After all, while you may think red is the best version, someone else may prefer the blue or green.

Also remember to take photos from different angles, as without the ability to hold an object in their hands shoppers are depending on you to show them the product from all sides.

Know your camera's settings

Taking some time to learn about the different settings on your camera can help you get the best from it. For small objects, such as jewellery, the macro setting normally marked with a flower icon can achieve better photos. If you want to go even further, you can buy specialised lenses to help bring out more detail from small objects.

Don't be afraid to use your computer

While you may not be happy with how a photo appears on your camera's display, take a second look on your computer as they can appear different on the big screen. If you're confident with photo-editing software, you can improve a picture with just a bit of cropping, realigning and slight touching up although be careful not to edit the actual likeness of the image too much.