When shopping online, customers can’t touch the product; the decision is made largely by looking at photos. That makes product photography the hardest-working content on an e-commerce site. Having worked on e-commerce projects such as Greenmall, from product shoots to store management, here is the method that works in practice, step by step.
1. Before the shoot: product list and visual standard
A good product shoot starts with a spreadsheet, not a camera. List every product with its colour variants, accessories and the platforms where it will be used. Marketplaces and your own site may require different ratios and background rules; knowing this up front prevents reshoots.
- Ratio: 1:1 or 4:5 for catalogues, landscape frames for banners and category images.
- Background: Usually plain white for marketplaces; neutral, on-brand tones for your own site.
- Angle set: Front, side, back, detail and one shot showing scale — in the same order for every product.
- File names: product-name-colour-angle.jpg — clear for the team and for search engines.
2. Light: the right direction before expensive gear
The most common mistake is hard light hitting the product from one side. A soft, large light source (a softbox or a big window) shows texture and colour accurately. A white foam board on the opposite side opens up the shadows.
- For shiny, reflective products, light from the sides with large sources and use black boards to control reflections.
- For textured products such as plants, textiles and wood, a gentle side light brings out the texture.
- Keep the lighting setup fixed across a series; photos that sit side by side on a page should look like one family.
3. Camera settings and framing
A steady tripod, low ISO and an aperture closed enough to keep the whole product sharp (usually f/8–f/11) are a solid starting point. Set white balance manually for consistent colour and shoot RAW when possible. Leave space around the product in the frame; it saves you when you need to crop to different ratios.
4. Lifestyle images: put the product into real life
White-background shots introduce the product; lifestyle images persuade people to buy. A planter in a living room, a tool in a hand, a product shown at real scale — these answer customers’ questions with a picture. They are also the strongest material for social media and ad creatives.
5. Retouching and export
- Correct colours to match the real product; “it doesn’t look like the photo” is one of the top reasons for returns.
- Clean dust, marks and creases, but don’t change the product itself.
- For the web, resize to around 2000 px and compress; the WebP format helps pages load fast.
- Fill in alt text with the product name and colour; it matters for accessibility and image search.
6. After publishing: look at the data
Track which product pages bring more sales and which images get more clicks in ads. Google Analytics and ad dashboards clearly show which framing works. The next shot list becomes more accurate with this data.
Frequently asked questions
Can product photos be shot with a phone?
To start with, yes; with the right light and stability, current phones give good results. With a large product range, strict colour consistency and ad creatives, the difference a professional camera and lighting make becomes clear.
How many photos does each product need?
A good starting point is 4–6 images: front, side, back, detail, scale and at least one lifestyle image.
White background or coloured background?
Marketplaces usually require white. On your own site and social media, on-brand backgrounds can make the product more memorable.
Related: Greenmall project · Content Production
