In business, the presentation is everything, and first impressions are critical in customer acquisition. Product presentation is vital especially in an e-commerce business since a customer’s first interaction with your business will be entirely visual, and you will not be there to talk them up. When you are running an e-commerce business, it is imperative to present your products to the customers professionally using excellent product photos. Product photography is not just about showing your customer the product. It is about accentuating the product’s features and convincing the customer to make a purchase. One of the ways to give your product pictures a professional touch is by using the right picture background. So how do you choose the right picture background for your products? We have some tips that can help.
Avoid distraction
In product photography, the product is the main subject and should be the only item of focus in the picture. Taking a product picture with a busy background has never been a good idea since it distracts customers from the essential thing in the photograph, the product. It is advisable to avoid a cluttered background so that your customer can focus solely on the product. Eliminating clutter in the product picture background also allows the product’s features to stand out so that customers can notice them. You should let your product steal the show by giving it center stage in photographs.
Use color contrast
The whole point of product photography is to make your product stand out and highlight the product’s features. One of the ways to achieve this is to use color contrasting. The background color of your product picture ought to have a level of contrast to your product color. For example, if your product is black, you can use a grey or white background. If your product is white, you can use a black or any other dark colored picture background. Play around with the contrasting colors to find the background color that accentuates your product’s features and makes your product stand out.
Use a white background
White backgrounds are common choices for product photography. A white background is non-distractive, and it also allows the product to take center stage. A white background also makes the product look more “trustworthy” because it is challenging to hide a product’s flaws on a white background. Creating a white background for your product photo is quite easy since you can do it in a portable product photo studio or through post-photography editing. It is, however, essential to keep in mind that a white background does not work on every product type. White products should not be photographed on a white background. Other items like gadgets and luxury items also don’t do too well with a white picture background.
Neutral colors can substitute white
A white picture background does not look good on every product. If you do your product photography on a white background and the results are not satisfactory, you can substitute the white background with a neutral colored background. Some great neutral colors are ivory and a light shade of grey. You should look for a subtle or neutral color that adds flair to your product without distracting the customers from the main product features.
Black symbolizes sophistication
A black picture background does well with luxury items like jewelry and high-end devices because black symbolizes luxury and elegance. If you are selling jewelry, high-end tech gadgets, and other luxury items, you might want to use a black background instead of other colors like white. Black makes the product image edgier and helps capture the customers’ attention. Make sure, however, to use the right shade of black because using the wrong shade might ruin your image or make it difficult for customers to see the product’s features. A glossy black ground seems to work for dark colored products like phones, while a matte black background works for shiny and bright products such as jewelry and watches.
Bokeh effect
Bokeh is when the background of a photo is intentionally out of focus so that the object in the foreground can take center stage in the photo. You can achieve the bokeh effect in your product photos by using cameras such as the affordable Sony DSCH300/B camera when taking your product pictures. Bokeh can be combined with another background like a rustic background to give your product images a unique final look. Bokeh mostly does well in outdoor photography since it requires you to use natural light instead of the camera’s flash. If you want to use the bokeh effect in indoor photography, make sure that you have plenty of light coming in through the windows. You can also place your product next to the window and take the picture with the camera facing outside through the window and the object between the camera and the window.
Rustic is timeless
Leonardo Da Vinci said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and he could not have been more correct. You will not realize just how true Leonardo Da Vinci’s statement is until you try a rustic background on your product photographs. A rustic background goes very well with almost all kinds of products, whether fashion or kitchenware products. Picture a photo of a pair of stylish pair of shoes on a rustic wooden surface. Talk about merging style with simplicity. You can experiment with a rustic background to capture your product photos from different angles. One of the best things about using a rustic background is that you do not need any specialized equipment to create it. Just find a wooden table, clean it up, and snap away.
Experiment with patterns
Patterned backgrounds are a great way to add elegance to your product photos. Most products do well with a patterned picture background. You only need to tweak the pattern a little to ensure that it compliments your product photos. You can achieve a patterned background in your product photos by background removal in post-photography editing. You should, however, be careful when using a patterned background since some patterns can distract the customers from the product. Make sure to use soft and neutral patterns. You can also design your business’ logo into a pattern to use as the background for your product photos and fortify your brand recognition in the process.
Conclusion:
Product photography is not a one-size-fits-all affair. Your choice of a picture background for your product photos boils down to your brand, your audience, and your product. You can try any of the background ideas we have listed and see which one gets a positive response from your audience. Make sure to be consistent with the picture background that you choose for your product photos so that you can have uniformity in your product images.