How to Properly Execute On-Model E-Commerce Fashion Photography For Online Sales
E-commerce fashion photography is unlike other forms of photography. The sole purpose of this style of photography is to present fashion apparel items on web site product pages. Sounds pretty simple, but there are many factors that come into play when having your fashion collection items photographed professionally. Retailers, and wholesalers alike require high quality images that result in high conversion rates. This is essential to maintaining their margins within the highly competitive fashion market. Vendors need to ensure their products are displayed properly, with color, clarity, and in an appealing manner that feeds their client base. When it comes to on-model photography, less is more. More often this is done with a clean white background. For Example, Amazon, and many other retailers keep the consistency of their multiple product pages with all the merchandise photographed on clean white. Some brands use a more organic off-white look, and some use colors that play off of their specific branding elements. For example, if your brand is called Pink Lipstick Lingerie, then having images on a pink background would be a no-brainer. With that being said, all online sellers should take a look at the analytics which show that the highest conversion rates for fashion apparel items are done with a clean white background. Most importantly, the apparel items should stand out clearly, and look amazing when viewed on smart phones, where most of the customers will view this content.
While every photography studio has its specific style in which they light, and compose on-model product page photography, the e-commerce world is driven by the numbers. It becomes a “proof in the pudding” situation, where the images alone can make or break the sale of a collection.
“If you are selling fashion apparel online, It all comes down to the one simple question. Are your images converting?”
Product Page Consistency and Uniformity
Important points to keep in mind while deciding the direction to take with your photography, is the consistency and uniformity of your website. Stay with an art direction theme that works for branding images on the home page, and keep your product page images looking uniform in terms of the lighting, model, background, and over all tone. Customers respond better when you show off your collections in an easy to navigate, easy to view manner, that stays on point. The hiring of an experienced, professional photographer is crucial to providing the proper execution of e-commerce fashion photography. This is a specific style of photography that is simple in its execution, yet critical as to its success online in terms of sales. When done right, retailers will see the results, and their customers will come back for more. Finding the right formula, style, and work flow that delivers images that sell fashion apparel merchandise is one of the keys to a brands ability to thrive.
Experienced photographers know exactly how to find the right angle, and provide the perfect lighting to capture your apparel products in a lively, and professional manner. The following are essential photography elements to maintain continuity throughout your concept.
Simplifying, and not overcomplicating art direction ideas
Consider quality professional lighting while using a simple setup that can be repeated over, and over for consistency.
Shoot with the proper depth of field, so that the apparel item is completely in focus with the proper color tone.
Keep the model a reasonable distance away from the white background, to minimize light spill issues which can affect the color of the garment
On your product pages, the image area real estate is something to consider when cropping the photograph. Fill up the image with the model cropped in tighter with less white space around.
Maintain the look through out so that all the thumbnails align, and have uniformity. This, along with the proper page description, and key words, will boost your page ranking, and conversion rates, as well as provide the best customer experience.
Hero Banners
Having high converting product page images within the site, while complementing this with impactful branding images on the front end of your site is the ideal situation. Hero banners on the home page are essentially the billboards of today’s e-commerce driven marketplace. These images are often displayed with a call to action button or a promotional tag line. Updating these banners regularly helps to increase customer engagement, and allows your website to tell the story of the brand, and convey the style, and art direction message to your audience.
See more about Life Style Location Photography here.
Styling
Which brings us to the next step, styling preparation. Prior to the photoshoot is the “pre-game” process that must be followed to assure quality control. To clarify, this means the garments should be organized, steamed, and correctly organized to move efficiently throughout the photoshoot process. The model is filed in with the proper hair and make up. The look and feel of the shoot is established with an attention to the details. The wardrobe stylist is on set to assure the proper fit of the garments on the model.
As started prior, it’s essential to keep in mind backgrounds for your images. White background images rank higher, and are more recommended for product page placement. Using colorful backgrounds, or location backgrounds on your product pages is acceptable; however, white background images convert better overall. Images taken not on a white background, but rather with a location scenery are more suitable for hero banner’s, social media content, and lifestyle branding images. These more editorial style images are a nice compliment to the white background images when placed together on product pages.
Nevertheless, adding location lifestyle imagery to your website is a crucial element to presenting the right branding. Choose the correct location will yield the best results for your photography needs. Focus on specifics; if you're shooting luxury high price point items, then the location, theme, and art direction, should convey this level of luxury price point.
Finding the Right Face for Your Brand
Having the right model for your brand is of paramount importance if your goal is to find great success selling apparel online. Just having a pretty face or being an attractive person does not precisely signify that your images are going to convert. Yes we all have budgets to consider, and not everyone is going to be able to pay for a top level model, but using your beautiful cousin or your boyfriend/girlfriend isn’t going to get real consistent results.
Employing professional models who are seasoned, experienced, and have developed the skill, is a better route to follow, and is worth the investment long term. When you bring all the styling elements together, with the right model, you get the best results. With so much riding on how well your collection sells, you have to consider who will be the face of your brads imagery online.
Latest in Product Page Optimization - Video
The idea of adding videos to your product pages isn’t anything new. But what is new is seeing your collection in videos formatted for both product page placement, as well as social media postings. This allows for seamless branding between your marketing imagery, and product page imagery. 90% of all fashion apparel customers will be viewing via smart phone, so the vertical video presentation is ideally suited. The analytics prove this is the way customers consume fashion apparel content. SEE HERE for more on this subject.
Allowing customers to see the model moving, and showcasing the garments via video is the latest way in which wholesalers, and retailers are optimizing their websites. Videos, as opposed to still photography, are naturally higher ranking in terms of search engine optimization. Brands currently utilizing this grows each season, and will only get stronger, as smart phone delivery becomes more capable. Brands such as Fashion Nova, Beach Bunny, Frankies Bikinis, and ASOS; with all of them reporting their analytics show increases across the board. It would seem that the future of e-commerce fashion apparel sales will be made via video.
VSP Studios, one of the highest-ranking e-commerce fashion photography studios in the industry, specializes in providing brands with high-quality images and video. VSP has worked with with brands such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, Nike, Champion, Perry Ellis, Amazon, Target, and more. With over 30 years experience this Miami based studio offers services like on-model photography, ghost mannequin photography, and vertical video production. If your brand is in need of images that sell your inventory, contact VSP Studios here for more info.
