Amazon marketplace sellers must follow certain image guidelines laid down by Amazon, but within this framework you can still achieve personalisation and give a feel of your brand with the right product photography.
Which product photos will help you sell successfully on Amazon?
The Primary or Main Image is compulsory. You can have two of these and the photos must show the entirety of the product you are selling. There won’t be any text or labelling on these.
I always shoot these under studio lights on a seamless white backdrop. Amazon insist on a pure RGB white background. This is done in post production, where I will correct for colour and exposure prior to background removal or cutting out of the image(s) before reassembling onto a white background.
Where a product is in a kit form or a collection of elements, I photograph these separately on a white background and then arrange them together to form the finished image, a sort of collage. The image here was composed of flat lay photographs (i.e. shot from directly above) and I used some close-ups of the smaller parts of the kit. This allowed me to offer the client various layouts and they could choose their favourite.
These tell the shopper more about the features and details of your product in an easy to digest pictorial format. There are two main types of infographic which will help boost your sales on Amazon:
I assemble this type of infographic in Photoshop – there are plenty of options to change arrow shapes, colours and the exact layout – everything can be easily moved around on layers. In addition to the measurements, you can request text labels and a title. The cut-out images already used in the Primary image can be re-used or I can photograph chosen elements in a new way to add interest and show the product more clearly. For example, on this image I took a close-up photo of the green tape unravelled to aid clearer labelling of its dimensions.
My 1:1 ratio Macro camera lens allows me to get in closer than is possible with an ordinary camera. I am able to provide finished product photos which highlight details such as fastenings, materials and how the product functions. These close-up photos can then be cropped into circles or squares and arranged into a montage which includes an image of the full product. Depending on the product, this could show the product in use, assembled or differently from the previous photos. I can add text labels to explain each feature as well as icons or other overlaid graphics.
Amazon allow sellers to showcase their product in a real life context to help the customer visualize the item further.
The simplest and least expensive option is to photograph the product on a white background, cut it out and add it into a stock scene. This means your listings will have a modern, on-trend setting which the customer can identify with.
You can have more than one of these. For some types of products I can also add an action shot of the product in use. I create these with the same compositing technique. For smaller items and certain product types such as jewellery, utensils and food ingredients I can style a full scene. It is worth budgeting for props for this. I may also need props for assembling the main product images.
Where your product has buttons, motifs, textures and features on different faces, such as a phone case, showing the item(s) from different angles is essential. For bulky items this can give a sense of scale and the overall design.
Your product listing can have up to 9 photos loaded to your Seller Central database. However, Amazon will usually only show between 6-8 images.
Once the images are uploaded to Amazon Seller Central, see how they flow as you click through on your product listing. I’m available for tweaks and minor edits after you have gone “live”.
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