Your product photography is one of the most important aspects of your Amazon listing. You’ve spent lots of time and money on creating your brand and private label product; make sure you put the same effort into photography.
With so much competition on the Amazon marketplace, you cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to your product images. Simply put, high-quality product imagery and infographics will increase your conversions and sell your product.
In this article, we’ll go over the importance of Amazon product photography, best practices and must-haves, and how to hire a professional product photographer.
January 31, 2024 Update: Images from multiple selling partners to be displayed on product pages.
“Effective January 31, product detail pages for hardlines product types may display images from multiple selling partners to help customers make informed purchase decisions.
Each product detail page should have at least three required images: one with the product on a white background, one with the product in an environment, and one with size and fit information.
Previously, product detail pages displayed images from one selling partner.
With this change, if required images are missing from the product detail page, images from multiple selling partners or Amazon will be added when available.
To remove an incorrect image, contact Selling Partner Support.”
When selecting a seller’s images, Amazon will consider brand ownership and licensing rights. All third-party sellers, including those who have brands enrolled in Brand Registry, should be sure their listings are fully optimized and include at least the 3 required images.
All sellers should have 6 images and a product video on each of their private label listings.
However, if you sell a private label product and you are the only third-party seller offering the product, you shouldn’t have to worry about this change.
Product photography tips for Amazon sellers
You could have the best quality product in your niche, but if your product photography stinks, why would anyone want to buy your product?
Buying online can be difficult sometimes — you cannot physically see or touch the product, so all you have are the images and, if you’re lucky, a product video.
Why is Amazon product photography so important?
- Transparency. Customers cannot see the product in person, so they need to see every angle to be sure they know exactly what they’re getting
- Originality. The main hero image needs to be high-quality and compelling enough to pull someone into your product detail page
- Trust. If you provide high-quality images in your listings, customers will be more inclined to trust your brand; low-quality images may reflect poorly on the product itself
- First impressions. Most customers will view your product images first before reading your listing copy; this is your chance to make an impact on the customer’s purchasing decision
- Brand identity. Product photography is a fantastic way to create a unique identity for your brand that helps you stand out on Amazon; never use generic images from your supplier
- Conversion rate. Multiple images and infographics will help increase your conversion rate, meaning the more people who visit your listings, will ultimately purchase your product
- Functionality By creating lifestyle imagery, you help showcase how your product works to your target audience
Product photography is ultimately what will sell your product. If you only have one or two images or poor-quality images, customers will likely click out and go to one of your competitors.
You only have a few seconds to make a good first impression on your potential customers; make sure your images are the best they can be!
Amazon photography guidelines: How to optimize your product photography for conversions
Now that you know why product photography is critical to your success as an Amazon seller, let’s go over how to optimize your Amazon product photography to increase your conversion rate.
1. Make sure you have proper lighting
Before taking photos of your Amazon product, ensure the lighting is right so your product looks as natural as possible. It may be hard to see all of the features if it is too dark; too light and your image will look overexposed.
If you decide to do that photography yourself, get yourself a cheap ring light for photography lighting kit on Amazon. Typically it will come with a few different lights to place in different angles and a lightbox. This will give you a pure white background.
2. High-resolution photos only
No one wants to purchase from an Amazon listing with blurry, low-quality photos. Make sure your images are high-quality and of high resolution.
Amazon’s photography requirements state your images must be at least 1,600 pixels or larger on the longest side for the best resolution and to make your images “zoomable.”
Most modern cameras and smartphones can shoot in a high enough resolution to be acceptable on Amazon.
This is a big reason you should hire a professional if you are not comfortable shooting your own photos or don’t possess the skills to create high-quality images.
3. Make sure your photos occupy at least 85% of the frame
When uploading your images to Amazon, if your product is “too small” within the photo, it will look odd to a customer reading your listing.
Amazon states that the product in the main image of your Amazon listing must take up at least 85% of the image, but that is good advice for all of your images. If the image appears too small, it may be difficult to view important features or angles of your product.
4. Photograph multiple angles of your product
Again, the customer cannot physically see or touch your product in person, so it is important to show every inch of your product in the images. This means taking multiple photos of your product shown from different angles.
If you just show one angle of your product, it may leave the customer wondering what the rest of your product looks like.
5. Take “lifestyle images”
Take your product out into the environment it is meant for and get some “real life” photos of your product in action. For example, if you sell a kitchen product, show the product being used by a model in a kitchen. Or if you are selling a swing, get some photos of someone using it outside.
Lifestyle images are a cool way to showcase how your product works so the customer can picture themselves or a loved one using it.
Must-haves for the best Amazon product photography
1. Create a “scroll-stopping” main image
Your main image is what customers will first see when scrolling through the search results page on Amazon. If your main image is bland or simply blends in with all the other results, your click-through rate may not be where it could be.
Make sure your image is bright, bold, high-quality, and shows your product in a flattering angle. Look at your competitors’ main images and see how you can improve and make yours more appealing.
Remember, when choosing your main image, you must adhere to Amazon’s product image requirements.
I encourage you to read through Amazon’s guidelines, but here are a few of Amazon’s product photo requirements to keep in mind:
- The main image must have a pure white background
- The main image must be a professional photograph, not an illustration or 3D rendering
- The main image must not include any text, logos, or other graphics
- Do not include multiple views of a single product in the main image
2. Add Infographics
Only the main image needs to be on a white background, so you have free range to add text, graphics, and unique backgrounds to your other six images. A great way to stand out and to inform your potential customers of your product is by using product infographics.
Infographics allow you to point out specific features and benefits of your product within the image. Instead of a customer reading through your bullet points or description, they can find out all the information they need by looking through your photos.
Instead of just adding another angle of your product on a white background, add colorful backgrounds and informative text. This is a great way to increase sales of your product.
3. Add as many images as possible
Amazon allows you to add up to seven images, so make sure you take advantage of that space. Add different angles, infographics, and lifestyle images to show how the product is used.
As mentioned above, include as much information as possible (without the image looking overcrowded) so the customer isn’t left wondering more about the product.
4. Include instructional photos
Does your product require some assembly or installation? Demonstrate that process in your images so your potential customers can feel confident in purchasing your product.
5. Comparison charts
With so much competition on Amazon, it is crucial to try to stand out as much as possible and show your potential customers why your product is better than others available.
Using a comparison chart, you can point out features of your product that your competitor’s products don’t offer. If you’ve developed your product to improve upon what is already offered in the market, you need to convey that in an easy-to-consume manner.
Don’t call out any brand in particular but add images of similar products and add a list of features to check off.
Should you hire a professional photographer?
Most sellers don’t know how to take great pictures for their Amazon listings. In today’s competitive market, we believe that hiring a professional photographer and graphic designer for your Amazon product images is imperative. Unless you have a background in photography and have a high-quality camera, leave it to the pros.
You already put a ton of time, effort, and money into this venture, don’t cheap out when it comes to photography. As you can probably imagine from the information above, photography and product images can make or break your Amazon product.
Always hire a professional to do your photography. Depending on many photos you need, you can expect to pay around $200-$300 for quality product photography.
How to hire a professional product photographer
There are a few ways you can hire a professional photographer to run a photoshoot for Amazon products.
1. Search for local photographers in your area
You may be surprised to find many local photographers who can help with your Amazon products. Search on Google, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, and even on social media apps such as Instagram or TikTok.
2. Search for “Amazon product photography service”
By searching for this keyword on Google, you will find many Amazon product photography services you can ship your product to.
3. Search on a freelancer marketplace
Go to a website such as Fiverr or Freelancer.com and search for product photography. There are many reputable photographers on these platforms for a reasonable price.
How is your Amazon product photography?
We hope this article gave you a better understanding of why product photography is so important and how to get the best possible Amazon product photos for your listings.
Do you have any more questions about product photography? Let us know in the comments!
Want to learn more about how you can use Jungle Scout to launch, grow, and run your Amazon business?
Brian Connolly is an Amazon seller, ecommerce expert, and writer for Jungle Scout. He lives in the New Jersey Shore area with his wife and cat. When he isn’t writing advice online for aspiring and experienced Amazon sellers for Jungle Scout, he spends his free time boating, fishing, and selling boating-themed items on his Amazon business.
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