How to Take Product Photos & Image Requirements for an Ecommerce Store - a Complete Guide

Introduction

Being an entrepreneur in this digital age and e-commerce means knowing one or two things about product photography. You need to know how to take product photos that are presentable and attractive to your target audience so that when they come across it on an eCommerce store, it'll very much capture them.

Just imagine you are shopping for Greek yogurt on Amazon or any other reputable eCommerce store, and all you see are a bunch of eCommerce stores with blurry product images. Several things run through your mind, but I can bet that the one thought that'll stand out for you is how you can't trust these stores with blurry images. Somewhere in the corner of your mind, you'd think these stores are most likely trying to hide something, possibly the yogurt's expiration date as inscribed on the wrap.

I mean, it sure would look like a feeble attempt at scamming. And, let's face it, no eCommerce venture has an excuse not to make clear, clean, and beautiful product images, and the recent iPhone series with a clear camera made sure of that. Besides, every eCommerce site has guidelines for the kind of pictures eCommerce store owners should upload.

So, if you survive on the eCommerce streets as an entrepreneur, we share some tips and tricks on how to take good product photos. We also expose you to the product image requirements for the top eCommerce website on earth today. Let's dive in.

How To Take Amazing Product Photos For Ecommerce? Step By Step Process

The first step to taking excellent eCommerce product images is to get the right equipment regardless of the platform. Frankly, you don't need to invest a considerable portion of your budget on your income to get an excellent picture for your eCommerce store. You'll learn a few things about the equipment and some product photography tips that you'll need to get the right images for your products that would definitely help you. Keep reading.

eCommerce Product Photography With This Equipment

Camera:

‍Obviously, the first piece you'll need of a product photography setup is a camera. If you can go out of your way to get a high-end megapixel camera, without leaving a hole in your pocket, by all means, be our guest. But, consider this section a friendly reminder that you do not have to break the bank to invest in a camera and its other gears like a camera lens and flashlight to take great product photography.

You'd very well agree with me that all of those are expensive. You can always take a great shot with your smartphone. If you're wondering how to take product photos with iPhone and Samsung android, they already have their camera lenses and settings modified to help you take beautiful picture shots.

Tripod:

‍It doesn't matter if you intend to do your product shoot with a camera or an iPhone; you need a tripod to get stable and great pictures. Trust me; you can't rely on your hands or a stack of books to take consistent shots. Your hands would get shaky, and the books or DIY tripod could trip and fall, sending your camera or iPhone to smash into the ground without mercy.

You can get tripods at affordable prices and of different sizes. The market is flooded with adjustable tripods that allow you to adjust your phone or camera to get great shots. There's the traditional and flexible tripod. While the conventional tripod is good, adjustable tripods are a better investment because they allow your phone or camera to assume different positions to get great product photographs. 

White Background:

‍As an entrepreneur, you should stick to a white background for your product photography. The reason is, it blends with any product you photograph. When shopping for the ideal background, a white paper sweep is easy to manage.

You can easily cut off parts of the paper sweep that get dirty to ruin your picture. You can also opt for off-white. However, if you're great with color mixing in a way that won't compromise the image of the product you want to sell, you can further buy other colors of backgrounds.

Bounce Cards:

‍When shooting indoors and you're relying on natural light through the window or sunlight, you'll need bounce cards to help you thin out the shadow or thicken them; it all depends on the product and background in question. Bounce cards are helpful as they eliminate shadows that stem from shooting with window light or sunlight.

When natural light beams on your product, it brightens parts of your products while creating shadows in other parts. Bounce cards eliminate or heighten the shadows in different contexts.

A black bounce card is excellent for when you're shooting a white product against a white background. It would add that dark effect to your product that makes it look professional. A white bounce card does the opposite, and it eliminates shadows from your pictures.

A Room Flooded with Light:

‍To play with natural light, you should do your shoot in a room that's flooded with light. The location for your shoot should either be outdoors or a room with many windows where light penetrates. If you don't like shadows in your image, a room flooded with light would quickly eliminate a shadow from your picture.

You'll need other types of equipment to take great product photographs, including a standard folding table 24 or 27 inches wide. Tapes or clamps would also come in handy.

How to take professional product photos in a few steps

There's no rule for how aesthetically appealing your product photograph can be. If you have an eye for aesthetics, you should naturally determine what you expect the pictures to look like and how you want the light to look. Keep reading to discover how to make use of the above-highlighted equipment to create magical e-commerce product images.

Set-Up the Space:

Here, you'll need to set up your table and background how you want it to look. If you have an image of what the scene looks like, by all means, replicate it the way you desire. Ensure that natural light beams into the room at the intensity you want.

If you need to set up your ring lights to eliminate shadows:

1. Set it up too. If you're going to use bounce cards, you need to determine the angle they'll sit on.
2. Set up the background.
3. If you're shooting your product with a concept in mind, set up the props that'll bring the idea alive in the picture.

If you choose to adopt beach vibes for your product, feel free to use them to enhance the quality of your images.

 

Set up your camera:

If you're going to use a camera for the shoot, you should start setting up your camera after you've set up your space. With a camera, you need to adjust the aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc., to fit the setting you've created for your product. You should also check if there is a memory card in the camera and if the camera is well plugged.

You might also need to clean your camera lens. You should skip all the camera settings adjustment phase if you're going to take the shoot with your phone. Here, you'll only have to bother about setting the tripod for your eCommerce product photography shoot. You can use the fisheye lens with your phone to add to the beauty and effect of your picture.‍

Place your product on the Set:

That way, you'll quickly tell which angle your camera has to face to capture the essence of your product at the right angle. So, it's good to set up the product right after the lightning, the set, and your camera has been set. That way, you'll know if you should adjust the camera setting or see if you need to increase or decrease the lighting.

Take Picture:

1. Once you adjust everything to your taste, don't hesitate to click the camera dozens of times.
2. Don't only take a single picture.
3. Take multiple photos of the product from the same angle and different angles.

You want to give your customers different angles of the product and many photos so they know the quality of what they are about to invest their money in.

You can ask a friend to model your product for you, depending on what the product is. If it's a dress, you'd want to take pictures of the clothing without a mannequin hanging on a hanger and a person's body, or you could use a dummy. 

Edit and Retouch the Pictures:

After taking several picture shots, and you're satisfied with the images you have, feel free to edit the pictures so they look more visually stunning. You can retouch the photos with Photoshop or other software that you find comfortable or easy to use. And you can also take the help of a professional photo editing service provider.

Voila! You have visually appealing product photography.

Product Image Requirements for Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Etsy, and other eCommerce Stores:

The different e-commerce stores that exist have different eCommerce product image requirements. Below, we explore the image requirements for popular eCommerce stores so that they'll guide you when you've created your product photography.

Amazon image size & requirements

• To sell successfully on Amazon, your product image size shouldn't be at least 1000 pixels in height or width by 1600 pixels height or width. The maximum for your amazon product image size is 10,000 pixels.
  

Amazon seller image guidelines:

• Amazon supports formats like JPEG, TIFF, GIF, or PNG. The product identifier should come first, the period, and the file extension when naming the image. Other guidelines include; photos and title must match, images in focus and look professional, images should be sexually suggestive, images shouldn't include trademarks, the product must occupy 85% of the picture you submit, etc.
  

Shopify image size & requirements

• The ideal image size for the Shopify image size is 20 MB with 800 x 800 pixels minimum. The ideal for square product photos is 2048 x 2048 pixels, and the maximum is 4472 x 4472 pixels.
  

Shopify seller image guidelines:

• The correct image format for Shopify is JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and BMP. To fit both the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your pictures should be in a square format, with the product laying vertically or horizontally in the frame.
  

eBay image size & requirements 

• The eBay picture size shouldn't exceed 12MB with 500x500 pixels minimum height and width and a maximum of 9,000 x 9,000 pixels.
  

eBay seller image guidelines:

• The format for eBay pictures includes JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and GIF. Also, you can upload up to 24 images per listing, and 24 images per variation. The acceptable background ranges from light grey to white.
  

Etsy image size & requirements

• The pixel image size for the Etsy product image is 1 MB.
  

Etsy seller image guidelines:

• Supported file format includes JPG, PNG, and GIFs. You should put listing images in orientation square or landscape, etc.
  

Walmart image size & requirements

• Image sizes are better in 1 MB.
  

Walmart seller image guidelines:

• Walmart accepts images in JPEG, JPG, PNG, and BMP. You have to upload your image in the 4:3 portrait aspect ratio compulsorily.

Newegg image size & requirements

• Pictures must be 10MB to be on this site.
  

Newegg seller image guidelines:

• This website accepts images that are 640 pixels in width and 480 pixels in height. Your images shouldn't be blurry or have watermarks; the white background is perfect, do not upload similar pictures, and should be borderless.
  

Rakuten image size & requirements

• Image size is 600×600 pixels.
  

Rakuten seller image guidelines:

• This site requires you to have at least one picture for the products you list.
  

Target image size & requirements

• The minimum pixel size for target pictures is 1200x1200, with the maximum being 2400x2400 pixels.
  

Target seller image guidelines:

• The picture should be shot against a white background. Ensure there's lighting from the left.
  

Flipkart image size & requirements

• Image width and height shouldn't exceed 1000 pixels.
  

Flipkart seller image guidelines:

• This website requires white background for every product image. The image format includes JPEG, GIF, PNG, and TIFF. The mode of color for your product picture should either be SRGB or CMYK.
  

Best Buy image size & requirements

• The image pixel size for this eCommerce store is 800 X 800 pixels.
  

Best Buy seller image guidelines:

• Ensure the product uses a white background and is not blurry.
  
  

FAQ

Why is Product Image important for eCommerce Store?

It is the first impression people will have of the product. Your photos are your showcase, so your eCommerce product image must be good and look professional to attract potential buyers to the product and your store. It also helps the potential buyer have a visual representation of the product's details.

Where can I get product images for eCommerce?

Sometimes, you might not need to do a new photoshoot for a product. You can get images for eCommerce from sites like Pixabay, Pexels, Get Rafe, Kaboom Pics, and Foodies Feed.

How do I create a product image for eCommerce?

There are a few ways to create e-commerce images. You can download off free picture sites or take a picture of the product yourself. You could also ask a professional photographer to help you take photos of your product.

How can I get free product images?

You can get free product images when you source for them on free picture websites like Pixabay and Pexels.

Can I use product images from official websites?

Yes, you can. However, if the images from the official website are protected under copyright law, you'll need to get the permission of the brand to use the picture.

Final thought

There are many eCommerce websites these days. But before you jump on any of the available websites, you have to ensure that the eCommerce site has enough traffic that'll earn you sales. Also, you have to highlight your goals and needs when trying to decide which eCommerce store to opt for.

The reason is that every eCommerce store is unique, and some are set up for specific niches, and their payment method differs. Once you select your desired eCommerce store, find out what the image requirement is so you won't have issues with it.