Customers often overlook similar products with equivalent quality and benefits because of their unappealing packaging, as products with stunning appearances are difficult to resist purchasing. That’s why brands come up with innovative ideas to make the appearance of their products stand out from the competition.
Packshot photography is considered one of the most demanding genres of photography in the online business because it allows businesses to showcase their products with eye-catching packaging to customers.
This article will introduce you to packshot photography and go over some valuable tips for taking beautiful packshot photos.
So, without further ado, let’s get straight into the discussion.
What you’ll learn in this article
What is Packshot Photography?
Packshot photography, also known as packaging photography, is a genre of product photography in which the products are shot along with their packaging or labels that contain information about the product, such as its name, brand, and logo.
Packshot photography is an effective eCommerce tool to familiarize customers with the product and its brand. Besides, it presents products with precisely the same appearance that customers will see in real life. So, customers can make purchase decisions with complete transparency.
What Makes a Good Packshot?
The main focus of packshot photography is the product. It is vital to highlight the product’s unique features to make the photos appealing to the customers. For that, the images should be clear and of excellent quality.
To improve your packshots, take into account the following.
- Good Quality Lens
A high-quality lens should be used in addition to a good DSLR or mirrorless camera to maintain the quality of the photos. Usually, for product photography, a 50mm lens is recommended. However, a macro lens works best for packshot photos, as this genre of photography requires taking close shots to capture the details of the products.
- Proper Lighting
The appearance of the product is entirely dependent on the lighting. Unfavorable lighting can make the products look unappealing, whereas harsh lighting can too often lead to shadows, reflections, glares, and other issues. Hence, it is essential to set up the lights properly so they can spread out evenly.
However, even lighting can go wrong when attempting to show the texture of certain products like leather, fabric, etc. In that case, uneven lighting having different intensities is recommended so that light gets reflected to highlight the texture of the products in the photos.
- Utilizing Photography Gears
Photographic gear plays an essential role in making the photographs look appealing and professional. A tripod, a diffuser, and a reflector are among the pieces of equipment that are entirely necessary.
A tripod is necessary for packshot photography, as it keeps the camera steady and aids in capturing clear images. Besides, diffusers like umbrellas and softboxes aid in spreading the light evenly to avoid harsh shadows. Reflectors are also crucial to ensuring even illumination throughout the entire space. So, make the best use of these tools.
- Accurate Angle
Every product category has some distinctive characteristics that can be highlighted from various angles. For creative packshot product photography, you can experiment with the following angles to make the packaging of certain products pop out:
- Front angle: Most products, including those for skincare, makeup, toiletries, clothing photography, etc., have their brand name and logo up front. So, for these kinds of products, this angle works best.
- Back angle: Information regarding the ingredients and process of use is usually mentioned at the back of the product. As the demand for this view is huge among customers, and it also triggers their purchasing decisions, brands try to make that portion lucrative as well.
- Top view: Almost every product, starting from apparel and cosmetics to gadgets, looks appealing from the top. It is among the best methods for displaying the packaging of any size product. This angle is also known as flat lay photography.
- Macro shot: A product’s material and texture are an essential part of its packaging. Especially in the case of purchasing clothes, the texture and color of clothes matter to the customers. Macro photography is the best technique for highlighting these features.
- Profile shot: This type of shot is taken from the side of a product. Usually, this angle is ideal for shoe photography, as the logo is often placed on the sides.
- 45-degree angle: This angle is also helpful for photographing shoes because it allows you to get shots of both the front and the sides of the shoes.
- Attention to Composition
Last but not least, attention should be given to the overall composition. A simple background should be used to keep the products in focus to make the composition attractive. For the indoor shoot, it’s better to use a neutral or white background photography, and a serene location without any visual noise should be used for the outdoor shoot.
Along with that, images should be taken in a way that makes the product the focus of the frame. For that, close-up shots are most suitable. Moreover, maintaining the image’s sharpness will ensure that every detail of the product is photographed.
Who are Benefited from Packshot Photography?
A business isn’t just about one company; many other people collaborate to make a business successful, from production to marketing to distribution. And in this age of eCommerce, all these aspects of business somewhat rely on product photography.
The following is the list of clients for product packshot photography.
Brands
Luxury brands for bags, shoes, cosmetics, and so on launch new products every now and then. To make their varied range of products popular among the customers, they need to advertise them on their website. Besides, they focus more on the packaging to make the products appealing and convey a sense of high quality.
Through packshot photography, the packaging of the products can be highlighted in the best possible way. Additionally, it will aid in improving their sales and building a strong brand image.
Magazine Publishers
In addition to using websites for marketing, companies often run ads in magazines to reach a wider audience of consumers who prefer printed ads. The best type of photography for printed advertisements is product packshots.
Packshots make the product packaging look fantastic in the larger printed advertisements like on the magazine pages. Besides, it presents crisp, product-focused shots, highlighting all of the finer details of the products that can successfully draw customers’ attention.
Online sellers
The eCommerce platform entirely depends on high-quality product photography to run the business. As online consumers can’t observe the products physically, they prefer to see clear images of the products. Besides, high-quality images help to build trust among consumers.
Hence, packshot photography is vital for online sellers to reach potential customers. The high-quality, detailed packshots give customers an idea of what to expect when they receive the products. Moreover, consumers can recognize the products in the physical store by seeing the package shots online.
Packshot Photographers
Packshot photography is a good career option in this modern era of online business. To make the products look captivating, everyone from a wide range of small and large brands to magazines needs the services of skilled packshot photographers.
Professional packshot photographers are thus one of those reaping the rewards of this subgenre of photography.
Packshot Product Photography Tips
You might find the following suggestions helpful to make your packshot photography look professional.
1. Keep the composition simple
The purpose of packshot is to capture the products in their natural state so that consumers don’t feel that they were deceived by showing some extraordinary-looking products that look way different in real life. So, keep the composition as simple and natural as possible.
2. Ensure Actual Color
Customer trust is the most crucial element that has the power to make or break an online business. It is vital to conduct promotion by maintaining the exact color of the product to preserve customers’ trust.
Color sensitivity is especially evident in the apparel business and makeup products, as customers choose these products primarily based on their color preferences.
3. Avoid Using Props
The main focus of packshot photography is the product itself. Although props increase the appeal of a product, they can sometimes divert the focus from the subject. So, to keep the entire focus on the product, it is best to avoid using props.
4. Proper Framing
The most preferred framing style for product photography is the rule of thirds, where the product is placed in one-third of the frame, leaving the rest of the two-thirds portion blank. However, for packshot photography, the product requires to occupy the maximum space in the frame.
That’s why it’s better to position the product at the center of the frame and take the shot from a close distance. Besides, the chances of visual noise will be lower since the product will cover most of the frame.
5. Create a 3D and 360-degree Image
Another way of making your packshots attractive to customers is through 3D and 360-degree images. Products like shoes, bags, and many others may have important details all over their bodies, which is challenging to capture in one single picture.
However, with the support of CGI and editing tools, it is possible to make 3D and 360-degree product photos, which help showcase product details from every angle. Although it is pretty expensive to create this kind of image, its output is incredible.
When to Consider Hiring a Professional Packshot Photographer
Many of you might be worried about the packshot photography price, which may persuade you to try taking photos on your own. However, if you do some research, you might come across experts who will work within your budget.
No matter how big or small your business is, it is best to get help from a professional photographer to create your brand image.
Here are the benefits of hiring a professional:
To get Professional quality photos
A professional packshot photographer is well aware of product types and knows how they should place the product, position the light, set the frame, or even which angle best represents a particular product.
Besides, every platform has its own preferred image size and file type. A professional photographer works while keeping those preferences in mind and provides you with professionally edited, high-resolution photographs that are compatible for use on different eCommerce platforms.
To reduce costs
As a non-professional photographer, it is apparent that you don’t have a packshot studio to shoot your products. So, you would need to buy all the equipment like a camera, lens, lights, and other necessary photography tools.
Instead of spending so much on equipment, you can save some money by hiring a professional packshot photographer, as they generally have their own well-equipped packshot photography studio.
To achieve a consistent result
A brand’s credibility can be inferred from photography that maintains a consistent aesthetic. However, shooting products by amateur or multiple professional photographers will result in various photographic styles, making the products appear uncoordinated.
Photographers spend a lifetime perfecting their unique photographic styles. Hence, you can ensure the consistency of your product photographs in terms of framing, lighting, and color composition by hiring a specific professional photographer, which will eventually help to develop a consistent brand image.
Get Your Packshot Photos Edited By Professionals
Packshot retouching is a must before using them for business because raw photos frequently need to have color corrected, light problems fixed, backgrounds fixed, and many other issues fixed to make them a customer-alluring packshot.
Since consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by how appealing a product appears in images, every small and large brand heavily relies on photo editing services. Many photographers also choose to outsource their photographs to save time and energy. However, retouched images from photographers require additional charges, which many business owners can save by hiring Adobe photoshop experts.
An experienced photo outsourcing agency like Clipping Path Studio offers a wide range of services at a reasonable price that will enhance your packshot and ensure a boost in your sales.
Why should you choose Clipping Path Studio?
- 150+ certified professionals
- Guaranteed professional quality high-resolution images
- Accepts large orders & discount
- Fast delivery
Final Thoughts
Packshot photography is a simple yet effective technique to promote products to customers. As the primary goal of packshot photos is to highlight the product packaging, there is no need for artistic composition. Still, it is essential to use lighting strategically to capture the details of the packaging of the products.
We believe you have gained enough insight regarding packshot photography, which you can successfully utilize for your upcoming shoots.
