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Physical Attraction and Photography... Why It Matters Online

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Did this title get your attention? If so, then  you can relate firsthand to the power that strong images and attraction have. Likewise, you can relate to the lack of power images may have if they do nothing to capture - or keep - your attention. Now imagine these images aren't of anything particularly exciting, but rather everyday consumer goods that are sold online to customers across the world.

Good product photographs tell a story and evoke emotion," explains David Nawrocki, founder of Retail Studio Effect, a company that delivers modified photographs of products to appear as if they were originally photographed in a professional studio. Their main goal is to edit images to deliver a clean, professional final product image without the cost of traditional photographers and studios - allowing more and more online stores to keep up with the rapid competition and growth of selling online.

With an estimated 110,000 English speaking e-commerce sites, it's no surprise that every detail counts when selling online - including both images and content.

RJMetrics, an e-commerce data analytics firm, recently estimated there are 110,000 e-commerce sites in the English-speaking world generating significant revenue. That includes retailers, but also travel sites, providers of digital content and companies selling products online to businesses," Editor-in-Chief Don Davis from Internet Retailer magazine states.

Clearly, online competition is tough. And when you consider the attention span of your average online shopper, you would think it's nearly impossible to ever capture a sale online. StatisticBrain.com reported in January 2014 that the average online user has an attention span of about 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000. Additionally, they reported that on a web page with around 100 words, the average user only reads about 49% of the total words available to read... which indirectly tells us that images offer more opportunity than words to capture consumer attention. So just what can an online seller do to increase their chance of using images to help secure sales?

When you sell online - whether it's a luxury item or everyday household product  - distortion is your enemy since it misrepresents your product and misleads your consumer understanding. To avoid this, you want to have your product image surrounded by a consistent light and avoid shadows. If you can't do this yourself, using a studio effect service like Retail Studio Effect can deliver the same end result. Additionally, a simple background should always be used, and a seamless background is ideal for most product images.  An image with a scene or cluttered background is distracting to the customer, so your goal should be to keep your customer's attention focused on the product you are selling," Nawrocki explains.

Nawrocki further explains ways in which you can strengthen your product photography, providing these three tips:

  1. Photograph outside on a cloudy day. The best diffused light is sun and clouds.
  2. Don’t look down at your product. Placing your camera above your product usually leads to distortion.  Place your product at eye level.
  3. Use a tripod. A steady camera creates a sharper photograph.

Keeping these best practices in mind, online sellers should also be aware of who their ideal buyer is - then aim to deliver a quality image and overall online experience that will appeal to this audience. Additionally, consider the hurdles you face when selling online. As Davis from Internet Retailer magazine explains with us, it's the lack of sensory experience that can often get in the way of having online sales success.

The biggest obstacle to online shopping is that consumers want to see, touch and sometimes try on items they’re considering. As a result, online retailers have invested heavily in providing more visual information. That includes allowing consumers to zoom in on product images, see items from a variety of angles and in a variety of colors, and adding product videos that show a model wearing a dress or explaining how to set up a power tool. I expect there will continue to be a great deal of investment in product imagery as online shopping becomes ever more mainstream," Davis states.

Whether you sell online or buy online, there's no doubt images make a difference in your total experience. You yourself have your own ideals of attraction and what stops you in your tracks. The key is to deliver this same type of experience through online imagery that not only keeps customer attention, but leads to sales. After all,whether you are selling or buying, the end goal of making a transaction is the same.

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the author of Retail 101: The Guide to Marketing and Managing Your Retail Business. Gain more retail insight from Retail 101, the book, here!