LIFESTYLE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND IDEAS
Lifestyle product photography is all about giving your customers context and allowing themselves to imagine how to use your product goes a long way to hitting those conversions. It also speaks to your visual branding and help you stand out from your competition. In this post, we share some basic lifestyle product photography tips and ideas to get you started.
Start with a Vision
Whether you choose to do-it-yourself or decide to hire a professional photographer, it helps to come armed with an idea of how you want your brand and products portrayed.
The first step in effective lifestyle product photography is developing a solid concept that reflects your brand image. Customers are looking for a story that reflects their values and aspirations. This means getting real specific as to who you are as a brand and as a company.
Vision boards, Pinterest, and Instagram are all great resources you can use to land on the look, feel, and tone appropriate for your products. Determine what resonates with your audience the most and create your desired mood or vibe from there.
Make sure your design language works alongside your logo, webpage, and overall aesthetic. These go hand in hand in expressing your brand’s character and conveying the emotions you want to stir in your customers.
Sometimes Less Is More
Minimalism has been a hot trend for quite some time, and lifestyle product photography is no exception. Your typical product photography on a white background is minimalist by definition. But adding just the right elements to your photos can make them even more appealing.
Minimalism doesn’t mean showing as little as possible; it can also mean only including what is essential. Product photographers can achieve this by using the right props laid out in a particular way or through creative color choices and high contrast images. You can create a bold statement that makes your product pop and emphasize certain qualities so they stand out even more.
An example of what a simple pop of color can do for your image
This style not only allows you to focus on your product, but it also can also create a clean and elegant look. It also puts you in a creative mindset of how you can maximize your resources, paying close attention to photography fundamentals like lighting, composition, and camera angle, while making use of the props and backgrounds you have available.
Use Props and Backgrounds
There are many different approaches you can employ when it comes to props and backgrounds. A strategic use of these elements can radically shift the context of a product.
You can create a scene to give your customers context as to how the product is used. For example, using tiles and mirrors when shooting beauty products that are used in the bathroom.
You can also show the ingredients used in certain products, especially when it comes to cosmetics and food photography. This adds texture and interest, while also emphasizing the products’ organic nature. You can also incorporate everyday household items to help tell your story.
A simple colored background or a sparse use of props can go a long way in creating the vibe you want.
Add ingredients like fresh fruit to give your image a little context and interest
Mannequin or Model?
When it comes to fashion, apparel, shoes, and accessories, you have several options at your disposal. But keep in mind there are tradeoffs for each.
Using a mannequin is a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to display any type of garment, but they do require more effort to style. The upside is getting clean and consistent images that put the focus on the clothes, ensuring your brand’s style shines through.
Just having a hand model adds that extra human touch to make your product more appealing
On the other hand, hiring a model also has its advantages (even if you’re just showing their hands). You can show off clothes from different angles, highlight details with ease, and also create movement. This helps buyers not only visualize how the product should be used, but also goes a long way in allowing them to imagine the lifestyle you’re portraying.
Models also give your products a sense of scale, whether it’s how a dress fits, how long a necklace is, or even how big or small a piece of furniture looks.
Always Optimize for Mobile
Mobile accounts for a huge chunk of how we consume media, and that includes how we shop online. That’s why everything digital is optimized for it, whether it’s social media, an app, a website, or an online store. This means your product photography needs to adapt to these consumer behaviors.
Screen space is limited, so make sure you can reformat your content to be vertically-oriented and uploaded with the right compression to load quickly without sacrificing quality.
Video is King
There’s a reason more and more product photographers offer video as part of their services. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram Reels all favor video over photos and text. That’s because these are inherently more visually appealing and generate more reach and engagement. The medium lends itself to a wide array of possibilities. You can tell stories, pack it with information, and showcase multiple angles of a product.
If you’re promoting your brand on Facebook and Instagram, it’s important to note that their algorithms love videos, especially if you’re using Reels. This allows you to “skip the line” as IG looks to push Reels to compete with TitTok, therefore prioritizing short form video content over any other.
As e-commerce continues to grow, brands and sellers are hard pressed to stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace. But with a little bit of creativity, your lifestyle product photography can help you capture your customers’ attention to hit your sales targets.
Send us a message to find out more about our professional services for e-commerce photography and video. We have the knowledge and experience to help you conceptualize your shoot in creative ways so you can differentiate yourself from your competition.