Visually-appealing photos can mean the difference between impressing your customers and sending them fleeing your site.
While creating professional-looking photos may sound daunting, Mashable.com outlined five tips on how to take good photos without breaking a small business budget. Here’s a quick wrap-up of our three favorites:
1) Invest in a light box. A light box can help soften shadows and distribute light evenly in photos. A light box is a great investment, but if it won’t fit in the budget, several websites offer do-it-yourself solutions.
2) Use photo-editing software. Photo editing software can highlight the true colors and textures of a product. Several websites and online videos offer tutorials on effectively using photo-editing programs. But be sure to compare the photo on the screen to the actual product. Customers need to feel confident that products they see online will match what they get in real life.
3) Don’t forget the details. Get the product ready for its close-up. Zooming in on an item’s layers — such as the wood grain or silky texture — can make the product more appealing. For example, food photography details — the steaming bacon, the airy pastry crust — can make a mouth-watering difference.
Source: Mashable, September 2011
