Product photography for e-commerce: The complete guide

Product images are the only thing your customers have to judge a product by in an online shop. They can't touch it or try it. The image is the product. And poor images cost you sales every single day.

Here's a complete guide to product images that actually sell.

The four types of product images you need

Most online shops only use one type of product image — packshots on a white background. That's a good start, but it's not enough. Here are the four types you should have:

1. Packshot (white background) — the standard image for product catalogues, Google Shopping, and marketplaces. The product alone, sharp and with correct colour reproduction, on a clean white background. This is the image that appears in search results and product listings.

2. Lifestyle image (in-context) — the product in use, in a real context. A coffee cup on a desk. A pair of shoes for a night out. Lifestyle images build emotion and help the customer imagine the product in their own life. They typically perform best on social media.

3. Detail image (close-up) — close up on the material, texture, stitching, finish. Detail images answer the question "is the quality good enough?" — a question customers can't answer physically in an online shop.

4. Scale image (size) — shows the product's actual size relative to a familiar object. A bag next to a laptop. A vase next to a hand. Scale images reduce return rates because the customer knows what they're getting.

What does product photography cost?

The price depends on the number of products, complexity, and styling. For larger quantities, we offer volume discounts. Simple packshots on a white background cost less than lifestyle images with props and styling.

To put it in perspective: 10 products professionally photographed costs roughly the same as half a year's stock photo subscription — but the images are yours, they show your actual products, and they can be used for years. Contact us for a precise quote based on your range.

A good investment is to combine product photography with commercial photography — so you cover both product images and company images in one day.

Image requirements on major platforms

Each sales channel has its own requirements for product images. Here are the key ones:

Tip: always photograph at the highest resolution and crop afterwards. It's far easier to downscale than to upscale.

DIY product photography: Can you do it yourself?

The honest answer: yes, in some cases. No, in most.

You can manage yourself if:

• You have simple products on a white background (a book, a box, a bottle)
• You have a lightbox (from 500 kr) and a modern smartphone with good camera resolution
• You only need the images for your own webshop, not for Amazon or Google Shopping
• You have fewer than 10 products and are in an early testing phase

You should hire a professional if:

• You have 50+ products — consistency across hundreds of images is difficult to achieve manually
• Your products are reflective (glass, metal, jewellery) — lighting reflections requires experience
• You need clipping paths — cutting out products for white backgrounds is time-consuming manually
• You want lifestyle images — styling, composition, and lighting in context requires equipment and an eye for it

Rule of thumb: start with DIY if you have a small range and a tight budget. But consider a professional as soon as your products are your primary sales channel. The difference in quality is visible — and it affects conversion. See also commercial photographer vs. stock photos for a broader comparison.

5 mistakes that ruin your product images

We see them again and again — and they're all easy to avoid once you know what to look for:

1. Inconsistent lighting — each image looks different, and the webshop feels messy and unprofessional. Solution: use the same lighting setup for all products and photograph in batches.

2. Wrong colours — the customer receives a product that doesn't match the image. That's the fastest route to a return and a bad review. Solution: calibrate your screen and work with RAW files that allow precise colour adjustment.

3. Too low resolution — the image looks fine on mobile but is pixelated on a desktop screen. Solution: always photograph at the highest resolution and deliver at least 2048 × 2048 px.

4. Missing alt text — Google can't see your images. Without alt text, you lose visibility in image search and Google Shopping. Solution: describe the product in the alt text ("Red leather bag, 30 × 20 cm, front view"), not "image-1.jpg".

5. Only one angle per product — customers want to see the back, the bottom, the details, and the product in context. One angle isn't enough. A minimum of 3–5 images per product is the standard today.

Prepare for a product shoot

An hour of preparation can save you hours in the studio. Here's a checklist:

• Clean products — remove fingerprints, dust, marks, and price tags. It sounds trivial, but it's the most common time drain at photo shoots.
• Shot list — write down exactly which products need to be photographed, from which angles, and with what styling.
• Reference images — show the photographer examples of what you'd like to achieve. Style, mood, lighting, composition.
• Packaging — should the product be photographed with or without packaging? Both? Clarify this in advance.
• Props and styling — lifestyle images need context. A coffee cup needs a background, a surface, perhaps a book alongside it. Plan it in advance.

The more you prepare, the more products we can photograph in the time we have — and the cheaper it becomes per product. For more on how to think about product photography as part of a broader image strategy, see our guide to building a professional image library.

Images that sell

Good product images aren't an expense — they're an investment in conversion rate. Every image that convinces a customer to add the product to their basket instead of clicking away pays for itself many times over.