Product photography is a science unto itself because so much preparation and calculation go into getting the perfect shot. From figuring out the best environment to picking the right people to photograph using your products, these details help your customers feel more connected to what you sell.

The human brain loves images and can identify them in mere milliseconds, giving you more incentive to make sure your business and its products are shown in the best light.

So, let’s talk about what your marketing images can do and how to help people see themselves in them.

The power of product visuals in marketing

Choosing the right or, let’s say, near-perfect images can influence people’s opinions about your products. In one study, researchers found that buyers believed certain products (e.g., hand creme) were more effective when physically paired with the problem they solved (e.g., dried, cracked hands).

This works well for products providing an immediate benefit. However, for those with a longer path to achieving the outcome potential buyers want (think getting fit fitness equipment), the impact was still there but reduced.

When what you’re selling 1) satisfies the image people have about themselves and 2) checks the box of solving the problem(s) they’re dealing with, your goods have a higher chance of your ideal customers buying them.

What should your product imagery do in your advertising?

People want to see themselves in the products they buy, whether it’s a dream vacation or orthopedic shoe inserts for flat feet. They want to know that they’ll get the outcome promised to them in exchange for their hard-earned money.

Here are a few things to remember so you can tell better visual stories with your product images in your marketing.

Highlight the details

Are your products handcrafted? Custom? Are they made using rare ingredients? Show them off! Your product photography can accentuate and highlight the features and qualities that make them so special.

Close-up and detailed images can showcase the work that went into producing your products. Focusing on those unique qualities helps you tell a better story about how what you sell solves a challenge, meets a goal, or promotes a buyer’s belief about themselves.

Show common and uncommon use cases

Lifestyle images create relatable moments for your customers, giving them the assurance that what you’re offering fits into their lives.

Researching your ideal customer reveals how they use your products, which can sometimes be in ways you didn’t expect. Showing those more uncommon use cases, in addition to the common ones, can help buyers understand the versatility of your products.

Show off a product’s strength

Scratch it, flip it, drop it. Demonstrate how much your product can take. This means showing how it stands up against anything you can literally—or figuratively—throw at it.

For instance, advertising for trucks, specifically pickups, often shows these vehicles driving through rugged terrain, hauling heavy loads, and carrying cargo. Imagery like this proves to potential buyers that they’ll get a reliable, solid truck.

This type of display illustrates a product’s strengths and how it operates under normal and extreme conditions. It also gives you a tool to help potential customers feel confident about the quality of your company’s goods.

Create an emotional connection

Some products yield themselves well to creating an emotional connection with their audience. Think of baby products. Most of the imagery shows happy babies in diapers playing with toys or parents lovingly cuddling their babies surrounded by soft light and soothing colors.

In both scenarios, this imagery is meant to evoke feelings of calm and protectiveness for the child.

Playing with color and texture in your product photography and experimenting with its environment can create an experience for your audience, helping them feel further connected to it.

Shine a spotlight on your product’s supply chain

From start to finish, many people want to know where the things they buy come from. Your product imagery is a chance to address customers’ concerns and educate them about your company’s supply chain.

Highlighting those origins can help give shoppers a sense of all the hands involved in the process so they can make informed decisions about who and what their money supports. One way to do this is to include pictures of the land or facilities where your products are produced and the people responsible for making them.

Put your audience at the center of your product imagery

Your marketing can change minds and start conversations. It’s essential to keep testing and refining the images used in your marketing to match the information gathered about your audience.

This data will give you insights that will help you adjust your product photos so they continue to connect with your buyers and their demands. By taking the time to research them, you can understand how they use those products and what they want to achieve.

When buyers associate with your business and its products, they will feel more comfortable buying from you and sharing your brand with others.