A great photograph in marketing can help you portray an idea to your audience. After that, it will also influence your audience to take a specific action, such as purchasing. The best part is that hero shot photography can help you achieve these aims.
Hero shot photography is a product image that is enriched using lighting, retouching, editing, background, and more. The primary aim is to offer context to the photographed object while communicating the brand spirit. Hero shots are mostly used for landing pages, category pages, and social media.
Here is a complete guide to help you understand what hero shot photography is.
The Basics Of Hero Shot Photography
Hero shot photography is the ideal choice for your website or online store. It revolves around one brand’s idea, feature, or characteristic and enhances that to communicate an idea. It utilizes fewer resources than a commercial shoot but can have a lasting impact.
That is because it enhances the product as editors spend hours retouching the photograph and making it look more polished. After all, visual content compels us to take action better than anything else. So, it is important for you to include this photo on your website or online store.
The Top Features Of Hero Shot Photography
Now that you are familiar with the basics of hero shot photography, here are the top features it offers:
1. Using The Product As The Hero
Of course, as the name suggests, hero shot photography will have one hero or star of the show. That will be the product that you want to sell to the consumer. The idea behind such a shot is to ensure that potential customers can familiarize themselves with the product and take action to buy.
There are no strict guidelines on how much of your product should take over the photograph. However, the product must be fully in the photograph while facing the camera directly or at a slight angle. This does not mean that you ignore other aspects, as you have to bring everything together to create a branded image.
2. Adding Context And Mood
Hero shot photography is more than just the product. You will also have to utilize the context and mood to your advantage. You must incorporate your brand identity into the image using the mood and ambiance.
By the time you are done, the photograph must be aesthetically pleasing while showing the product in the best way possible. Creating context will also help your audience understand what the product is about.
3. Using Lighting, Background, And Props
Another important characteristic of hero shot photography is the use of lighting, props, and background. You must think about how you can inject an intangible spirit into visual content. The best way to do this is to combine these elements together and ensure cohesiveness.
The picture must look great on everything, from your social media pages to your online store and website. So, don’t forget to leverage the power of these elements for the best final shot.
How To Drive Conversions Using Hero Shot Photography
Hero shot photography can be one of the best ways to boost your online store or website conversions. Here are the top ways you can use such photography to enhance conversions:
1. Matching The Keywords
If you want your hero shot to be effective, it must match the media that lead the potential customer to the post-click landing page. For example, if a prospect clicks on an ad on Google for renovation services, it must land them on your page where you have an image of your renovation service. People always Google a specific word or phrase that works as the keyword.
Google offers them various links that lead to websites based on these keywords. As the prospects click on these links, they find what they are looking for. So, you must ensure that your photograph keyword matches search results to target people more effectively and boost conversions.
2. Relevance
A question you must ask yourself is, is your hero shot relevant to the needs of the prospect? That is because customers are always looking for products that solve a specific problem they have. For example, a prospect is looking for comfort at the office and home, which is why they search for a cozy lounge chair.
You can use the online promotion and hero shot to showcase to the prospect how your product will solve this problem. The key is to ensure that the product photo works even without any text or slogans. If it doesn’t, then you don’t have a hero shot yet.
3. The Rest Of The Page
Does the rest of the product page support your hero shot? While we just established that it must work without any slogan or text, you must still include other things. After all, you don’t want an image to stand alone on the landing page without offering any context to your customers.
That is why you can include various things, such as headlines, testimonials, CTA (call-to-action) buttons, and more. These elements must add value to your hero shot. You can write the headlines below your images as customers are more likely to read them if they are below the image.
4. Emotions And Feelings
Marketing tactics are all about invoking the right feelings and emotions in potential customers so they can take action. That is why your hero shot must be emotionally convincing so that your product sells out in no time. For example, if you are trying to sell comfortable chairs, you can convey this through a relaxed atmosphere of a café.
Doing this will allow people to imagine sitting with their friends on these chairs and enjoying a nice meal, coffee, or conversation. Such visual triggers are crucial as they promise the buyer that they can create the same mood and ambiance in their home or restaurant if they buy these chairs.
5. Unique Product Visuals
Finally, if you want to enhance conversions, then the product visuals must be unique. You want your prospects to look at the image and understand that they have not seen this before. A hero shot will represent the product in a creative and innovative manner.
You can achieve this aim by using composition, angles, light, shadows, storyline, and more to get your perfect hero shot. The best part is that you can use these elements to take a mundane product and represent it in a jaw-dropping manner. So, think about these elements in detail and see what will work best for your product.
Applications Of Hero Shots
While you can use the hero shot on your landing page to boost conversions, it also has other applications. You can use these images in different places to get the most out of this photography. Here are the top applications of hero shots you can opt for:
1. Product Photo
Of course, the top application of this shot is that you can use it as a product photo in your online store. After all, you have to showcase the product, and there is no better way to do this than the hero shot. Even as a product photo, you can use it in different scenarios.
You can use the hero shot for the product page as the:
First Image
You can use the hero shot as the first image of the product image to showcase all that your product is about. It will reduce the clutter, and the focus will be on the product. The user can also understand the functionality of the product through this image.
Final Image
If you use the hero shot in the final image, it can invoke emotions at the end and compel the user to buy the product. It will still give the idea of uniform product images throughout the entire category while saving the perfect shot for the end.
2. Category Image On The Online Store
Hero shots can be ideal for the category image of your online store. That is because they are functional while conveying a feeling an emotion you want to invoke. Of course, the category of the product might have a separate page or submenu, depending on the architecture of your online store.
So, apart from using the hero shot on the product page, you can also use it as a category image. Where you choose to post the image depends on the emotions you want to invoke and when you want the customers to take action.
3. Social Media Pages
Of course, the social media platform of your online store will be incomplete without the hero shot. Platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are all about visuals, which is why standard product photo images can fail to capture your audience’s attention. The key is to use the right and bright composition for your social media pages.
You can combine the bright composition with a unique angle to complement your social media pages. These platforms are visually competitive, which is why you must do everything you can to stand out from the crowd.
Top Tips For Hero Shot Photography
Are you looking to create a meaningful hero shot but don’t know where to begin or what to do? If you are, here are the top tips you can apply to your hero shot photography:
1. Hire A Professional Photographer
The best way to get the most out of your hero shot is to hire a professional. They have the best creative ideas and can help enhance your campaign in no time. In addition, professionals know what elements to use and how to use them to create the perfect hero shot.
That is why if you don’t know where to begin your hero shot photography, you can begin with a professional photographer. Such professionals will ensure that the hero shot fulfills your business needs and purpose.
2. Take Various Hero Shots
When you are taking hero shots, you must experiment with many different ones. It will allow you to choose the best one. Besides that, taking hero shots is a process of trial and error, which is why you must not rely on one.
Here are the various hero shots you can experiment with:
- Close-up shot: It showcases a close-up of the product and its features
- Down shot: It uses the perspective where the product is directly above the shot
- Establishing shot: It showcases the entire environment or scene where the product is shot
- Full shot: It focuses on the full product as it takes up the most space in the photograph
Of course, there are many other shots you can experiment with. However, these are the basic ones you can begin with and then take your hero shots even further for the best results.
3. Keep It Authentic
It is important to maintain the authenticity of the image and the product in the hero shot. You can make it authentic by ensuring that it is specifically for the needs of your business and solves the customer’s problem. Besides that, using natural light is also a great way to keep the photograph authentic.
4. Keep It Consistent
Finally, the hero shot must be consistent with your brand identity, logo, color palette, and more. It must align with your brand and the rest of the page where you will upload the shot. For example, a consistent color scheme will work great together as it will offer intentional use and design.
Final Words
That was everything you should know about hero shot photography. It is one of the most important product photography you can do to showcase your product in the best way possible. In the long run, it will help boost conversions as it will focus on the product and compel people to purchase what you are selling.
So, be sure to include hero shot photography on your website, online store, social media platforms, and much more. Doing this will help the audience understand your product and buy it in no time. Don’t forget to follow our guide for the best results.
