If you want to enhance your brand identity, lifestyle product photography is an excellent choice for you. It will help you improve the visuals of your website while helping you to convert leads. That is why it is crucial for online stores and brands to know lifestyle product photography.
Lifestyle product photography is the art of photographing the product within a styled and personalized scene. For example, it can sometimes even feature models. The primary aim is to introduce the idea of a certain aesthetic and lifestyle to the potential customer.
So, if you are looking to incorporate lifestyle product photography into your online store, you are in the right place. Here is everything you must know about it.
The Basics Of Lifestyle Product Photography
Lifestyle product photography is also known as in-context photography. It is where you create a scene to offer a certain lifestyle and aesthetic that your target audience will be interested in. It is the art of crafting an image that will inspire your potential customer to envision your product in their hands.
The key to excellent lifestyle product photography is to pay attention to the details. That is because you have to promote a certain aesthetic or lifestyle without making it look cheesy or exaggerated.
Aligning Lifestyle Product Photography With Branding
An important element is to align your lifestyle product photography with your brand identity. For example, if your brand has handcrafted items and exudes warmth, then you can reflect that in your lifestyle product photography. You can use casual posing, clean and bright photography, and personalized touches to showcase your brand identity in the photography.
Besides that, you must align your color palette with your brand so that everything can look and feel cohesive. Finally, a great lifestyle product photo is all about igniting the right emotions in the potential customer. Once you do, your product photos will speak for themselves.
Top Ten Ideas For Taking Your Lifestyle Product Photography To The Next Level
Now that you understand the basics of lifestyle product photography, here are the top ten ideas that will help you take it to another level:
1. Create A Mood Board
The most important thing you need to do is brainstorm the photography concept and create a mood board. Doing this will help you plan the shoot in the right way so that there is no confusion during the shoot day. A fantastic way you can brainstorm and do this is by researching the lifestyle product photography of your competitors.
Doing this will help you have an idea of what you are competing against in the market. However, you must stay true to your brand identity when creating the mood board. After all, lifestyle product photography is emotive.
That is why you need to list down the feelings you are trying to invoke in your customers through the photos. Doing this will help you plan accordingly and create a mood board that will stay true to your brand personality and message.
2. Utilize A Model
If you want to attract a bigger audience, you can always hire a model for your lifestyle product photography shoot. It will allow you to convey:
- How to use the product?
- How can your customers apply the product in their lives?
- The various features of the products and how they work
Besides that, the model can also showcase the product with various poses that will help attract a bigger audience. Of course, if you are selling clothes online, then hiring a model is a must for your brand. Remember that utilizing a model is expensive, which is why it might not be the ideal route for online stores on a budget.
However, you can find local models in your area through social media platforms. It will enable you to work within your budget and get someone to model for your shoot.
3. Opt For The Bird’s Eye View
Angles are everything when it comes to product photography, which is why you need to opt for the right one. The most popular type of tabletop photography is flat lay. You can use a bird’s eye view to create a story of the product that represents it in the best way possible.
You have the creative freedom to create your own story here using different props. That is why paying attention to detail is of utmost importance when doing such lifestyle product photography. The photo must have colorful items that you can use with the product you are shooting.
Besides that, it is crucial to pay attention t the color palette. The primary aim of such photography is to create a well-coordinated image that stimulates your visual senses.
4. Experiment With Angles
Many people, especially beginners, make the mistake of taking pictures at eye level. While that might work sometimes, you need to get creative and experiment with unique angles. After all, you need a competitive edge in the market, and the same product photographs will not get you anywhere.
The secret is to think about the angles that one would rarely see the products through. For example, a unique yet fun angle is to try to shoot the product from underneath. However, you must remember that the angle must not distort your product.
Whenever you are trying out a new angle, you need to take a look and examine the product closely after taking the picture. It will help you understand whether or not it looks good on your product. The integrity of the product should remain in the picture so that customers have a realistic idea of what to expect.
5. Focus On The Product
Avoid creating too much clutter in your lifestyle product photography. That is because you don’t want the audience to feel unclear about what product you are advertising. An important element of this is not to use too many props.
There are many brands that go overboard and include too many people or props in the shot. However, if that happens, then all these things will compete for the attention of your customer. The main focal point of your photo must be the product, and everything around it should complement it or help it stand out.
You might have to use a large aperture to make this happen, such as f/1.2 or f/1.4. You can use these two to understand which one will work better for you. Once you do, you will have a great shot that will focus on the product you’re selling.
6. Leverage The Power Of Props
There are photographers that think using props is unnecessary, but you can always use them to your advantage. You can do this by focusing on the product and thinking about some precise props that will help convey a story. Besides that, the props must enhance the product in a visually appealing manner.
For example, If you are doing lifestyle product photography for baby items, you can use bright colors or a combination of other baby items. On the other hand, you can also use props in food photography. The best props to use for food photography include cutting boards, cutlery, and more.
If you are running an online skin care products store, you can use fruits, fabrics, or flowers to shoot your items. You must prepare some diverse props for your lifestyle product photography before your shoot. It will help convey the perfect story on shoot day while creating an aesthetic appeal.
7. Select The Right Background
The background can make or break your photographs, which is why it is crucial to choose the right one. If you want to create an appealing visual story, then you must also select a visually appealing location. Attractive settings and locations are key components of such photography.
The reason for this is that a great background will add to the mood of your product photographs. If you want to create a bright and light mood, then a shoot in the park during the daytime can be ideal. On the other hand, if you want to play with lights, then you can scour a well-lit location at night for your shoot.
In the same way, you must think about the mood you want to set and then choose a background and location accordingly. Once you do, the overall visual appeal of your photographs will improve and attract more customers.
8. Use Natural Lighting
Are you looking to create a reliable and genuine look for your lifestyle products? If you are, then natural lighting is a great contributor that will enhance the overall quality of your shots. A fantastic tip you can utilize here is to select a reflective surface through which you can take product pictures.
These include items such as acrylic organizers, jewelry, sunglasses, clear tabletops, and much more. Many cosmetic brands use such product photography to enhance the product’s look quickly. Even brands that promote sustainability use natural lighting to set the right brand tone for their audience.
So, think about what you want your photographs to represent, and then select a light source accordingly. It is also important not to shoot under direct sunlight as that can create a very bright photograph. Instead, you can complement the natural light with some shadows for the best results.
9. Utilize Color Psychology
Colors evoke certain emotions in us, which is why you must understand color psychology in lifestyle product photography. You don’t want to evoke emotions that are inconsistent with your story or brand identity. Here are a few examples that will help you understand various colors and what emotions they evoke:
- Yellow: Joy, happiness, and warmth
- Red: Strength, anger, and passion
- Green: Calmness, health, and nature
- Orange: Fun and cheerfulness
- Blue: Coldness, sadness, and balance
- Purple: Spirituality, loyalty, and wisdom
Of course, these are just some examples. In the same way, all colors will evoke different emotions in the perceiver. When you use the right colors, the customers will be more inclined to buy your product.
We recommend that you use colors from your brand as the primary colors across your shot or background, as Coca-Cola does. The company uses red and white during all their shoots as it represents their brand. You will notice this in all their marketing campaigns.
10. Understand Your Target Audience
Finally, if you don’t know your target audience, you will never be able to create the perfect lifestyle product photographs. Before you start the shoot, you must identify your target audience. You can do this by researching their:
- Age group
- Lifestyle
- Gender
- Interests
- Occupation
- Education preferences
- And much more
According to these findings, you need to create a buyer persona that will help you understand how you want to do the photography. For example, if your target audience is young, then be sure to include models of the same age group in your photographs. It will help customers spot themselves in your pictures.
Besides that, if they see the models using or wearing the product, then they will also show an interest in owning it. Once you conduct comprehensive research on your target audience, it will easily help you understand how to execute this task.
The secret is here to get into the mind of your target audience and try to understand what they would like to see from your product photographs. Only then will you create perfect shots that will improve your brand and sales.
Final Words
That was your complete guide to understanding what lifestyle product photography is. It comes with a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, creating such photographs will be a breeze for you. On the other hand, you can always hire a professional photographer if you don’t know where to begin.
Such professionals understand what they need to do and how to create a visual story that will focus on your product while making it look attractive. There are many photographers you can select for your online store. The key is to find one that suits your budget and needs.
