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In today’s highly competitive e-commerce market, 3D product photography has become an invaluable asset for brands looking to step up their game and convert more customers. Traditional product photography and standard stock photos from distributors might still be convenient for companies to access or achieve. They however simply don’t have the same impact as cutting-edge 3D photography does on conversions and overall revenue. Keep reading to discover more on the current trends in 3D product photography for e-commerce, 360° spins and 3D models for AR / VR experiences.
3D product photography is turning heads in digital product marketing. No matter if it’s for online marketplaces like Amazon and Shopify, or smaller webshops and brand pages, 3D product content is setting the standard in photography for eCommerce.
From high-quality multi-angle still shots and 360 spins, to product videos and brands utilizing photogrammetry scanning to build 3D models for AR / VR content, today’s online shoppers aren’t as easily impressed as in the past. Consumers are doing more shopping online, however, providing even more advantages to leveraging 3D photography for product marketing.
3D product visuals allow brands to assist the consumer on numerous levels. They help shoppers find the right product, ensure they purchase exactly what they expect, and even enrich the shopping experience with spin and zoom features as well as 3D models for more informative and interactive product content. Moreover, when brands utilize 3D product photography for e-commerce, they prepare themselves for long-term, scalable operations.
While traditional product photography in e-commerce does provide numerous advantages, in comparison to photography for 3D product content it simply isn’t as effective or as scalable.
Traditional product photography does allow for interesting approaches to showcasing products, like with lifestyle photography or nature photography. These static, stock image repository photos, however, simply don’t go far into the long-term when you have a large catalogue of products to regularly update on a webshop or across several marketplaces.
Nor can traditional product photos convey the wealth of information that 3-dimensional product visuals can, to truly immerse shoppers in the product experience. Sometimes hundreds of photos go into creating a single 360° spin, and even more go into the creation process of 3D models. These become not only interactive 3D product content, they also build a repository of visual assets for the brand for future reuse in marketing or creating new product content.
Again, the more product photos you possess, the better. When you’re shooting for 3D product photography, you’re sometimes capturing hundreds of photos of a single product, and this steadily builds a repository of visual assets for later use.
Then, with the right software, this imagery is easy to edit and change to provide variations and even customization options for potential consumers. This is where aspects like variety in product color, patterns, textures, aesthetics and styles can really enrich product content.
These assets can also deliver in a variety of other formats, from use in print content like product displays, brochures and packaging, to digital formats for product webpages, webshops and marketplaces. Take it a step further, and 3D models can be used to create even more immersive product content like a projection of furniture or heavy objects into a virtual space, AR demonstrations for technical products, and even effective B2B sales presentations.
Today’s software allows you to take a single product image and multiply it into imagery for hundreds of other product photos with different color combinations, designs, styles and more.
This means that shoppers not only have more choice but also that brands have the ability to create even more product content from individual photoshoots. This way they can showcase all of their range of products in-stock, while also helping shoppers compare product variations and visualize in rich detail exactly what they will be purchasing before making an order.
If you want to better inform potential shoppers about products, there really is no better way than with 3D product photography. You simply can’t achieve the same quality and realism with traditional photography compared to an interactive product experience. 360° spins and software like PhotoRobot's 3D / 360 product viewer effectively showcase products in ways only comparable to the in-store shopping experience.
With spin features to view products from all angles, a deep field of zoom, control and customization options, it’s virtually as close as brands can get to putting products directly into the hands of shoppers.
Another advantage to utilizing 3D product photos is that you put the shoppers in control. They have both control of the product experience and the shopping experience. From comparing different models to making a purchase in their own time, online shoppers have all the visual benefits of shopping in-store without the stress of a salesperson looking over their shoulder. This transforms shoppers from passive viewers into active participants in the shopping process, all the while providing the comforts of being able to shop anywhere at any time.
With 3D product photography, you also have the ability to adjust and edit everything in real-time, from colors and designs to even the background. Literally everything can be changed, meaning there’s no need to snap photos of every product variation. Rather, 3D visualizations provide the advantage of revisions, editing and corrections to product content even long after the photoshoot. This means you can expand your online catalogue all without needing different designs, colors and textures of your product in hand.
Finally, interactive 3D product experiences for e-commerce have real potential to demonstrate products in-action in their natural environment. This includes aspects like moving parts and features, complex machinery constructions, product projections into virtual space and more.
Augmented reality for e-commerce is particularly effective in this regard, allowing shoppers to experience a realistic representation of things like usage, aesthetics and size. AR shopping apps in 2020 are booming in popularity because of this, and it’s likely this trend is here to stay.
The primary goal of 3D product photography for e-commerce is to effectively convey valuable information about products to consumers. The more detail-rich and informative the product experience, the more likely the brand is to boost conversions, sales and overall revenue.
PhotoRobot’s line of robots for 3D e-commerce product photography are designed specifically to meet this purpose, with robotic and automation software solutions for a wide range of product photography needs.
If you want your product photography strategy to have a real impact among today’s competition, don’t overlook any of today’s technology and equipment for 360 and 3D product photography. To discover more, dive into our blog or contact us today for a free consultation with a PhotoRobot specialist technician.
