Top 10 Mistakes Brands Make with Product Photography (and How to Avoid Them)
- Raul Febles
- Jul 5
- 2 min read
When it comes to selling online, your product photos are often your first impression—and sometimes your only one. High-quality images build trust, convey value, and drive conversions. But many brands (even successful ones!) make avoidable mistakes that hurt their sales and professionalism.
Here are the top 10 product photography mistakes we see all the time, and how your brand can avoid them.
1. Poor Lighting
The mistake: Harsh shadows, uneven light, or overly dark photos.
How to avoid it: Use soft, diffused lighting (natural or studio) that evenly illuminates the product. If you're not trained in lighting, a professional setup is a smart investment.
2. Inconsistent Image Style Across Products
The mistake: Different backgrounds, lighting, or image sizes across your product line.
How to avoid it: Establish brand guidelines for image style. Use the same background, angles, and lighting across all product photos to maintain a polished, cohesive brand presence.
3. Ignoring Lifestyle Shots
The mistake: Relying only on white background images.
How to avoid it: Incorporate lifestyle photography that shows the product in use. This builds emotional appeal and helps customers envision themselves using your product.
4. Over-editing or Filters
The mistake: Over-saturating colors, using trendy filters, or unrealistic edits.
How to avoid it: Aim for clean, true-to-life edits. Customers expect the product they receive to look like the one in the photo, so keep it accurate and honest.
5. Low-Resolution or Blurry Images
The mistake: Pixelated or unfocused photos that look unprofessional.
How to avoid it: Always shoot high-resolution images and optimize them for the web without losing quality. Use a tripod and professional camera, or hire a service with the right gear.
6. Missing Key Angles or Details
The mistake: Only showing one or two views of a product.
How to avoid it: Showcase all relevant angles: front, back, close-ups of details, and functional views. Think: What would you want to see before buying this online?
7. Bad Cropping and Framing
The mistake: Products that are off-center or cropped too tightly.
How to avoid it: Frame the product with breathing room, ensure it's centered, and keep compositions clean. Cropping should feel intentional and support the product’s visual balance.
8. Inaccurate Color Representation
The mistake: Product colors that don’t match what customers receive.
How to avoid it: Use color calibration tools and proper lighting. Double-check final images on multiple screens to ensure consistency.
9. Not Optimizing for Web or Mobile
The mistake: Large files that slow your site down, or images that look bad on mobile.
How to avoid it: Compress images without sacrificing quality. Test on mobile and desktop. Use the correct aspect ratio based on platform requirements (Amazon, Shopify, etc.).
10. DIY When It’s Not Your Strength
The mistake: Trying to cut costs by doing photography in-house, without the right skills or tools.
How to avoid it: Outsource to a professional remote product photography service (like ours!) where you simply ship your product, and we handle the rest—lighting, styling, editing, and delivery.
Final Thoughts
Your product photos are more than just pretty pictures; they are sales tools. Avoiding these common mistakes can significantly improve your conversion rates, brand image, and customer satisfaction.
Need help showcasing your products the right way?
Send us your product—we’ll take care of the rest.
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