When customers buy online, they are not looking for just products; they want reassurance and trust signs. Packshot photography is not just about mere aesthetics, its about efficiency and trust. This type of product photography is built around reality. The purpose is to remove doubts by showing clear, detailed, distraction-free images, not just to persuade emotionally.
But to use packshot photography as a true performance tool, you need to understand it properly. This comprehensive guide to packshot photography explores each aspect of the technique and provides in-depth information. To make your packshot photography truly fruitful, give it a look!
Packshot photography is a unique form of product photography that is focused on presenting products with maximum clarity, accuracy and consistency for commercial use.
Unlike any other generic form of product photography, this one is not just mood-driven, story-based, or creative interpretation. Its primary purpose is to show the product as it is. It clarifies the customer’s vision and removes all visual ambiguity. This way, your customers can be confident in your products before purchasing. This is exactly why packshot photography is widely used in ecommerce listings, marketplaces, product catalogues, and website product pages. It showcases the uniqueness of your products, not just their artistic value. Here are a few reasons ecommerce owners more than often reach for packshot photography:
- This photography style is designed around buyer behaviour.
- It removes distractions and standardizes presentation by centering the focal point.
- Packshot photography can make your products look cohesive when displayed side by side.
In short, packshot photography removes the gap between physical product inspection and online purchase. As the main focus is precision, neutrality and visual clarity, it helps your customers to make an informed decision. Also, you get to earn customers’ trust and build a clean image of your product.
Types of Packshot Photography
You will find different types of packshot photography, depending on how you want your products portrayed. Photographers would need to understand how you want your product to be understood, compared and trusted by the buyers. Based on that packshot, product photography has been categorized into different types. Let’s discuss them:
Studio product packshot photography
Studio product packshot photography is the photography of a single product that is taken in a controlled studio. The photos are taken on a neutral background to clearly visualize all the details without environmental influence. The key objective of this type of Packshot photography is to present the products accurately and consistently as much as possible.
Studio packshot photography is best for marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and others that have strict image standards. You can also use them in brand product pages with large SKU volumes. These types of packshot photographs are also great for product catalogues and spec-driven listings to show exactly what your products have to offer.
Now you might wonder why brands use this studio packshot photography? It’s because it reduces visual noise and makes it easy for buyers to inspect the shape, colour, and finish of the product. Overall, studio packshot photographs help brands maintain uniformity across hundreds of thousands of product listings.
Here’s how the studio product packshot photos are taken:
- Fixed camera angle and maintained a distance.
- Soft, even lighting is used to avoid harsh shadows.
- Placed on a neutral background to isolate the product.
Grouped product packshots
Grouped packshot photography showcases multiple relevant products in a single frame. It shows relevant variations, bundles, or multi-item sets. The key objective of this type of packshot product photo is to visually communicate quantity, variations or inclusion without relying on just text.
You can use grouped packshot photos for marketplaces where you need to show bundled products and kits, or for products with various colours and sizes. Also, for subscription boxes or multi-piece items, grouped product packshot photos are great.
Brands usually use this type of packshot photo to help buyers instantly understand what they are getting. This reduces confusion about your products and removes any incorrect expectations your buyers might have. By doing so, you will reduce post-purchase dissatisfaction, which means you can actually reduce your product returns to almost zero.
As for the process, here’s how grouped product packshots are taken:
- All the products are arranged with clear separation and balance.
- There must be consistent lighting across all items.
- Careful spacing is crucial to avoid any visual clutter.
Lifestyle-inspired packshots
Lifestyle-inspired packshot photos introduce subtle context while maintaining the clarity of the packshot photography. The product remains the main focal point, as with any other type of packshot photography, but subtle props are used to suggest some use cases.
Here, the key objective is to provide context for the product while maintaining its integrity and clarity. You can use lifestyle product photos in brand websites and DTC stores. Using such packshot photos for premium or design-led products is the best idea, as you can showcase their details and provide context for customers.
For social commerce and landing pages, lifestyle-inspired packshots are often used by ecommerce owners. Why do they use it so much? It’s because lifestyle packshot product photography brings technical clarity and emotional relevance to your products. It helps your customers to imagine your products in use and how they might fit their taste. At the same time, this type of packshot photography remains clean and commercially presentable. Here’s how the shots are taken usually:
- Products are placed in a simple, controlled environment.
- Neutral props are used that do not distract from the products.
- Bright lighting is used to maintain the true colour and texture of the product.
Close-up product packshots
Close-up product packshot photography is all about details. It focuses on specific details such as texture, material, your craftsmanship or any other functional elements. The key objective of close-up packshots is to remove any doubt about the product’s quality and construction. This type of product photo is crucial for any product; it can provide customers with a very clear idea of your product’s build quality and give them an exact sense of what they are getting before they have the product in their hands.
It is best to use close-up packshot product photos for high-value or detail-sensitive products. For jewellery, electronics, beauty, and accessories with intricate details, using this type of shot is non-negotiable. You can also use these types of product photos as the second image of your product gallery, so your customers wouldn’t miss any detail.
As close-ups answer all the questions a buyer has, they find the final product to be truly authentic and worthy of the spend. Here’s how the shots are taken typically:
- A macro or detail-focused camera is used.
- Stable camera positions are crucial.
- Precise lighting setup is ensured to reveal the texture of the product without any distortion.
360-degree packshot photography
The 360-degree packshot photography captures products from different angles, which are then stitched together to present an interactive, rotatable image. The key objective of this kind of product photography is to replicate a physical interaction experience in a digital environment. This way, customers can address any doubts that may arise and experience an interactive shopping experience.
This type of packshot product photo is used mostly for DTC product pages so they can get a real store experience. It is great for high consideration of high-value products, as customers mostly hesitate to purchase such products. Also, products with complex shapes or features must include a 360-degree photo to provide an interactive, yet clean and detailed, view.
Brands use this type of packshot because they want to reduce uncertainty by letting customers explore each part of the product. This leads to a confidence boost in the purchase decision and, eventually, to a quicker one. The 360-degree product photos are taken, typically like this:
- The product is placed on a motorised turntable.
- A fixed camera is used, and a great lighting setup is essential.
- Product photos are taken sequentially at consistent intervals to get the perfect shots.
Key Objectives of Packshot Product Photography
Packshot photography is about providing and showcasing what matters most: the details of your product. The core objective of this photography is closely tied to how people see and evaluate products. Apart from that, this type of photography serves several other objectives. Here are the key objectives of packshot product photography:
- Reduce buyer uncertainty when making decisions: The primary objective of packshot photography is to replace physical inspection with digital inspection, reducing hesitation and the need for physical inspection. In online shopping, customers cannot touch the product or see all of the details. This is what makes them hesitate about the product they are about to get. With packshot photos, these limitations are dissolved. Clear packshot photography helps answer questions like what this product looks like in real life and whether it is the correct size or texture. In ecommerce, UX is the most important factor for buyers, for a reason: it directly addresses their problems by minimising ambiguity.
- Build visual trust through accuracy and consistency: If you want to build trust in ecommerce, it starts visually before it is communicated verbally. Packshot photography builds customers’ trust by clearly showing products. This photograph delivers accurate colour, realistic texture and honest proportions, so customers get exactly what they saw in your store.
- Improve conversion value: Unlike other photographing methods, packshot photography is designed to convert through clarity rather than persuasion. Its objective is not just to convince buyers to buy the product, but also to help them confirm that it is what they are looking for. This distinction matters because overly edited images can raise expectations and eventually crash upon arrival of the actual product. Packshot photography helps you align expectations with the actual product and improves overall conversion quality rather than just conversion value.
Common Uses of Packshot Photography
Packshot photography is used wherever you need product clarity, improved user confidence, platform compliance or quicker purchase decisions. The impact of this type of photography is primarily on customers’ visual interpretation. Let’s know the most common areas where packshot product photography is used:
Ecommerce Product Pages
One of the most common uses of packshot photography is on a product page. On brand websites and online stores, packshot photography is used as the backbone of these pages. It helps customers examine products clearly before scrolling to the description or specifications.
Clean photos taken through packshot photography help provide a clear visual and shorten the buying decision. Buyers can quickly confirm their purchase, and they can see the correct item they are about to get. These types of photos on product pages also stay consistent across collections. It makes navigation and comparison easier, especially for stores with similar or closely related products.
Online Marketplaces
Marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart and other multi-seller platforms rely heavily on packshot photography. It helps maintain visual uniformity across the platforms. On these platforms, packshot photography helps products compete fairly by focusing on their features and avoiding styling tricks.
Packshot photography provides standardized, clear photos that align with platform image guidelines. It also reduces the risk of listing issues and improves search visibility.
Product Catalogs and Line Sheets
Store owners rely heavily on packshot photography for product catalogs and line sheets. This type of photo helps both digital and printed catalogues for structured product presentations. You can showcase your products with sufficient details, such as SKU numbers, pricing, and technical specifications. Any details needed for product catalogs can be displayed cleanly, which is what makes packshot product photography so popular for product catalogs.
You can simplify evaluation by presenting products in a clear, distraction-free format that supports bulk decision-making rather than just emotional browsing.
Product Comparison and Selection Tools
For product comparison charts, size guides, and configurators, packshot product photography is frequently used. It helps to visualize product differences very clearly. With packshots, customers can clearly visualize different product variations in color, form, or configuration, so customers don’t have to rely solely on the text.
This photography technique is particularly valuable for products with various options. This way, you can prevent customers from making incorrect selections.
Advertisement and Promotional Assets
Although packshot photography is not inherently promotional, it is often used to capture the base image for ads and banners. Clean packshot product photos can be adapted into marketing visuals without losing accuracy. These photos make sure you promote exactly what you sell and do not mislead potential customers. Packshot photos can serve both informational and commercial purposes and do not disappoint customers when they receive the product.
Best Equipments for Packshot Photography
Getting the perfect packshot photos does not require the most expensive gear; you need the right tools that provide consistency and accuracy. Here are the best equipment you need for packshot photos:
Camera and Lens
First of all, you need a good camera and a lens. You need to have manual control over exposure, focus and white balance. The camera needs to have a reliable color reproduction and the ability to shoot in RAW format.
You need to keep in mind that packshot photos benefit the most from consistent output rather than from extreme megapixel counts. A modern DSLR or mirrorless camera with at least a 20MP sensor is enough for most ecommerce stores. All you need to remember is to lock the settings so that every product in one series is photographed under identical conditions.
By locking the camera settings, you can prevent subtle brightness or color shifts between shots. This is critical when you are photographing multiple SKUs or variations.
At the same time, when you choose the right lens, you can prevent any type of distortion of the product. A few recommended focal lengths for packshot photography are 50-85mm (full-frame equivalent) and 35-55mm (APS-C equivalent).
Tripod
This is a non-negotiable for packshot photography. You need a stable and adjustable tripod for every type of product. A tripod allows you to precisely frame and take consistent angles across multiple shots. It also helps you to slow the shutter speed without blur. This is useful when working with controlled lighting.
If you take handheld shots, you can end up with longer post-production and break visual consistency. A recommended setup is to have enough lighting around your tripod to take the best shot.
Lighting
You need controlled lighting, not bright ones. What matters the most is a soft, even lighting setup. It helps with predictable shadow behaviour and stable color temperature. Packshot product photography requires controlled lighting rather than dramatic lighting. Soft, diffuse light reveals product shape and texture without harsh shadow or blown highlights. Also, you need consistent lighting so you can ensure accurate color representation. This directly affects buyers’ trust.
Even lighting can reduce the need for heavy post-production. This helps you to preserve product authenticity and speed up the overall workflow.
Background
To take the best packshot product photos, you need a clean, non-textured background. That should be easy to replace and clean. Even lighting across the background is super important. A few commonly used background choices include whip-sweep paper, acrylic sheet, or fabric backdrops.
In this kind of photography, the background is chosen to isolate the product rather than decorate it. This is why white or neutral backgrounds are widely recommended. Also, you can easily complete edits with a clean, non-distracting background that meets almost all marketplace requirements.
Product Support Tools
For packshot product photography, stability is the most crucial thing. Your products need to be as steady as possible, and not blur the vision. This is why supporting tools such as clamps, clear acrylic stands, and adhesive putty are used to keep the product in place.
What support tools do is keep your products in place and help position them correctly. Sometimes supporting tools can appear in product photos, but that can always be corrected with proper post-production editing.
Editing Software
Now, this is also a critical piece of equipment for getting the best results from packshot photos. If you want to handle post-production all by yourself, you would need software for RAW file handling, Non-destructive editing, and batch processing.
Packshot product photography heavily relies on post-production. You will have a massive collection of photos, and they need to be sorted, corrected, color-toned, and made through many other small edits to achieve the desired outcome.
How to Shoot Packshot Photography?
Without a proper product photography guide, you cannot just jump into the shooting phase and expect to master it. You would need a proper understanding of each step. Now, to make your packshot photography journey really easy, here’s a very short, simple and direct guide on how to shoot packshot photos.
Step 1: Prepare The Products
First of all, you need to prepare the products. Clean the products thoroughly and ensure there are no dust, fingerprints, or labels on them. Check if the selected product has any defects or inconsistencies. Because all of that is going to show up in the product photos, assemble all variations of that product before you start shooting. In packshot photography, even small details can become very noticeable. Although it can be fixed in post-production, such inconsistencies in the product will increase editing time
Step 2: Set a Neutral Background
Taking packshot photos on a neutral background is the best choice. To use a white or light neutral background to enhance your product’s appearance. Make sure the surface is smooth and evenly lit, because low lighting will make your photos dull. Make sure the product is clearly separated from the background so your shadows are exactly where they need to be, and the product does not look blunt. Set your background in a way that your products are the only visual focus.
Step 3: Fix the Camera Position and Settings
Your camera needs to be steady and positioned perfectly to take the best packshot photos. Mount the camera on a tripod and choose a straight-on or slightly elevated angle to take the photos. Also, all your camera settings should be locked so every angle of the product is taken with the same consistency. Why is fixing the camera so crucial? Because your photos can turn out blurry if a slight imbalance occurs, or color accuracy might be hampered by the camera’s positioning.
Apart from the position set up, set your camera settings too. You need to shoot in RAW format, lock the ISO, aperture and shutter speed too, and set custom white balance. This is what would get you the perfect shot.
Step 4: Control the Lighting
Your setup needs to have controlled lighting, not too sharp, not too dim; just the right amount needed to take the best photo. Use soft, diffused light on both sides of the product. Avoid any harsh shadows and strong highlights. Make sure to keep the light color temperature consistent so your pictures turn out perfect and balanced from all sides. Lighting is so important because customers want to see the true color and nature of your product, which is possible only with proper lighting, not dramatic lighting.
Step 5: Capture Multiple Angles
For product photography, taking multiple angles is non-negotiable; you must capture images from all sides. The front view, the side or angled view and the back or detailed view are all needed to provide the cleanest look for the products. This is what customers want to see to determine whether they truly like it. Also, you need to take into account any other angles that are unique to your product. For example, if your products have intricate details, take close-up shots of that side so your customers can observe them closely.
Step 6: Review and send to Post-production
After taking all the product shots, review them very closely. Zoom in to check the sharpness and to see if there’s any dust. Confirm the color accuracy of each product to make sure it is not misleading. If needed, retake the pictures and, when you see the images are perfect, send them to post-production.
Packshot Photography Tips for Best Results
Packshot photography is not improved just by adding complexity but by refining control and consistency. Here are a few of the best Packshot product photography tips and recommendations from industry experts to get the best results:
- Prioritize consistency over creativity: For packshot photography, consistency is more important than showcasing your creative skills. Use the same camera angle, lighting setup and framing for every product in the set. Consistent visuals create a neutral ground for customers where they can effectively compare products. It also reduces cognitive efforts during purchase decision-making. Most marketplaces support uniform product images because they improve browsing efficiency and user experience.
- Maintain color accuracy: Color mismatches are among the top reasons your products are returned. Set a custom white balance and check colors on a calibrated display during the shoot. This would ensure your customers are not dissatisfied with your products and can accurately visualize what they are getting.
- Control reflection and highlights: Reflective surfaces can exaggerate light sources and the surrounding environment. In packshot photography, you don’t want to exaggerate anything; keep it all very real. This is why you need to use a diffuser, flags, or a reflector to control highlights, rather than increasing the light intensity. Controlled reflections and highlights preserve material details and prevent products from appearing artificial or over-edited.
- Inspect images at full resolution: What many miss in packshot photography is the inspection step. But you must review images at 100% zoom before finalizing the release. This way, you can capture any dust, scratch or focus issues that often go unnoticed at preview size. However, these can become very obvious in high-resolution listings, which can significantly impact customers’ decisions and their perception of your brand. Early inspection of such issues prevents repeated errors across large product sets.
Importance of Post-Production in Packshot Photography
Post-production is not optional for packshot photography. It is a quality control stage that ensures final images turn out perfect. Although you might think less of the post-production stage, in reality, it is far more important. Here’s why post-production is so crucial for packshot photos:
- Post-production ensures visual accuracy. It corrects exposure, color balance and mirror imperfections so your product images appear as they are in real life. With techniques like color correction, clipping paths, background removal, and shadow masking, you can remove unnecessary objects and add the depth needed to the images. The goal of post-production is to correct the imperfections, not to exaggerate any part. Accurate editing also reduces the risk of misleading and helps maintain trust.
- You can create consistency across your website and product listings. By batch editing, you can align the brightness, contrast and framing across multiple products. This visual consistency is essential for catalogs, marketplaces and brand stores.
- With post-production, you can remove any distractions from the products and center the visual focus. By removing any impurities captured during the shoot, you can improve visual clarity without altering the product’s true appearance.
- With the right post-production touch, you can align with any marketplace standard. Packshot product photography is quite a hassle to do. As you scale and emerge on different platforms, it is not feasible to take such types of photos repeatedly just to match the standard. With accurate post-production, you can meet any marketplace standard. However, you need to be very careful while choosing the right experts. Post-production service providers like Graphic Aid can be your best choice if you want to avoid all sorts of risks related to standard issues.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What background is best for packshot photography?
A pure white or light neutral background is best for packshot photography because it isolates the products and helps keep the focus on them. It also meets most marketplace requirements and maintains the product’s color accuracy. Neutral backgrounds also simplify the post-production by keeping the focus locked.
How much does packshot photography cost?
The cost of packshot product photography varies based on product complexity, volume, and post-production needs. Basic packshot photos cost less per image when produced in batches. While products that need styling, grouping, or detailed retouching cost more due to the additional setup required. The cost of such photography ranges from $10 to $220, depending on the images taken or the setup required.
Can packshot photography increase eCommerce conversion rates?
Yes, clear, accurate packshot photos can reduce buyers’ uncertainty, improve product comparison, and build trust. All of these play a major role in customers’ purchase decisions. So we can say packshot photos play a role in conversions by simplifying the whole decision-making process.
Conclusion
Packshot photography is a practical, results-driven approach to product presentation. When executed correctly, it can provide clear, consistent, and accurate results. With various packshot photography types, such as Studio, Grouped, or 360-degree, you can achieve different results for different audiences, which is crucial for retaining audiences and strengthening their trust in your product.
In this blog, we have discussed all about packshot photography. From the types of this method to a step-by-step guide, all have been discussed in detail. If you want to start taking your packshot photos, you can start immediately. Provide clear visuals and help your customers to trust you more than ever.
