Guide to E-Commerce Photography in 2021

According to WDD, 50+ huge fashion retailers experienced dips in revenue north of the million-dollar mark in 2020. But thanks to digital innovation, rising globalization and changes in consumer spending habits, the fashion industry has been catapulted five years into the future, and when it comes to E-Commerce revenue share, the global fashion business still takes pole position.

The growth of mobile commerce and social media has translated into new revenue streams for fashion brands and retailers in 2021, with companies leveraging new technologies and brand strategies to adapt to these changing conditions brought on by covid-19. Online shopping is skyrocketing, with six out of 10 shoppers saying the possibility to shop via mobile is an important factor in deciding which brands to purchase from.

Fashion brands and retailers need to adapt their content creation strategies to this new way of shopping, and not expect consumers to follow old buying paths. Online fashion retailer studios have had to adapt to new kinds of imagery, and new trends of E-Commerce photography are emerging.

Automated photo studios demand growing

With studios shuttered and restrictions on staff interactions in the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, retailers faced tremendous challenges beyond a disrupted supply chain. Photo studio operations became complicated, costly, took longer and retailers were given less choice — models were unable to travel, sample delivery was unreliable and warehouses were forced to close.

In 2021, many retailers are implementing automated photography solutions in order to stay agile during future operational disruptions. New technologies like Looklet’s digital photo studio are helping retailers scale and simplify their studio operations, replacing the need for models, hair & makeup artists, photographers and digi techs. With just 1-2 studio operators, retailers are now able to produce real on-model fashion product photography without compromising on image quality or brand integrity.

Benefits of Looklet’s automated photo studio for E-Commerce:

• Maintain safe distance, with only 1-2 studio operators needed
• Shoot up to 100 items per day on model even with contact restrictions
• No need for real models, with 65+ pre-shot diverse models available in our library
• Cloud-based access to all your images, style looks from anywhere

Move to model images to help sell a story

In a sea of endless fashion products available online, customers are looking to brands to cultivate a story, helping them imagine who they are — or could be — after making a purchase. It’s easiest to tell these stories by styling products on a model rather than shooting products flat or on ghost mannequins.

Lauren Yerkes, vice president of buying and merchandising at Revolve notes that on-model imagery typically translates into better sales. “Telling this story means showing how it fits and how to wear it,” Yerkes told Vogue, while revealing that the LA clothing brand shoots models straight on with direct light, capturing the most compelling shots of the outfit and how it sits on the body.

Particularly powerful on the photography front is mixing detailed product-centric shots with full-length model images. Everything from the framing and lighting of a photo to the styling of the product can make or break the customer’s decision to add to cart. Online retailers have found that straight-forward, front-facing model images, paired alongside an average of five detail shots, encourage purchases.

“In everything we do, we’re helping the customer imagine. We want them to imagine being the man in every picture. To imagine us being their stylist. To imagine, ‘That could be me wearing those clothes.’ We’re not so much curating content as curating imagination,” said Kevin Dao, co-founder and CEO at ORO LA.

Product imagery is not considered to be the most creative aspect of building a brand, but it’s what customers engage with the most, and the more a brand can mimic the experience of shopping offline and seeing a product up close, the better.

Virtual photography

When it comes to product visuals, studio photography has not evolved enough to meet the demands of today’s fast-paced E-Commerce market where buyers expect incredible visual experiences on top of smooth paths to purchase.

When it comes to virtual photography, like any emerging technology, the question of whether or not to adopt doesn’t just come down to “Why?”, but also “Why now?”. And this conversation couldn’t come at a more critical time for online fashion brands and retailers.

“More than half of online shoppers think that product photos are more important than product information, reviews, and ratings,” according to Shopify. Additionally, shopper expectations for the number of images per product have skyrocketed in recent years, going from three in 2016 to upwards of eight today. Online retailers must scale their product imagery for e-commerce, it’s a no brainer. But scaling up photoshoots is both expensive and time-consuming, requiring large production teams and huge post-productions.

Virtual photography solutions can help online retailers scale their product image output, costing just a fraction of what you’d pay for traditional photo shoot and helping you shoot product from anywhere thanks to cloud-based infrastructure that enables distributed work across multiple offices and homes.

How can an online fashion retailer determine if virtual photography is right for them? 

• Hundreds of SKUs and possible product customizations that would be impractical to shoot in the real world.
• Impacted by local restrictions and limitations created by covid-19, including social distancing and travel restrictions
• Product catalog that refreshes often, scheduling photoshoots to keep up with current SKUs is logistically impossible
• Need to shoot product now, but know there will be styling and merchandising updates required for different seasons and markets

Using Looklet’s digital photo studio, retailers are able to maintain their studio operations while meeting social distancing requirements, with no need for large production teams of models, hair & makeup artists, photographers or digi techs. Our retailers have shot up to 100 items per day even with contact restrictions (with automated processing & image retouch included), while creating 800-1000 looks using our automated styling software Look Creator while working from home.

“We are proud to support retailers adapt their operations during these challenging times, helping them scale up production to meet shopper demand, speed up time to market and lower production costs, all while still ensuring a great customer experience,” says Jannis Koehn, CEO Looklet.

Curious About Our Game-Changing Technology?

Discover how our AI powered e-commerce solution combines the best of both worlds: real and AI generated models, along with advanced virtual dressing room technology to enhance your digital dressing experience. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can support your brand, feel free to reach out to us through the ‘Contact Us’ form at the bottom of this page!