Product photo editing or retouching is essential to presenting good quality products to the consumer. It is required for all product types. So, various product photo editing tools are available for editing product photographs. 

Product photo retouching is especially important for eCommerce photo editing. Consumers online do not have the benefit of physically interacting with your product. So, you must accurately and attractively present your product to gain the consumer’s trust and enable them to confidently purchase your product. 

The Ultimate Ecommerce Photography Guide in 2023

What is Product Photography?

Product photography, also called eCommerce photography, is clicking photos for use on websites and social media platforms to help drive product sales.

Professional product photography is the commercial form of creating still-life photographs of products. 

The product photographer sets up appropriate lighting, styles the products, and creates various composite images using multiple angles and exposures. 

A product photographer aims to create clean product images that help convince consumers to buy the product. 

A Cleanser Before Creative Product Photo Editing Services
Figure 01: A Cleanser Before Creative Product Photo Editing
A Cleanser After Creative Product Photo Editing Services
Figure 01: A Cleanser After Creative Product Photo Editing

Why is Product Photo Editing Important?

Product photo retouching is crucial in making products look more appealing and professional. Therefore, a product seller must edit their photos to increase customers’ chances of purchasing. 

Editing product photographs increases the chance of convincing customers that the product is high quality. Furthermore, product photo retouching helps create a more consistent look for a product line. 

Deep Cleansing Oil Bottle and Packet Before Editing
Figure 03: A Deep Cleansing Oil Product Before Photo Editing
Deep Cleansing Oil Bottle and Packet After Editing
Figure 04: A Deep Cleansing Oil Product After Photo Editing

Benefits of Product Photo Editing

If you’re a product-selling business, then you know the importance of great product photos. 

You can only earn sales if the product photographs are up to mark. Therefore, we will discuss the benefits of product image editing.

All the parties involved in product photography, buying, and selling benefit from product photo retouching. They include:

  • Businesses
  • Product Photographers
  • Consumers

Benefits of Product Photo Editing for Businesses

How do businesses benefit from product photo retouching and editing? 

Some of the benefits a business owner has from editing product photographs include:

  • Increase Product Sales and Revenue.
  • Improve the Quality of Product Photos.
  • Save Money on Product Photography Costs.
  • Make Products More Appealing to Customers.
  • Adjust the Size and Shape of Product Photos.
  • Remove or Correct Any Imperfections in Product Photos.
  • Creating a Consistent Look and Style for all Product Photos.
  • Add Text or Other Elements to Product Photos for Marketing Purposes.

Benefits of Product Photo Editing for Photographers

A product photographer benefits from editing product photographs. 

Some of the reasons to edit and retouch product images include:

  • Fix Problems that Happen During the Photoshoot
  • Satisfy Clients with Professional-Looking Product Photographs
  • Save Time by Shooting a Few Photographs and Editing them Later to Create Variations.

Benefits of Product Photo Editing for Consumers

How do consumers benefit from professionally edited product photos? With more and more consumers shopping online, the buyer expects high-quality product photographs to help ease the buying decision. 

Product photo editing can benefit consumers in several ways:

  • Better Engagement with the Product and Brand. 
  • Ability to Make Better Buying Decisions Based on Product Photos.
  • Increased Trust in the Seller/Brand as they Present their Products Beautifully.
  • Good Product Photos Help Consumers Have More Convenient Online Shopping.
  • Get an Accurate Representation of the Product to Avoid Disappointment When the Product Arrives.

Types of Products that Need Photo Editing

What product types need to be professionally edited? As explained before, every product sold online will benefit from photo editing. However, some product categories that particularly need product photo retouching are: 

  • Jewelry Products
  • Fashion Products
  • Furniture Products
  • Electronics Products
  • Office Products
  • Outdoor Products

Jewelry Product Photo Editing

A Diamond Ring Before Product Photo Editing Services
Figure 05: A Diamond Ring Before Photo Editing
A Diamond Ring After Product Photo Editing Services
Figure 06: A Diamond Ring After Photo Editing

Make your jewelry product look shiny and expensive with professional photo editing. 

Jewelry product photo editing and retouching are essential for all types of jewelry products, including:

  • Ring Photo Editing
  • Earing Photo Editing
  • Bangle Photo Editing
  • Necklace Photo Editing

Fashion Product Photo Editing

Fashion product photo retouching helps make your fashion items stand out and look attractive. Global fashion studios edit their product photos to make them look professional.

You must edit various fashion product types, including:

  • Apparel Products
  • Shoe Products
  • Sportswear Products
  • Fashion Accessories
  • Watch Products
  • Cosmetics Product s
  • Luggage Products

Furniture Product Photo Editing

A Bedroom Chair Before Photo Editing Services
Figure 07: A Bedroom Chair Before Photo Editing
A Bedroom Chair After Photo Editing Services
Figure 08: A Bedroom Chair After Photo Editing

Selling furniture online? Then, you will benefit from professionally editing your product photos to remove imperfections, fix colors, and more! Furniture photo editing is especially useful for product sellers, regardless of their scale.

Furniture product photo editing is suitable for:

  • Bedroom Furniture Photo Editing
  • Living Room Furniture Photo Editing
  • Dining Room Furniture Photo Editing
  • Kitchen Furniture Photo Editing
  • Bathroom Furniture Photo Editing

Electronics Product Photo Editing

Does your electronics product look smudgy despite cleaning? You can fix that, and more, with electronics product photo retouching. Editing your product photos is essential to good quality images. 

So, you can professionally edit the following:

  • Electronic Accessories
  • Camera Products
  • Cell Phone Products
  • Computer Products
  • Headphones Products
  • Television Products
  • Video Game Consoles
  • Wearable Technology Products

Office Product Photo Editing

Attract the attention of global enterprises by professionally editing your office product photos. 

You can professionally edit many types of product photos, including:

  • Office Furniture Product Photo Editing
  • Office Accessories Product Photo Editing
  • Office Lighting Product Photo Editing
  • Office Partition Product Photo Editing

Outdoor Product Photo Retouching

Outdoor photography is challenging. You are at the mercy of the elements. So, how do you make your outdoor photography stand out? With product photo editing, of course! 

There are many types of outdoor product photo retouching, including:

  • Outdoor Kitchen Product
  • Outdoor Furniture Product
  • Outdoor Garden Product
  • Outdoor Fireplace Product
  • Outdoor Camping Product

History of Product Photo Editing

The origins of product photography go hand in hand with the history of photo editing in the commercial photography industry. 

Early product advertising photos were used for the military industry. These product photographs were created for guns, and thus the first detailed catalog was born. 

Product photo editing in the early days was done by hand and manual techniques. For example, a product image editor applied airbrushing, retouching, dodge, and burn techniques. 

Over time, with the introduction of the personal computer and photo editing software, product photos have improved vastly in quality. In addition, advanced photo editing tools and techniques help product sellers improve the visual appeal of their products. 

What is the Future of Product Photo Retouching?

The future of product photography and photo editing is summarised in one word: AI. Artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize the product photo editing industry. 

Editing product photos will become more efficient, faster, and simpler with AI-powered photo editing tools. Smart AI will achieve tasks like color correction, background removal, and more with a single click. 

As a result, in the future, product photo editing will focus more on creative compositions, leaving simple tasks for AI. 

Product Photo Retouching Trends

Following the latest trends in product photography and editing helps make your products attractive to savvy consumers. 

Popular product photography and editing trends include:

  • Levitating Products
  • Natural Lighting Effects
  • Minimalist Product Photos
  • Products In Motion (GIF)
  • Monochromatic Color Schemes
  • 360-Degree Spin Product Imagery
  • Unedited/Authentic Product Images
  • Contemporary Still Life Product Image
  • Geometry and Shapes in Product Photo

Product Photo Editing Skills

What skills should a product photo editor have? Whether you want to edit your product photos yourself or hire a professional, knowledge of these skills will help you make the right decisions. 

Common skills of a product photo editor:

  • Art Direction
  • Color Theory
  • Graphic Design 
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Composition Skills

Product Photo Editing Tools

What tools and software do the best product photo editors use? 

Online tools are helpful for quick, on-the-go product photo editing. However, for advanced edits, powerful desktop product photo editing tools are available. 

Popular Online Product Photo Editing Tools

  • Pixlr
  • GIMP
  • Fotor
  • Canva
  • BeFunky
  • Inkscape
  • Instasize
  • Scratch Photos
  • Photo POS Pro
  • Photoshop Express

Popular Product Photo Editing Software

  • Affinity Photo
  • Luminar NEO
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Corel PaintShop Pro
  • Cyberlink PhotoDirector 365

Best Mobile Photo Editing Apps Used for Product Editing:

  • VIMORY
  • Lightroom Photo & Video Editor
  • Photoshop Express Photo Editor
  • Picsart AI Photo Editor

How To Edit Product Photos?

One of the critical aspects of product photography is the post-production process. However, just taking a good photo is not enough to convince consumers. In addition, there is increased competition with the rise of eCommerce. 

Learn how exactly you can edit your product photos to make them high-quality and stand out among thousands of other products. Therefore, you will benefit from increased clicks, sales, and revenue. 

Product Photo Editing Step-by-Step Process

The step-by-step process described below will help you with editing product photographs. First, make sure you have mastered a good product photo editing tool. Furthermore, always choose batch editing to streamline your product photo retouching process. 

Follow these steps to output amazing product photographs:

  1. Create a Detailed Plan
  2. Select the Optimal Photo Editing Tool
  3. Crop and Straighten
  4. Remove the Background
  5. Eliminate Needless Items
  6. Remove Blemishes and Imperfections 
  7. Color Correct the Product and Background
  8. Increase Sharpness
  9. Add Shadows for Realism
  10. Remove Unwanted Reflections
  11. Create a Ghost Mannequin Effect to Remove Mannequins (If Required)
  12. Optimize Your Product Photos for Faster Loading Online

Conclusion

In conclusion, product photo editing is the final step before placing the product online. 

Businesses and individuals increase their chances of success by providing accurate product photographs. Also, please do not forget to complement your product photograph with easy-to-read and informative descriptions. 

I hope you enjoyed learning how to edit product photos! If you have any questions on product editing, please comment below. Also, please share this product photo retouching guide with anyone who will benefit from it!

Thanks for reading this article! Cheers! 

Product Photo Editing FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Product Photo Editing. 

What is product image editing?

Product image editing is used to enhance a product photograph. It is achieved by digitally removing any visible flaws from a product. As a result, the product looks presentable and sellable. Furthermore, product image retouching can make your product look authentic and attractive to gain the customer’s trust.

How do I edit a product on my smartphone?

Modern smartphones have photo editing apps for basic product enhancements. You can follow the following steps for product photo retouching on a smartphone:
Open your photo editing app (For example, Lightroom or Snapseed).
Adjust the brightness, contrast, sharpness, highlights/shadows, and white balance using sliders.
Save the changes you made in a preset so you can easily apply them to other products later!
Change the background to a plain white backdrop. 
Save and export! You have an edited product image!

Do I need to shoot product photographs using a DSLR?

No, not necessarily! You can shoot product photographs using a good smartphone camera! Then, you can use smartphone apps like Lightroom for minor edits. However, if you require advanced editing, it is better to take RAW images using a DSLR and edit them in Photoshop.

How much does product photo retouching cost?

Well, it all depends on how you edit the product photo. You can do it yourself using free tools online and on smartphones. However, an external photo editor will charge you depending on the number of edits to make, their experience, and other factors. So you must choose the best option after doing some research.

What are the best product photo editing tools?

The best product photo editing software are Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Free options include GIMP, Canva, and Photoshop Express.

This page was last edited on 19 August 2024, at 3:09 pm