The Importance of Product Photography for Ecommerce – Choosing Models

It’s amazing how often brands can get this horribly wrong. Whether it’s through an lack of resources which means images are rushed, often with friends or family roped in or down to a lack of knowledge as to how model selection for product images can play a huge part in how effective your ecommerce site is from a sales perspective.Surely you just need to find some exaggeratedly attractive people and show them using or wearing your products, right? Maybe an affordable TV D-list celeb? Unfortunately this won’t work. Modern day online shoppers are much savvier and you can’t just take a picture of someone famous holding something and expect it to sell.Modern day audiences like the now maturing Millennials and Generation Z have become accustomed to a certain level of marketing personalisation. They are immediately dismissive of communications that don’t feel directed or created for them. Part of successful marketing is the ability to make your audience feel like individuals, both in terms of how you speak to them and how you treat them throughout their customer service experience with you. So, take that philosophy and apply it right from the start.

What should your model selection process consider?First and foremost, the models you select to feature in your onsite product images should reflect your audience. This doesn’t mean you have to mimic them directly, you will need to consider in more depth what they’re going to feel comfortable seeing as well as what looks good for your brand and products and how you want to be viewed.Age is a great place to start and often one of the easier demographics segments to dissect. What is the average age of your audience and in certain cases, are they trying to go for a youthful feel by buying from your brand or perhaps exude an air of sophistication? This will impact the visual age of the models you choose for your website imagery.You’ll also want to give some consideration to how ‘aspirational’ you think your audience is comfortable seeing. Take the example of Marks & Spencer and their unforgettable “I’m Normal” campaign from 2000. Featuring a size 16-18 middle aged woman running naked and exclaiming “I’m normal!”. This model casting led to the brand’s new strapline ‘Exclusively for Everyone’. It was a bold move by the retailer who had perhaps looked too directly at their audience and as a result, been a little too exact with their portrayal. The campaign was torn limb from limb and ultimately led to many of the brand’s existing customers feeling, shall we say, un-flattered.By all means show the best side of your target audience in the models you choose but also remember there will be an air of aspiration within that group of people. It pays to keep your model selection as diverse as possible within your overall remit. Be relatable. Be a little aspirational. But don’t just round up a load of obvious members of your target audience and take some photos in your neutrally coloured lounge area. Give your product images the thought and attention to detail this aspect of your business website needs to show your audience that you understand them and you can deliver.