Software Controlled 360 Degree Product Photography

When your customers can’t touch the product or feel it, they must rely on product photography to know what to expect. In addition to still photographs, many e-commerce entrepreneurs are also using software-controlled 360-degree product photography. This gives your customers the impression of watching the object rotate around its own axis.  

What Is 360-Degree Product Photography?

As the name suggests, 360-degree product photography is all about photographing your product from 360 degrees or making it look like it was photographed from 360 degrees. This is different from static images as it may be designed to allow the customer to interact with the product and set the angle from which he wants to look at the product. It’s almost as if they were holding the product in their hands. 

What Is 360-Degree Product Photography?

How Can 360-Degree Product Photography Services Benefit You?

360-degree product photography does cost a little more and takes more time. Thus, the first thing to consider is do you really need such product photography services? The answer depends on your product range. 360-degree product photography is beneficial for multi-dimensional products but not so much for flat or single-dimensional products. The benefits include:

  • Your brand stands apart from the competition
  • The experience boosts buyer confidence
  • Customers get a better idea of what to expect and hence the risk of returns is lower

How To Take 360-Degree Product Photography?

When you’re photographing products from 360 degrees, you need a turntable in addition to the cameras and lights. This helps maintain a stable frame and keeps the product in the same position for all the photographs. If you’re working with a product photography company, they will probably use software to automate the task. So, here’s what you need to do:

  • Place the product in the center of the turntable. If you’re using a prop to keep the product standing at a specific angle, make sure the prop isn’t obstructing the view of the product.
  • Mount the camera on a tripod – this keeps the image stable. 
  • Adjust the lighting to ensure the product is suitably lit from all sides but without any glares when rotated.
  • Decide how many photographs you want to take. If you’re using software-controlled 360-degree product photography enter this number into the software.
  • Start taking photographs. Depending on the number of images, the turntable will take a photograph of the product as the turntable spins.
  • The software will play the images in a series to create a 360-degree effect.

How To Take 360-Degree Product Photography?

You can do this manually too but it would take a lot more effort and time. If you’re taking pictures manually, make sure the product’s position in the frame and the white space margins remain consistent in all the photographs. Once you have all the required photographs, you could animate them to flow in sequence and upload them to your Is Going Online website.

Here are three tips to give you good quality photographs if you’re shooting the products yourself:

  • Start with the product facing the camera
  • Clean the product before you start shooting
  • Rotate the turntable clockwise
  • Make sure you shoot the product at evenly spaced angles

In conclusion

The quality of your product photography could be the difference between an entrepreneur’s success and failure. Even if you don’t work with a product photography company, you need to pay attention to how you frame and shoot your product photographs. Having 360-degree photographs on your website will make your products look more interesting and increase your sales rates. 

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