The Product Shots Every E-Commerce Business Needs | Sydney Photographer

If you run an online store, your product photography is your storefront. And in a digital-first world, your customers are making decisions based entirely on what they see.

The right images don’t just make your product look good. They show off its quality, communicate your value, and help your brand stand out in a crowded market.

As an e-commerce photographer based in Sydney, here’s what I recommend every online business includes in their image library and why it matters for your sales, brand consistency, and long-term growth.

The Essential: Front and Back Views

At a bare minimum, every product listing should include a clean, high-resolution front-facing shot and a back-of-pack shot.

The front shows your product clearly, in line with your branding. The back is often where customers expect to see important information like ingredients, nutritional panels, product details, or usage instructions. If your packaging includes critical details on the sides, it’s also a good idea to capture those angles too.

These images help your customer make an informed choice. They also build trust because a shopper who can see all sides of your product is more likely to click "add to cart."

True-to-Life Colour and Scale

Online, people can’t touch or test your product. That’s why lighting and accuracy are so important.

All of your e-commerce images should be shot in controlled studio lighting to ensure true-to-life colour, crisp detail, and scale. This allows your product to shine as it does in real life without shadows, discolouration, or distortion.

As an e-commerce photographer in Sydney, I work closely with my clients to make sure every image reflects their brand and product accurately because visual consistency is what builds recognition and repeat purchases.

Cut-Out Shots for Flexible Use

If you're investing in e-commerce photography, it’s worth planning for cut-out shots on a clean background, ideally white or neutral.

This gives you flexibility. You can float your product images on your website, overlay them on coloured backgrounds, or drop them into marketing graphics with ease. Clean-cut images can be exported as PNGs, meaning they have a transparent background that can be used in Canva, Photoshop, or even GIF animations.

The best part? These same e-commerce images can serve double duty as part of your social media marketing, website banners, ads, and email campaigns.

What If My Product Has Extra Components?

If your product comes in a box or has multiple elements, you need to photograph each part of it clearly.

For example, a skincare product in a box should be shot both on its own and styled with its packaging. If the product is a liquid, like a serum or foundation, adding a swipe or texture shot helps customers see the consistency and colour.

Selling supplements like gummies? A photo of the actual gummy outside the packet shows exactly what they’ll be taking.

If your item has detailed features such as a designer zip, embossed logo, or custom tag, don’t skip the close-ups. These unique features are selling points and deserve to be highlighted.

Behind-the-Scenes: Tips to Prepare for the Best Results

To ensure a smooth shoot, always send multiple versions of each product. Sometimes the packaging may be scratched, printed slightly off-centre, or not photograph well under studio lights. Having backups means we can choose the most photogenic version.

If we need to open a product to show what’s inside, like pouring powder or layering product textures, having more than one sample lets us shoot both the closed product and styled elements in the same session.

Why PNGs Matter (and How to Use Them)

Want more mileage out of your photos? Always request PNG files of your product shots.

These cut-out images can be used to create patterns and repeat graphics, build dynamic social media content, and layer into marketing designs for emails, web banners, or product education posts.

Better yet, working with a photographer who understands PNG styling means you can get your cut-out shots with natural shadows left in. This allows you to build layered patterns and keep your visuals looking realistic, not flat.

Final Thought

High-quality e-commerce imagery isn’t just for aesthetics. It’s a core part of your customer’s buying experience. From clean front-and-back shots to styled packaging sets and flexible PNG cut-outs, your product deserves to be shown in its best light.

If you’re ready to build a product image library that reflects the quality, care, and detail of what you offer, I’d love to help.

Let’s create e-commerce photography that doesn’t just look good but sells.

Looking for an e-commerce photographer in Sydney? Get in touch today to start your next shoot.