You can spend thousands on an excellent ad, and then a customer sees a weak product photo and closes the page. Photography is not decoration — it is part of the purchase decision.
Supplier stock photos reduce trust
Audiences now easily distinguish a real photo from a catalogue image. A real photo says: "this product genuinely exists here".
Lighting matters more than the camera
A modern phone camera with correct lighting beats a professional camera with bad lighting. Side lighting reveals texture; flat frontal light flattens the product.
The shots every product needs
- A clean-background shot — for the store and catalogue.
- A close detail shot — showing material and quality.
- An in-use shot — helping the customer picture themselves.
- A scale reference — preventing the "how big is it?" question.
- A 9:16 vertical — for reels and stories.
Food follows different rules
Food is shot in the first minutes after preparation; steam and texture are the hero. Top-down angles suit flat dishes, side angles suit layers.
A practical rule: if the photo needs text to explain what's in it, the photo isn't working.
Consistency creates identity
Keep background, lighting and angle consistent across products. A feed where every image has a different style reads as random, even if each image is good on its own.
At Dr Media we shoot products and food in-studio or on location, and deliver images sized for every platform.
