The Future of Photography on the Web
From A Photo Editor (Rob Haggart)’s interview with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Merchandising Director of Photography Keren Sachs (whew, that’s a long title):
I think the value of product photography goes up as buying decisions go to the web because photography is all you have to grab consumers. Has that become a factor yet in the photographers you hire?
Definitely. Our photography a key aspect of our brand online and in print. However, our products must still remain hero while we build brand equity in our merchandise lines. The images have to be strong enough to instantly grab the consumers and make them stop before clicking through to something else. One way we increase the value is by making sure the imagery is lit beautifully and with purpose. You’ll notice this in the photography for our new line at 1-800-flowers.com shot by Travis Rathbone. Too many times I have seen images with beautiful lighting but the product is in shadow. That doesn’t help us sell products and it certainly doesn’t work on the web.
Get that? Product photography for the web has been “stick it in a light tent” for years now. It’s interesting to see that an enormously brand-focused organization like Martha Stewart Living has recognized the potential for photography to distinguish their products from the rest even in a low-res, relatively low-fidelity medium like the web. (If I was focused on product photography right now, I would start making sure that my vision came through even in small thumbnail-size web-store images—not just in gorgeous high-res prints and large-size web portfolio images.)
