When it comes to selling a product, great photography can make all the difference. But before you start planning your next shoot, there’s an important question to consider: should you choose lifestyle photography, studio product photography, or a combination of both?
The answer depends on what you’re selling, where the images will be used and, most importantly, what you want your customers to feel when they see your product. In this guide, we look at the differences between lifestyle and studio product photography, the advantages of each, and how to decide which approach is right for your brand.
What Is Studio Product Photography?
Studio product photography puts the product firmly at the centre of attention.
Products are photographed in a controlled studio environment where lighting, backgrounds, reflections and shadows can be carefully managed. This allows the photographer to capture the product accurately and consistently, without unnecessary distractions.
The classic example is a product photographed against a clean white or neutral background, but studio photography can be much more creative than that. Sets, coloured backgrounds, textures, props and specialist lighting can all be used to create images that complement your brand.
Studio product photography is particularly useful for ecommerce websites, catalogues, brochures, packaging and online marketplaces where customers need a clear view of exactly what they’re buying.
What Is Lifestyle Product Photography?
Lifestyle product photography places your product within a real or carefully styled environment.
Rather than simply showing what the product looks like, lifestyle photography helps customers imagine what it would be like to own, wear or use it. That might mean photographing cookware in a beautiful kitchen, jewellery being worn by a model, furniture within a styled interior or outdoor equipment being used on location. The surroundings, styling and people within the photograph all contribute to the story.
For brands, this creates an opportunity to communicate much more than the physical features of a product. You can convey personality, aspiration and lifestyle, helping customers connect emotionally with what you’re selling.
The Benefits of Studio Product Photography
One of the biggest advantages of working in a professional photography studio is control. Lighting can be adjusted precisely, products can be positioned carefully and colours can be reproduced accurately. It also makes it much easier to achieve a consistent visual style across an entire product range. This consistency is particularly important for ecommerce.
Imagine browsing an online shop where every product has been photographed from a slightly different angle, against different backgrounds and under different lighting conditions. It quickly starts to look untidy and can make the brand feel less professional.
Studio photography gives you a clean and consistent collection of images that allows customers to compare products easily. It can also capture small details that are important to the buying decision, from materials and finishes to buttons, fastenings, textures and craftsmanship.
The Benefits of Lifestyle Product Photography
Lifestyle photography has a different job. Instead of simply documenting the product, it creates context.
Showing a product being used can immediately communicate its size, purpose and benefits. It can also answer questions customers may not even realise they have.
Take a piece of jewellery as an example. A clean studio photograph can show its shape, colour and intricate details beautifully. But seeing that same piece being worn instantly gives the customer a better understanding of its scale and how it might look on them. Lifestyle photography is also incredibly valuable for marketing.
These images work particularly well across social media, advertising campaigns, website banners, email marketing and editorial content, where grabbing attention and creating an emotional connection is often more important than documenting every detail of the product.
So, Which Is Better?
Well neither, as studio and lifestyle product photography serve different purposes, and in many cases the strongest approach is to use both.
Your studio photography provides the clear, detailed images customers need when they’re actively considering a purchase. Your lifestyle photography then gives you the more emotive imagery needed to build your brand and inspire customers.
Think about an ecommerce product page, your main image might be a beautifully lit studio photograph against a clean background. The customer can then browse additional angles, close-ups and details before seeing lifestyle photography showing the product being used in the real world.
Together, those images give customers a much more complete picture of what they’re buying.
Choosing the Right Photography for Your Brand
Before deciding on a style, think about where your photographs will actually be used.If your priority is populating an ecommerce store with hundreds of products, consistent studio product photography is likely to form the foundation of your image library.
If you’re launching a new product, developing an advertising campaign or creating content for social media, lifestyle photography may play a much bigger role. It’s also worth thinking beyond your immediate requirements. Planning a shoot carefully can allow you to create a versatile library of photography for your website, social media, advertising, brochures, PR and future marketing campaigns, often without significantly increasing the scale of the shoot.
Professional Product Photography from Flat Frog Films
At Flat Frog Films, we create professional product photography for businesses and brands across a wide range of industries.
From clean, detailed studio photography to carefully planned lifestyle shoots, our team can help you decide on the right approach for your products and how the finished images will be used.
Our purpose-built photography studio gives us complete control over lighting and environment, while our location photography allows us to take your products out into the real world when the brief calls for something more lifestyle-led.
Whether you need a handful of hero images for a new product launch or consistent photography across an entire product range, we’ll work with you to create imagery that looks great and, most importantly, helps sell your products.
Get in touch withFlat Frog Films to discuss your next product photography project.
