Sitting at home alone on a Saturday night (hey, it’s by choice…?) makes you think about some interesting things.
“Do octopodi get sore?”
“Does the girl across the hall worship Satan?”
“How does the skin of an onion get so papery?”
“Why can’t my refrigerator refill itself?”
Then I came across a question that not only pertains to, you know, reality a bit more than the others, but that you could answer for me!
Do product photos affect your perception of the product?
For instance, when you see a dress that you’re attracted to, are you more or less willing to purchase it based on how the product is displayed?
Example: Helmut Lang’s Spring 09 RTW collection featured this amazing silk dress that has a Daddy Long Legs spider printed on the left breasty-shoulder area. I found it in three different places (including March ’09 Lucky Magazine, where the product was laying flat):
(Sorry it’s small.) One of the photos is from Style.com, one is from Bloomingdales and the other from Zoe. Obviously, they’re all the same dress… Or IS it obvious?
The dress on the left looks less like silk, more like jersey… Very matte, and very white. The dress in the center looks very shiny and silky, but easily wrinkles and wide. The dress on the right is very well worn by that model. The draping is perfect, but the garment doesn’t look all that shiny and, maybe it’s me, but it looks a little more yellow and cream-colored than the other two (and the description of the product, which says “white”).
Personally, I’d buy the dress after seeing it on the third model (far right). It looks smooth, soft, easy, and… well, more like a designer garment.
So which product would you purchase, if they were all the same price? Would you choose one over the other? None? Are they all “just a dress on a body”?
Let me know in the comments.
xoxo.
View Comments (4)
I'll end up buying the product wherever it's cheaper but a photo can definitely persuade or dissuade me from buying. My biggest pet peeve is websites that don't take a separate photo of each colorway. I think it is mostly places like L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer (hey, take good sweaters where you can find them...) but it drives me nuts. My vote for best own-product photography goes to the Martin + Osa website. Each color has its own separately styled model photo, front and back, as well as close ups on the material. I've never bought their stuff so I don't know the quality but the photos make it tempting.
jfount´s last blog post was jfount: My oatmeal boiled over in the microwave and it's snowing outside. I do not approve :(!
Like you, I would be more likely to buy the dress if I only saw the photo on the right. The center photo is pretty (and I love that you can see the detail) but it would work better as a second or third photo of a set. The first photo makes a more attractive shape, in my opinion.
And to answer your broader question, my perception of a product is definitely altered by the product photo. I have a hard time shopping at MadeItMySelf.com for exactly that reason - Etsy.com's artists have much better photos of their products!
Jen´s last blog post was No One’s Perfect!
I'm a sucker for good product photo...
Birdie´s last blog post was Fibonacci - Unkissed!
A product photo makes a huge difference. A photo on a model shows you what it looks like on a human being and if it doesn't look good on a model, it is not going to look good on most people while a picture of the garment on a hanger doesn't give a good sense at all of what it will look like. A well modeled photo can make a garment look fantastic even if it isn't that great because of the aura(couldn't think of a better word) or the confidence of the model. I think that a product photo matters more than a lot of people realize, especially judging by some of the photos I've seen on eBay.
Chrissy´s last blog post was What I'm Wearing 3-8-2009!