Benefits of AI Product Photography

Benefits of AI Product Photography

In today's digital world, captivating product images are the key to grabbing attention and driving sales. A whopping 75% of customers rely on product images in making their final purchase decision. With its capabilities to produce and edit photos faster, easier, and more impactful, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a game-changer in product photography. According to Shopify, AI product photography boosted conversion rates for businesses by 15% on average.

In this article, we'll explore the benefits of AI product photography and how it can change the eCommerce game for you. From saving operations time (which is money!) to boosting visual appeal, AI is revolutionizing how businesses showcase their products online. Let's dive in and uncover the incredible advantages of AI product photos.

AI Product Photography: A Cost-Effective and Efficient Solution

AI product photography involves using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve and streamline product images for eCommerce. AI automation can potentially increase efficiency in the product photography workflow by up to 75% by streamlining repetitive tasks. It goes beyond simple editing software. Here's the breakdown:

  • Generating Images: AI can create product photos from scratch. Mostly you place a few sample photos of your products and the AI tool generates realistic images with different angles, colors, and backgrounds. There are AI tools that can make a photo from scratch from a given prompt, such as Midjourney (now renamed to ImagineArt) or Stable Diffusion. Isn’t that amazing?
  • Editing and Enhancing: AI automates tedious editing tasks like background removal, lighting adjustments, and adding shadows. This saves significant time compared to manual editing in Photoshop, shortening the turnaround time by 30 times. Just like Assembo AI, all you need to do is upload your product photo, and it’ll automatically remove the background and place it in any scenario you choose within seconds.
ai-tool-helps-enhancing-images
Source: PhotoRoom
  • Creating Mockups: Some AI tools can create lifestyle images by placing your product in different settings. This lets you showcase a product in use, making it more relatable to potential buyers. This also allows marketing teams to conduct A/B testing to see which themes resonate best with their target audiences, potentially increasing the click-through rate by 15-30%. Some familiar names are Placeit, Canva, and Mockey.
  • Cost-Effective and Efficient Solution: Looking for a budget-friendly product photography solution? AI product photography can be an excellent alternative for setting up a camera, lighting, or hiring a photographer. Studies suggest savings of up to 70% on photography expenses. All you need to do is take a sample photo and upload it. The AI tools will take care of the background, lighting, and editing for you.

AI Product Photography Benefits for Your Business

AI product photography brings a lot to the table, and convenience is the best it offers. Imagine you don’t need to hire a photographer, or studio to make your product look flawless just like you see in eCommerce stores. Here are some of the advantages of AI product photos:

  • Reduced Costs: Ditch the expensive studio rentals and photographer fees. AI tools can generate high-quality images at a fraction of the price, reducing cost by up to 70%. ‍Especially, 54% of businesses have reported major cost-savings having adopted AI into their workflow, making it one of the biggest benefits this tech has to offer.
  • Increased Efficiency: No more waiting weeks for product photos. AI can give you professional images in minutes, allowing you to launch new products 30 times faster.
  • Enhanced Creativity and Scalability: AI lets you experiment with different backgrounds, styles, and layouts quickly and easily. Need multiple variations of a product for different colors or sizes? AI has you covered. Tools like DALL-E, built by OpenAI, can generate highly detailed and customizable product images from textual descriptions.
midjourney-vs-pebblely-generating-ai-product-images
Midjourney (left) and Pebblely (right) in a competition for appealing generating product image. Source: Pebblely
  • Improved Consistency and Quality: AI ensures consistent lighting, angles, and composition across all your product images, creating a polished and professional brand image. Plus, it minimizes human error for accurate product representation.

AI Product Photography for Social Media Marketing

Using stock photos or professionally taken photos available online is a common practice. However, AI is changing the game here as well - It is revolutionizing social media marketing. Imagine placing your product on a tropical beach or in a bustling cityscape – all without leaving your desk.

product-photography-examples
Source: Pebblely

AI lets you generate unique and eye-catching visuals in seconds. That allows you to experiment with different backgrounds and scenes to grab attention. For example, you can place a couch in a luxurious furnished mansion, or a country house with breathtaking mountain views, or a cozy beach cabin overlooking the ocean - all in just seconds. This means you have a constant stream of fresh content that makes your brand stand out in the crowded social media landscape.

ai-product-photography-generating-furniture-background
Source: Assembo

This technique can be applied to a variety of eCommerce products, from furniture, food and beverage, to cosmetics, clothes, jewelry, and more! It's like having a magic photo studio in your pocket, ready to help you create content that stops the scroll and gets people engaged.

How AI Helps Product Photography

AI product photography uses advanced algorithms trained on large collections of product images. This lets you do tasks like:

  • Background Removal and Replacement: Effortlessly remove unwanted backgrounds and replace them with clean, white backdrops, or creative settings. In the photographic industry, popular AI solutions for this mission are remove.bg, Erase.bg, and removal.ai.
  • Object Detection and Enhancement: AI can identify your product within the frame and enhance its focus for a clear and professional presentation. Top image enhancement and retouching tools include Topaz Labs Photo AI, Retouch Pro, AutoRetouch, and Cutout.Pro.
  • Background Editing for Lifestyle Shots: Showcase your products in different settings with AI's ability to edit or change backgrounds for lifestyle product shots. One of the most well-known names is PhotoRoom.
ai-product-photography-generating-background
Source: spectrum

Future of AI Product Photography

Forget expensive studios and fancy cameras! Imagine snapping product pics in seconds, right from your phone. That's the future of online shopping, thanks to AI.

Here's the deal: AI is getting super smart at recognizing products, lighting, and even creating realistic photos on its own! This means any business, big or small, can soon take amazing product pictures with just a few clicks.

ai-photography-future-example
Source: nytimes

But it gets even better. As AI gets even more powerful, expect features like 3D models you can spin around and product picks chosen just for you, based on the pictures you like. Basically, online shopping is about to become a whole new world - more fun, easier to use, and way more exciting to explore.

Who Can Benefit from AI Product Photography?

The answer is simple: anyone who wants to bring their product photography and online presence to the next level. From eCommerce giants to solo entrepreneurs, anyone can enjoy the benefits of AI product photography. This is a game changer as it’s a cost-effective and efficient way to create stunning visuals. And these will capture customer attention and boost sales.

Challenges of AI Product Photography

AI product photography is cool, but it's not perfect. Here's the basic rundown:

  • AI can't quite be creative: It takes great technical pictures but might miss capturing the product's personality or making it stand out. (Postuby)
  • AI needs good training: If it learns from bad pictures, it will take bad pictures! It also needs updates to keep up with trends. (ProductScope AI)
  • Your brand matters: AI might not get your brand's unique style. You don't want your photos to look generic! (SnappyFly)
  • Be honest! AI can make things look too good, which can trick customers. Show the real product in the best light possible.

The solution? Use AI as a helper rather than a replacement. Let it do the boring stuff, but keep a human eye on things to make sure the final pictures are awesome and show off your brand.

Conclusion

Discover the world of AI product photography tools and see how they can transform your product image creation. These tools are like magic for busy businesses. They save you time and money, letting you focus on running your business. Plus, AI lets you get creative with different backgrounds and edits, making your products pop.

The best part? AI helps you sell more. High-quality photos grab attention and convert browsers into buyers. Don't get left behind. Jump on the AI bandwagon and take your product photos from blah to boom!

So why wait? Embrace the power of AI today and take your product photography to the next level!

Vian Trinh

CGO @ FoxEcom

Vian Trinh always enjoys reading unless she is writing beautiful content for eCommerce lovers. As the Chief Growth Officer of FoxEcom, she and her team are dedicated to helping SMBs succeed by building smart and hyper-efficient solutions in the eCommerce world. When Vian’s not working, arts and jazz are her go-to for a delightful time.