Strategic Ways to Use Holiday Images
When brick and mortar stores want to get shoppers in the mood to buy holiday items, they decorate their stores with Christmas trees, stockings and menorahs. The eCommerce version of this is using holiday photos and images throughout your website and in social media.
Including Holiday Props with Your Products
“As far as shooting products for your holiday campaigns, I recommend keeping it simple,” says Jeff Delacruz of POW (Products on White) Photography. “The focus should be on your products and not a million pounds of garland.” Here is a list of ten product photo ideas with holiday props:
- Your product peeping out of a stocking
- The under the tree close-up
- Surrounded by wrapping paper like it was just opened
- Using Christmas tree lights as an accent
- Babies / kids in hats with your product
- Your product in front of a menorah and/or with dreidels
- Winter and winter-related props such as snowmen, snowballs and reindeer
- Photos featuring Santa and your product
- Using Christmas ornaments as an accent
- Including animals (especially with hats or peeking out of a stocking) in your shot
But My Products Aren’t Gift Items
Fourth quarter is the time when folks are in a buying mood. Even if your item is more practical than posh, people are more likely to buy it then, for themselves or as a practical gift.
Holiday images are even more important if your item isn’t an obvious gift, because it reminds folks to put your products on their shopping lists, too.
Here are some additional examples (the first one is at the top of this post) of holiday images from ShipStation customer Stain Rx, a maker of stain removal products:
Where to Use Holiday Images
There are many places you can use holiday images. Here are some ideas:
- On your website, including the home page and on individual product pages and in gift guides
- In social media posts
- As headers for your social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter
- In newsletters and emails
How to Take Great Holiday Photos
If you’re just starting out, check out these posts:
- The Essentials for DIY eCommerce Product Pictures
- Product Photography 101: Choosing a DSLR
- Change your DSLR Settings to Yield Better Product Photography
Already have great product photos, and just want to add some fun backgrounds or graphics? There are many sites that can help. Just search for “Christmas” or “Holiday.” Here are some additional options:
- Canva.com – free or $1 images, photos and backgrounds
- BigCommerce – free holiday images
- Volusion – free holiday images
If you’re more advanced, here are some tips from Delacruz at POW Photography: “When shooting Christmas lights, the light should be more of an accent. You don’t really want them to light your product because they’re all different colors and will not do a great job shaping the product. The way to do it is to add a flash to light the main product and then do a long exposure for the lights, as they are not that bright. The key to a successful long exposure is to use a tripod. Typically, it’s not recommended that you hand hold a camera on an exposure longer than 1/60th of second.”
Final Thoughts
“The number one tip I can offer is to plan ahead,” says Delacruz. “We get super busy one week before Thanksgiving with people deciding to jump on the Christmas sale band wagon.”
Whether you take your own images or outsource them, start as early as possible. Then you’ll have enough time to use holiday images strategically and maximize sales opportunities during the entire holiday selling season.
