How to Consistently Align your Apparel Product Images

In online retail, **two major blunders** are using oddly-sized pictures and misaligning product photos. There’s lots of ways to showcase your clothes to match your brand’s vibe. However, ensuring **consistent product images** is key.

As visual creatures, we process information based on what we see. According to research, humans absorb 80% of what they observe and 20% of what they read. Consumers are always on the lookout for time-saving techniques and alternatives. Their attention naturally gravitates to photos. Product images not only demonstrate the quality and image of your product, but they also provide a window into your eCommerce business, creating an air of openness and honesty.

This is essentially true for fashion and clothing products. Buyers want to see the item from the front, side, and back angles. This allows them to visualize themselves wearing the product and makes it easier to decide whether it is a good fit for their needs. When your images are not aligned correctly or proportionally distorted, they can impact how customers perceive your brand.

Alignment can go hand in hand with a good composition for your apparel product images. While it may be true that every product is different, there are types of alignment and how they fit together to produce a cohesive set of fashion products.

In this guide, our expert image editors at Pixel by Hand will go over some of the best ways to align your apparel product images, as well as tips and tricks for creating a cohesive product gallery. Follow these steps, and you can be sure that your customers will always see products displayed in a way that aligns with the rest of your brand’s image.

In this guide:

• What is Image Alignment?
• How to Align Your Product Photos
  • Set Image Alignment Standards
  • Create an Alignment Template
  • Take Photos of Your Product
  • Put Your Standards into Practice

What is Image Alignment?

Image alignment (also known as image registration) is the process of distorting one picture (or sometimes both) in order for the objects in the two pictures to align correctly. Building panoramas is an interesting use of Image Alignment.

When it comes to product photography, image alignment may seem like a minor detail, but it is very quite important. When your product images are aligned incorrectly or proportionally distorted, they can affect how your customers perceive your brand. By choosing the right alignment for each piece of apparel and being consistent in your approach to lighting, background colors, and other elements, you can create an eye-catching product gallery that keeps your customers engaged and interested.

There are two main ways to align: symmetrically or asymmetrically. Keep these methods in mind as you shoot your apparel items and select the best composition for each product.

Symmetrical alignment is when the image fits within a perfect square or rectangle. This means that all the elements in the image are evenly spaced and centered, creating a balanced look that can be very appealing for fashion products. However, this type of alignment doesn’t work well for all items, as it may not be a good fit for some apparel products that are asymmetrical by nature.

A good example of symmetrical alignment in terms of clothing photography would be with a basic t-shirt. You would position the product so that it is centered within the frame and then make sure that the arms are evenly spaced across the front of the t-shirt. The neckline and hem should also be positioned exactly in the center of the shirt to create an even look.

Asymmetrical alignment is when the elements in an image are intentionally laid out differently to create a more interesting or dynamic look. You can use this type of alignment with fashion products that already have distinctive shapes and lines, such as dresses, skirts, and tops. As an example, you could place the vertical line of a dress slightly off-center to make the image more visually appealing.

Another example would be the asymmetrical pairing of images. For instance, you might have one image with a horizontal line and another with a vertical line. The combination would create a more interesting look than if the two images were symmetrically aligned.

Aside from symmetry and asymmetry, there are various additional elements to consider when aligning your product images properly. Lighting consistency, background color or texture, and even the placement of the item on the model or mannequin are all examples of this.

How to Align Your Product Photos

A good product photo is clear, well-lit, and aligned properly. Alignment, as we’ve mentioned above, helps in creating a cohesive product gallery that keeps your customers engaged and interested.

When it comes to aligning your product photos, there are a few steps that you can take to get the best results.

Set Image Alignment Standards

Before you begin shooting your apparel items, it’s important to have a clear idea of what your alignment standards will be for each type of product. For instance, do you want certain images always to be symmetrically aligned while others are asymmetrically aligned?

Consider the file size limits of various platforms when uploading images. This will all be determined by your website’s requirements. Images for web use should be a minimum of 1000 pixels by 1000 pixels at 72 dpi. If they’re not this size when you take them with your camera, don’t worry—you can resize them in post-production to make them web ready. To get started, double-check with your eCommerce platform and the marketplaces you’ll be selling on to establish your image standards.

Also, consider your featured product. This is a crucial aspect to consider while deciding how you want to integrate your products on your website. You have more options for product alignment when selling accessories, such as shoes, jewelry, or handbags. You might want to consider aligning your product in the center or towards the bottom of the frame. Different products look better in different places.

For instance, footwear and purses typically look nicer and aligned towards the bottom, which makes everything appear lower in your image. But don’t worry! As long as you’re consistent with how you lay things out across your website, your product will look great no matter what. When it comes to clothing, for example, particular attention to detail may be required to ensure that your product pictures are correctly positioned side by side yet aligned top to bottom.

Lastly, where do the images need to align? Do you want them to align at the top, in the middle, or at the bottom? In terms of apparel, it is important to align to a body’s proportioned outline, which will help keep all graphics consistent from shoulders through hips to ankles: from top to bottom. It’s critical to center the product within your frame now.

Create an Alignment Template

By creating a template, you can more easily and effectively communicate your alignment standards to editing teams (both in-house and outsourced). A template could be a Photoshop file, account settings in your editing tool, or even a Word document you provide to all your team.

In this template, include images that demonstrate what type of alignment and positioning standards need to be followed for each item. It’s also helpful to note the type of product featured within each image and where it should be placed on or within the mannequin.

If your images need to be centered on a white background, for example, it’s helpful to show examples of how that should be done, so everyone has a clear understanding of what you’re looking for. This will also help them apply their technical skills and photographic knowledge efficiently without having to check in with you or other editing team members constantly.

To create an effective alignment template, start by locating images that best represent the products you need to be aligned and positioned correctly. These could be your photos or stock imagery from a royalty-free website like Unsplash or Pixabay.

Next, use Photoshop or a similar photo editing tool to crop each image, so it features the product in its entirety and displays on a white background. You may also need to adjust lighting, color, and other settings within these images if they’re inconsistent with your “look” or brand standards.

Once you have your alignment template images prepared, list out instructions for how each image should be cropped to ensure accuracy, as well as positioning and alignment standards.

Finally, you may want to update your website’s style guide or other documentation with this template, so it’s easily accessible by everyone on your team. This will help ensure that all images align with the same standards moving forward and create consistency across your website or e-commerce platform.

If you decide to align your images this way, it is important to use these templates consistently on all future images. This will ensure that all product images are accurately positioned and aligned, regardless of who is creating or editing them. It may take some time to train your team on how to use the templates and achieve consistent results, but the effort will be worth it in the long run!

Take Photos of Your Product

Once you’ve decided on your alignment standards and created a template, it’s time to take photos of your product. Make sure to follow the guidelines that you’ve previously set up to achieve a consistent look throughout your photography.

There are two ways you can style your product images for your website: using a mannequin or on a model. Choose whichever method you prefer and leave enough space around the edges of the image so it can be cropped and aligned according to your standards.

Put Your Standards into Practice

After you’ve gathered your photos and rules, you’ll need to apply your alignment standards to them during the post-production stage for them to be web-ready.

First, open each image in your photo editing tool and crop it to the dimensions specified in your template. If all of your images need to be centered on a white background, use the ‘auto-align’ or ‘smart object’ function to achieve this.

Next, you may need to adjust lighting and color settings to ensure that your images are consistent with your brand’s style. Finally, export or upload each image to your website according to the guidelines set up in your template.

In eCommerce, especially in fashion and clothing retail, visuals are crucial. Your product images are the number one thing potential customers will see when they visit your site. It’s crucial that these align across all channels—this way, your website remains cohesive and put together beautifully. When you do this right, your customers will be satisfied with what they see and come back for more in the future.

Pixel by Hand Product Image Editing Services

eCommerce brands that want to ensure their product images are aligned and positioned correctly may benefit from using a company like Pixel by Hand. We have a team of human editors, as opposed to automated tools, to achieve consistent results.

Working with eCommerce brands to produce product images is our passion, and we’re committed to consistently delivering high-quality results. Whether you need your images aligned for a single shoot or an entire website redesign, we can help.

Our product image editing services include:

• Background removal: We can cut out the image from its surroundings, leaving you with a clean product shot to be placed on a white background.
• Color correction and enhancement: We can ensure that all your images look consistent by adjusting lighting and color settings.
• Clipping Path Service: We can create a path around the edge of your product to remove unwanted elements from the frame.
• eCommerce Product retouching: Our editors have extensive experience with eCommerce product images, so you can trust us to touch up blemishes or other small imperfections on your products.
• Ghost mannequin service: We can carefully add a mannequin to your product image for added dimension and visual interest.

To get started, simply visit our website or contact us today to learn more about our services and pricing. Say hello to us in the chatbox below.