Table of Contents
- The Real Cost of Product Photography
- 1. eCommerce Photography Budgeting
- 2. Product Photography Split Testing
- 3. Create Target Metrics
- Professional Editing: The Cost-Effective Advantage
- FAQ
The Real Cost of Product Photography
Many business owners assume they can save on product photography by hiring the cheapest photographer and gear. However, photography costs are not the only factor influencing your profits.
If you want to run a cost-effective eCommerce business, it is essential to keep return on investment at the forefront — not just how much you can save on a single shoot.
So how do you keep eCommerce product photography costs down whilst maintaining healthy profits?
Three proven strategies:
- eCommerce Photography Budgeting
- Product Photography Split Testing
- Create Target Metrics
Start your free trial — See how professional photo editing can improve your product images and boost conversions without breaking the budget. Get started here.
1. eCommerce Photography Budgeting
In a busy photo studio, budgeting is often overlooked. Creative teams tend to focus on the quality of the output rather than the cost of producing it — but both matter.
Many larger businesses have contracts in place for services they never use, or equipment sitting idle that could be put to work. Reviewing these commitments regularly is the first step to reducing waste.
More importantly, consider budgeting at a micro level — tracking the cost involved in producing images for each individual product. This might feel overwhelming at first, particularly if you currently work on a daily production rate. But tracking costs per product makes it far easier to identify items with little or no margin.
After all, your products are not all the same. They do not carry the same production costs or the same value. Knowing the true cost of your product photography — and its return on investment — is fundamental to making smart decisions.
This is not simply about quantity of images. It is about quality. Great product images sell.
2. Product Photography Split Testing
Photographers often have opinions about which images are strongest. But an opinion is not data, and you should not make business decisions based on gut feel alone.
The only reliable way to determine whether a product image is "good" is to track it through sales and return on investment. A good product photo is one that converts.
Split testing (also known as A/B testing) has been a staple in web development and marketing for years. The principle is straightforward: create two versions and measure which performs better.
How to apply it to product photography:
- Create two versions of a product page with different images
- Send traffic to each page equally
- After a set period, evaluate the results — clicks, views, conversion rate, revenue
- Keep the best-performing images and replace the weaker ones
- Repeat the process to continuously improve
You can also test different types and styles of images to discover what resonates with your audience. Once you identify a winning style, reshoot your catalogue in that format.
Split testing is the most reliable way to understand what your customers actually respond to.
3. Create Target Metrics
While split testing is highly effective, not everything can be A/B tested — and meaningful results can take time to accumulate.
Target metrics give you a way to measure process improvements that are not directly tied to customer choice and sales. Examples include:
- On-time delivery — Are images reaching the website on schedule?
- Image rejection rate — How many images are being rejected before going live?
- Cost per product — What is the true photography cost for each product?
- Turnaround time — How long from shoot to published listing?
While nothing replaces calculating overall return on investment, these operational metrics help you see how productive and efficient your product photography workflow really is.
Using these three strategies together gives you a clear framework for reducing eCommerce photography costs whilst increasing ROI.
Professional Editing: The Cost-Effective Advantage
One of the most effective ways to keep photography costs down is to separate shooting from editing. Shoot in-house (or with a cost-effective photographer), then send your raw images to a professional editing service for consistent, marketplace-ready results.
With over 10 years of experience and 380+ eCommerce clients, Pixel By Hand provides professional product photo editing at a fraction of the cost of reshooting. We handle background removal, colour correction, retouching, and more — so your images convert without blowing your budget.
Send us your images for a free sample edit — See the quality difference for yourself. Start your free trial.
FAQ
How much should I budget for eCommerce product photography?
This varies significantly depending on your product range and volume. A useful benchmark is to calculate cost per image (including shooting, editing, and uploading time) and then compare that against the revenue each product generates. If an image costs more than the margin it produces, you need to optimise.
Is it worth investing in professional photo editing?
Absolutely. Professional editing is one of the highest-ROI investments in eCommerce. Better images lead directly to higher conversion rates and fewer returns. Outsourcing editing also frees your team to focus on shooting and other high-value tasks.
How long should I run a split test on product images?
Run each test until you have statistically significant results — typically at least 100 conversions per variation, or two to four weeks of consistent traffic. Ending a test too early can lead to misleading conclusions.
What is the biggest photography cost most businesses overlook?
Time. The cost of staff time spent on shooting, editing, uploading, and re-editing images is often far greater than the direct costs of equipment or photographer fees. Tracking time per image is one of the most revealing metrics you can measure.
Can I use smartphone photos for my eCommerce store?
Yes. Modern smartphones produce excellent quality images. The key is good lighting, a clean background, and professional editing. Many successful eCommerce businesses shoot on smartphones and outsource the editing to get marketplace-ready results.