0:03
Product photography is one of the most important aspects of your business. In an increasingly visual world, we constantly double tap photos and get bombarded by ads. Your site has to immediately grab the eye of a visitor and great product photos are essential. We'll take a look at what I like to call lifestyle photos later on.
0:24
But first, let's talk about getting your product, front and center, with a mockup. A mockup shows what your design looks like when it's on the actual product. Programs like Adobe Photoshop are used to simulate what it would actually look like in the customer's hands. Remember, with print on demand, the product isn't even made until the customer clicks the Buy button, but we have to show them what they're buying.
0:48
Thankfully, you've got some options when it comes to creating mockups. If you're savvy with Photoshop, you won't have any trouble putting together very high-quality product mockups. But if you're less technically talented, like I am, well, there are still easy ways to make your products really stand out. Shopify has curated a great list of product mockups in their blog.
1:11
And I have a link to that at the end of this lesson. There's a range of do-it-yourself Photoshop files, free and paid, as well as Shopify's own product photos on their own new stock photo site, Burst. There are also a number of drag-and-drop mockup sites where all you need to do is upload your design, and the site automatically places it on the product for you.
1:34
In fact, most of the print-on-demand partners you'll find in Shopify's app store automatically create the mockups for you anyways and adds them to your product page, and it publishes them to your store. But to truly differentiate your product and your business, you need powerful photography that goes beyond simply a product mockup. You need a bit of magic. And let me tell you, I found that magic, and it's called placeit.net.
2:02
Placeit is absolutely mind-blowing where you can drop your design onto any of their photos or videos and immediately see your products on a real model. And you didn't hear me incorrectly. I said video, too. That's right, you can drop your design right onto the video, and after a few seconds, you literally see your design on a real model in a real video. Technology is crazy.
2:26
And Placeit is going to be the next level for your business. They do charge either monthly subscription or one at a time, but I can't even explain to you how valuable high-quality product photography can be for your business. I highly recommend using a mockup generator. And if you have a few more dollars to spend, Placeit is a truly amazing product. Oh, and Placeit also offers T-shirt design templates too where you can create your own custom designs.
2:55
So in terms of creating your product mockup, you've got options, either do it yourself with a load of different Photoshop tools and templates or drag-and-drop websites. Some of which are actually integrated into your print-on-demand partner. Again, investing in good product photography is important when it comes to running a online store. It's worth paying a few dollars to get some high-quality images.
3:19
You can even reuse a lot of those product images for your advertisements. In the next module, I'll show you exactly how to set up your Shopify store.
