360 Degree Product Photography: Creating Immersive Experience

360-degree product photography is a great way to elevate your brand and take your online store to the next level by offering an immersive experience to your customers that will give you an edge over competitors. 

360-degree product images enable you to provide your customers with an accurate representation of the product by allowing them to see every angle of the product. This functionality replicates the interactive nature of a physical store, enhancing the shopping experience.

This blog explores 360-degree product photography, revealing how to create captivating images that bring your products to life and showcase their best angles.

360-Degree Product Images

A 360-degree product image is a series of high-resolution photographs capturing a product from every angle, which users can rotate using a touch screen or a cursor. Specialized equipment captures the image from all directions, giving the impression of rotating images. 360-degree image is a unique and immersive method for businesses to engage customers with interactive product presentations, which helps enhance customer’s experience and boost conversion rate.

Any business showcasing products, properties, and events uses 360-degree product photography. It is widely used in e-commerce, advertising, real estate, automotive, and manufacturing industries. 

Difference Between 360-Degree Product Photography & 3D Interactive View

The term 360-degree image and 3D photography are interchangeably used because they fall under the spin category. While they might seem similar in broader terms, they are inherently different processes. Let us discuss some differences between 360-degree product photography and 3D images.

Processes: When a product is photographed from 360 degrees on a single plane, i.e., one row, it generates a 360-degree product image. In layperson’s terms, an object is placed on a turntable, which automatically rotates a single time while the camera takes 24 to 36 images, with 15-degree increments. This technique provides an immersive and interactive 360-degree view of the product, allowing viewers to see it from every angle.

On the other hand, when a product is captured from 360 degrees on multiple planes, which could be 2-3 rows, it generates a 3D image. Besides the 360-degree view, the camera moves up and down. To create 3D images, a specialized computer-generated visualization is produced, which can be rotated and viewed from any angle.

Turnaround Time: Generating 3D images takes longer than 360-degree images because there is a need to reposition the camera for each plane, and the number of camera shots also increases significantly. Furthermore, creating 3D images requires specialized software and 3D modeling and rendering expertise.

Cost: Since a few companies manufacture 3D image equipment, it has a narrow array of sophisticated inventory. This makes 3D image photography a more costly process than 360-degree photography. 360-degree image inventory is available at different price points for varying quality levels, so you can find 360-degree photography equipment that fits your budget.

Realism: While 360-degree product photography provides a realistic view of the product, it is still a photograph. This makes it subjected to limitations associated with lightning and reflection. This is not the case with 3D images via CGI, which are produced in a digitally controlled environment, making them immune to external factors. Therefore, 3D images created via CGI are consistent throughout the series.

Interactivity: While 360-degree product photography allows customers to view the product from all angles, it doesn’t let them manipulate it. But with 3D images, customers can view and manipulate the product image in different settings. This helps the business offer customers a more interactive and immersive experience. It is important to note that this is possible because in 3D spin, the camera remains still, and the object is rotated around it. But in 360-degree photography, the camera is rotated around the object.

Businesses That Need 360-degree Images

If you are a business that sells consumer goods or properties or heavily relies on offering visual experiences to the customers; then you need 360-degree product images. Following are examples of businesses that can leverage 360-degree product images to enrich customer experience and boost conversion rates.

E-commerce: E-commerce retailers can use 360-degree product photography to showcase the product from various angles, making it more engaging and interactive. This will help the customer know and understand the product before purchasing.

Advertising: Advertisers can use 360-degree product photography to create interesting and interactive ad campaigns. They can also use it to showcase the product in a way that engages the customers and help the brand build a meaningful relationship with them.

Real estate: Real estate developers, property managers, and builders can use 360-degree product photography to put their properties on display for potential buyers. They can also enrich the customer experience by offering them a virtual tour of their property, allowing buyers to explore every room and space from the comfort of their homes.

Automotive Industry: Vehicle dealerships and manufacturers can use 360-degree product photography to showcase the vehicles and give potential buyers a detailed perspective of the vehicle’s features and functionalities. By allowing customers to view every minute detail of the vehicle, from interior to exterior, they strengthen the customer’s confidence in the brand.

Manufacturing: The manufacturing division and professionals can use 360-degree product photography to inspect and analyze the product for any fault or inconsistency. It can also improve product design and ensure quality control. 

Hospitality: Hotels, resorts, and other hospitality institutions can use 360-degree product photography to give customers a virtual tour of how it feels to stay there. They can also use it to showcase their facilities, like menu items and other amenities, which helps customers make an informed decision regarding the reservation. 

Overall, suppose you aim to convert visitors to customers, increase conversion, decrease return rate, ensure customer loyalty, increase time spent on your page, and avoid expectation mismatch with the customers. In that case, a 360-degree product image is your best choice.

Benefits of 360-degree Product Images

Wondering how 360-degree product images can help your business? We bring a list of benefits your business can leverage from 360 product images.

Boost Engagement: Unlike 2D images, which lack perspective, 360-degree product images offer customers an interactive and immersive experience, and hence, potential buyers are more likely to spend time on your product pages. This results in an increased interest in the products. This will give you more time to convince buyers of what makes you an ideal choice. 

Enrich Shopping Experience: 360-degree product images provide customers with a detailed and highly engaging view of the product. It helps them better understand the product and its benefits since the customers can see its features, functionality, and design more clearly. This enhanced interactivity enriches the shopping experience.

Competitive Edge: 360-degree product images can help a business stand out by offering customers high-quality product images. The enhanced product visualization will help customers differentiate your brand from those that use static images. The improved customer experience helps create a loyal customer base. 

Boost Conversion Rate: 360-degree product photography offers a detailed and hyper-realistic view of the product, helping customers better understand its features and functionalities. This boosts their confidence in the product and increases their possibility of purchasing. The enhanced interactivity and immersive content improve the overall experience with the brand and increases the likelihood of repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

Reduce Returns: 360-degree product images provide a comprehensive view of the product. It lets customers rotate the product and zoom in and out to look at the intricacies, helping them better understand the details and functionalities. It further helps evaluate the product’s size, dimension, and overall features, which helps in decision-making. This minimizes the possibility of returns because of sizing issues or dissatisfaction from the customer.

Builds Trust: Consumers are looking for online sellers that provide complete information about the product. They won’t take much time to think before abandoning the cart. 360-degree product images lets the customer discover the product’s features and functionality. Customers can zoom in on the product’s characteristics for a detailed view. This ability to gain a comprehensive perspective of the product helps brands build customer trust. 

Save Time: By offering a detailed view of the product, brands help customers understand the product. This reduces customers’ queries regarding the product features and dimensions. Thus, saving time and resources for the customer service teams. 

Steps To Create A 360-degree Product Image

Before we dive into the steps, it is important to understand how we can create 360–degree product images. There are two ways to create a 360-degree product image:

• Traditional Method: The traditional method of 360-degree product photography involves a wide range of equipment, from a camera, and tripod, to editing software. It is a cost-extensive process whose output relies heavily on many environmental factors like lightning, reflection, shadow, and more. 
• Computer-Generated Imagery Method: Generating photos through computer-generated imagery involves a few steps, such as modeling, mapping, and animation. It is a relatively cost-effective process that takes place in a digitally controlled environment. This means the output of a 360-degree product photograph is independent of environmental factors.

How to Create 360-Degree Product Images Using Traditional Method

Taking 360-degree product photographs is an exhaustive process that involves capturing several photos at different angles. But before we dive into the process, let us discuss the equipments you need for a 360–degree product image via the traditional method.

Camera: You will need a high-quality camera with a wide-angle lens to capture the product from different angles. You will have to ensure the camera has a manual mode since we need the camera set to be fixed throughout the 360-degree view shoot.

Tripod: As you know, a tripod is a three-legged stand supporting a camera. Using a tripod keeps the camera completely still while the 360-degree view of the product is shot.

Lightings: To capture high-quality images, you need good lighting. There are two types of lights- continuous light and strobe light. Continuous light stays on without flashing while the strobe light flashes bright light for a fraction of a second. You can use these lights independently or in combination, depending on your requirements. 

Background Paper: The goal of 360-degree product photography is to showcase the product with an entire focus on it. To achieve this, you need a plain, distraction-free background. A high-quality background paper will also suffice.

360 Turntable: 360 turntable is an essential tool in 360-degree product photography as it helps capture a series of images of the product from various angles when it rotates. Make sure that your product is well-lit and focused.

Softbox: It falls under the modified lighting category and is used to create soft, diffused light. It comprises a frame that holds the diffusion panel through which the light is passed. The light comes out soft and scattered. It is available in a wide range of shapes and sizes, depending on the product you are trying to photograph and the result you are trying to achieve. 

Diffusion Panel: The diffusion panel is used in 360-degree product photography to scatter the lights and minimize harsh shadows, creating soft and uniform product illumination.

Wired Remote Shutter Release: In 360-degree product photography, it is important to ensure that the camera does not move at all in any shot of the 360-degree view. Otherwise, the images will be jittery or blurry. A wire remote shutter release is a device that remotely controls the camera’s shutter. It allows photographers to trigger the camera’s shutter without physically touching the camera. 

Editing Software: Once you have captured the photos, you will need editing software to stitch all the images into one complete 360-degree product image. There are several features that you need to look for in an editing software. You need to ensure it is compatible with VR content for different applications like marketing campaigns or virtual tours and has a wide range of image editing tools like adjusting the exposure, color balance, sharpness, and more. 

Now that you have the equipment in place, it is time to follow these steps to take a high-quality 360-degree product image that allows your customers to engage entirely with the product and help them make informed decisions.

• Spin the table for circular objects like wine bottles
• Choose lighting that best suits your product and keep the light consistent throughout the shooting to keep the images consistent
• Install the camera on the tripod and place it in front of the 360 product photography table
• Keep your product focused by using a narrow aperture between f/8 and f/16
• Take a test shot by switching on the camera remote mode and check whether the remote is communicating with the camera. Once confirmed, you can start spinning your 360-degree turntable clockwise ( industry standard)
• Edit the images using editing software
• After editing, load the images to a 360 view

While traditional photography can effectively capture a comprehensive view of a product, its limitations can come in the way of marketers trying to engage the audience. Below are some disadvantages of using a traditional method of creating 360-degree product images.

Limited Interactivity: You can only create static images through a conventional method of 360-degree photography. While you can view the product from all angles, this method lacks the interactive element.

Impact of Environmental Factors: Traditional methods for capturing 360-degree product images heavily depend on environmental factors like reflection, shadows, and more. Since they can not be controlled, the images lack consistency.

Costly: Traditional method of taking 360–degree product images is a costly process that requires investment in specialized tools such as turntables, multiple cameras, and lighting setups. Setting up the scene and taking pictures from different angles can be time-consuming, especially in complex projects.

How To Create 360-Degree Product Images Using CGI

Creating 360-degree product images using CGI involves using specialized software for product modeling, texture mapping, lighting, rendering, animation, and image stitching. It is a cost-effective process wherein environmental factors do not affect the output. Generating 360-degree product images using CGI involves the following steps.

• Create a 3D model of the product using specialized software.
• Replicate the product’s appearance by adding texture and material.
• Simulate real-world lighting conditions by setting up virtual lighting.
• Configure a virtual camera within the 3D software to take a 360-degree product image.
• Add animation and render the frames based on desired resolution and format.
• Use specialized software to stitch the rendered frames into 360-degree product images.

While you will get the desired premium quality 360-degree product image using the aforementioned techniques, we recommend hiring a professional 360-degree product image service provider.

Why?

Let us look at the reason why creating a 360-degree image in-house may not be a wise choice.

Expertise: Capturing and creating high-quality 360-degree product images require professional experience and expertise. The person responsible for creating 360-degree product images needs to be an expert in best practices, techniques, and equipment to produce high-quality, accurate, and visually appealing images. This means either you will have to invest in training current employees or hire CGI experts.

Hardware and Software Requirements: You may have to invest in an advanced workstation, software license, graphics cards, and more. This can be a cost-extensive process burdening your bottom line.

Quality Control: To ensure the premium quality of the visual content, you might have to develop quality standards, procedures, and protocols. This can be a time-consuming process requiring a significant investment of resources.

360-degree image service providers have the technical knowledge, experience, and expertise to generate high-quality 360-degree product images. Since you don’t have to spend a single penny on purchasing or maintaining any equipment, you will save money in the long run. 

With a 360-degree product image service provider by your side, you will get professional quality images that are consistent in quality and style and can highlight your product’s unique features and functionality. Therefore, we suggest taking the help of a CGI service provider like House of Blue Beans.

How To Create 360 interactive view Using CGI: 

• Create a high fidelity 3D model of the product using specialized software
• Replicate the product’s appearance by adding texture and material.
• Create a low fidelity 3D model .i.e. an optimised version of the high fidelity 3D model 
• Upload the low fidelity 3D model on the web based product viewer

While the aforementioned steps can help you create premium quality 360 interactive views, doing this in-house may not be wise. This is why we recommend hiring a 360 interactive view service provider. Why?
Listed below are some reasons why hiring a 360 interactive view service provider is a smart decision instead of doing it in-house.

• Expertise: 360 interactive view service professionals have the skills, experience and expertise to create visually appealing and interactive content.
• High-Quality Output: 360 interactive view service professionals use state-of-the-art technology, tools and software that may not be available to anyone. They provide high-quality output with attention to detail, realistic rendering and seamless interactivity.
• Customization and Flexibility: 360 interactive view service providers offer tailored 360 interactive views according to specific requirements and brand guidelines.

Hiring a 360 interactive view service provider will ensure that you save time and money by leveraging the knowledge and experience of professionals and save time and money to focus on the business’s core objectives.

House of Blue Beans- A Done-for-You 360-Degree Product Image Solution

House of Blue Beans is your one-stop solution for 360-degree product image requirements. We hold a decade of experience helping industry leaders and brands like Lowe’s and Target Retail with our premium 360-degree product photography. 

Trusted By Pioneers

Fortune 50 companies and industry leaders like Lowe’s, Target Retail, Honeywell, Henkel, and more trust us for premium quality 360-degree product images. We are proud to have helped pioneers across industries create and showcase product visuals that help them offer their customers an immersive and engaging experience. 

Good 360-degree photography is the one that makes optimum utilization of lighting, background, and types of equipment. House of Blue Beans gives you access to tools, technologies, knowledge base, and expertise that will revolutionize your product marketing.

We aim to make a 360-degree product image that loads quickly and smoothly to enhance user experience. To materialize this, we have a team of 360-degree product photography experts which is combined with state-of-the-art technology to create a 360-degree product image that will showcase the product in its complete entirety.

We offer the following services:

Images: We will help you create highly detailed, photorealistic 360-degree product images your customers can view from multiple angles. Whether you want to create plain white background images, lifestyle images, or 360 spins, we at House of Blue Beans have covered you with top-notch visual content.

Video: We will help you convey your brand message through hyper-realistic videos with a natural-looking environment, characters, and objects.

AR/VR Experiences: We will help you offer your customers an immersive shopping experience with our 360-shoppable room and visualizer application. The 360-shoppable room will allow customers to virtually visit your showroom and shop as if in a physical store. The visualizer app will enable customers to visualize the product in the room in different situations.

Why Choose House of Blue Beans for Your 360-Degree Product Images Requirement?

House of Blue Beans has your back whether you want to create high-quality and photo-realistic images or immersive and animated videos. With us by your side, you will only get top-notch 360-degree product images in a cost-effective range. We guarantee

Budget-Friendliness: House of Blue Beans offers premium quality 360-degree product image service at ¼th cost of the traditional method. We use the latest CGI technology, so you don’t have to worry about the cost of shipping products, creating expensive sets, props, and product damage. 

The overall cost is significantly reduced since we reuse the same 3D model to create different visual contents like white background images, 360 spins, videos, and AR and VR experiences.

Premium Quality: We take immense pride in delivering high-quality 360-degree product images to industry leaders like Lowe’s, Henkel, Honeywell, Target, and more. All our services occur in a digitally controlled environment, ensuring consistency throughout the image series.

Quicker Turnaround Time: We deliver visual content within two weeks, unlike the traditional method, which can take up to 3 months. You can save 80% of your time with us since we use proprietary visual content management software, simplifying collaborative content development and asset management.

You don’t have to believe what we say. You can read what our clients have to say about us.

360-degree product images can improve customer engagement by enhancing product visualization. They have the ability to satisfy customers boost conversion rates and increase sales. The visual advantage of 360-degree product photography helps customers develop a deeper connection with the audience and strengthen their decision-making. 

So what are you waiting for?

Maximize your product’s potential and showcase your product in a manner that is visually appealing and informative with House of Blue Beans.