How to optimize your photo and video shoots using a Style Guide
No matter the size of your business - consistent and convincing product photography and videography are a must to make sure your webshop converts! Showcasing compelling imagery and videos on your product detail and listing pages will help overcome the number one problem with online shopping: convincing your customers to buy your product without being able to test, touch, and try it first.
But how are you able to achieve that? A Style Guide is the perfect tool to achieve consistent high-quality output efficiently all whilst maintaining your brand identity and aesthetic. Due to consistent product photography and videography, customers are able to make informed buying decisions. Employing high-quality visuals will not only help overcome potential customer hesitation but also communicates value and educates buyers on how to use your merchandise. Presenting your products in a consistent manner translates into trust in your brand and website.
What is a Style Guide?
A Style Guide is a visual document often used by fashion companies and e-commerce studios to create consistent high-quality photo and video content. It is key to building a brand aesthetic and functions as a general guideline with regard to creating content from start to finish. Optimally, a Style Guide leads through the whole process of producing visual content - from working efficiently on set to post-production and file naming conventions.
Together with the creative brief and your mood board, the Style Guide builds the foundation of your shoot.
Why should you use a Style Guide?
With a Style Guide, you’re able to document your brand’s content creation process for years to come. If you are at the beginning of building your brand, a Style Guide helps you to establish and cement your visual identity for you to build on and develop over time.
If you are working with several photographers, videographers, and stylists, a Style Guide ensures that the same visual identity and consistency will be maintained with different people involved in your content production. In case of absence or the need to train a new studio staff member, the document speeds up the onboarding process by functioning as a comprehensive training manual.
Only with consistent high-quality visual content, you are able to create a clean and professional-looking product listing page. On the product detail page, ensuring the same shots from different angles enables customers to successfully compare your products, which helps them make optimal buying decisions. In short: a Style Guide will help you to convert and boost your sales in the long run.
What should be included in a Style Guide?
To optimize your shoots and streamline your workflows, your Style Guide should be as clear and detailed as possible. Optimally, your document should include but is not limited to:
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Your studio workflow
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Product photography guidelines
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Product videography guidelines
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Styling notes per brand, line, and product category
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A styling equipment overview
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Your file naming conventions
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If applicable, a lighting diagram
#1 - Studio workflow
Working in a team, hiring new people, and often employing freelancers implies that everyone in your studio has their own way of working. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, it’s helpful to include a step-by-step studio workflow in your Style Guide. A workflow helps to keep an overview of what’s coming next and enables your employees to focus their attention on each step. If something goes wrong, you can go back to your studio workflow to identify potential bottlenecks or understand which steps your team struggles with.
#2 - Product photography guidelines
Try to be as clear as possible here. When it comes to documenting different image types like flat lay, tabletop, mannequin, or model, mention every detail and give clear instructions - verbally and visually.
Document everything from the required amount of close-ups per product to different angles, lighting conditions, color readouts, and focal lengths. Add the zoom information along with measurements of white space on the sides, top, and bottom of your product images.
Finally, state the required file format, aspect ratio, resolution, and color profile for your photos.
#3 - Product videography guidelines
Similarly to product photos, outline how to capture your items on video as precisely as possible. Come up with a storyline in form of a verbal and visual script for your product videos. Mention required shots, composition, camera movement, subject movement, lighting, styling, and focal lengths for every shot.
Again, state the required file format, aspect ratio, resolution, and color profile for your videos.
#4 - Styling notes
Closely connected to image and video guidelines are your styling notes. Here you list everything that applies to styling your products for images and videos.
For example, when shooting flat lays, describe how the item is supposed to be folded, stuffed, and pinned if applicable. Mention whether zippers and buttons should be all done up or whether the natural creasing of fabrics should be kept instead of completely smoothed out. Also list required close-ups, for example of buttons, seams, fabric, or logos.
If you have several brands, start with defining your styling notes per brand, then go down to explaining those per (clothing) line. Lastly, state your styling notes for every product category you carry in your webshop.
#5 - Styling equipment overview
You can use the equipment overview not only as a register, e.g. for mannequins to use for your product images and videos, but also to list helpful tools for styling purposes. List all your little helpers here, explain where to find them and what to use them for. For example, write down which tools to use for prepping items before the shoot or which props to use to keep round items from rolling away while shooting.
#6 - File naming conventions
Having a file naming structure in place before shooting your content is key. Think about which structure makes sense for your inventory first. This will help with keeping your database organized in the long run and makes uploading files much easier. For example, if you shoot fashion product images and videos, use your SKU or product name and combine it with an ascending number or the type of shot, e.g. “F” for front, “B” for back, and “D” for detail.
When working with StyleShoots equipment, you can make use of a simple predetermined file naming convention when selecting a preset to speed up the file naming process. For images, it consists of five components: product name or SKU, framing, preset name, file number, and format.
For videos, the file name has four components: product name or SKU, preset name, file number, and format.
To simplify the process of storing your content, you can optimize your internal folder structure by choosing whether you want to file your content under product categories or under the presets you used. Simply scanning the barcode of your item with the iPad of your StyleShoots machine speeds up the file naming process even more and helps to avoid any errors made when typing in product name or SKU manually.
#7 - Lighting diagram
If you’re not shooting with StyleShoots equipment, a lighting diagram helps you to ensure consistent lighting when shooting over several days or on multiple sets.
Differentiate per content style (e.g. e-commerce vs. editorial) and be sure to add the type of set here, e.g. flat lay, tabletop, mannequin or model. Write down the measurements for your equipment, e.g. distances, heights, and angles. List lighting and diffuser settings, as well as camera settings and lenses. Lastly, outline which backdrops to use and the positioning of the object.
Take aways
In e-commerce product images and videos are everything. The visual content you feature within your webshop can make or break your conversions. A Style Guide enables you to streamline the process around your visual content creation and builds the foundation for your brand’s unique visual identity. It helps you to ensure consistency and a high level of quality in your output to optimize conversions and boost your performance. Use your Style Guide to document your different content styles, guidelines per content type, and styling notes. Be sure to include an equipment overview, file naming conventions, and a lighting diagram for streamlined content production.
Besides using a Style Guide, shooting with Profoto StyleShoots solutions simplifies your content production and improves the quality of your visual output significantly. Our machines offer creative presets and consistency with the click of one button to save you time and nerves during a busy shoot day.