Evolution of PHOTOGRAPHY in Umbra of E-COMMERCE

Photography has evolved from films to SLR then DSLR and now to mirror-less.

The idea of photography has diverted more towards updating and inventing new technology in accordance to its creation than the essence of photography.

Since 2010, Photography has created a new genre, a completely new platform for upcoming photographers. It became a place for creative people to flourish and discover great ideas together and build a place of new technology.

The images were more about displaying products to woe audience and get maximum buyers online. Which is the core idea of all the creative team till date. One can say it’s still in a process of adapting to the market demands. E commerce itself as a whole is still in a process of reaching its utmost completion and yet perfection! On contrary, it’s a never-ending process of adaptation, discovery and invention of new ideas to run the show.

The Change

E commerce has played a vital role is this due process of evolution. Which majorly benefited the new set of skilled people to get jobs. This evolution changed the way people look at photography as a whole today. The defining line among a good visual and an average one got diminished too! As images are instant and can be viewed instantly on the mobile phones. None the less, 90% of ecommerce online shopping is dealt on phones.

As everything is at the tip of your fingers, the world is eventually in your palms. The phone is not just a tool anymore it has transformed into second in command of our lives. For a simple transaction of images like a passport size image or some documents, it’s just few clicks away! Resulting in smaller images and an instantaneous completion.

Due to which commercial photography by professional photographers have become more competitive over the last few years. This resulted in a complete paradigm shift of small photography businesses like studios for passport size images and wedding photographers. Also giving the Freelancers a huge platform in terms of being a part of the big game; E commerce and gradually growing with it.

Due to the surge in demand of the customers, all the big & small brands have resorted to E commerce, hence narrowing down the timeline of deliverance, restricting the capacity of quality to maintain the same.

Whether its Myntra, Flipkart or independent designer’s website, the team in one studio photographs minimum of 50 articles (product with or without models) in eight hours of shift. The maximum output may touch a hundred in a studio or more than that depending on the complexity of the subject been photographed. Resulting in many freelance photographers to open up new Studios and production houses, providing Ecommerce a bigger platform further ahead. Making it the major source of income for these production houses and studios.

The Breaking Bad

Certainly, the experts in the field of photography have witnessed this evolution, and have been concerned and yet debating about the quality of the images. Unfortunately, this ideology has been captivated & had or has been changing the way of photography is being used, handled or pursued so widely across all the fields.

It’s disappointing to witness how the online business work principles depend on quantity & not on quality. The quality is of utmost importance, as it’s all about what you show is what sells. In midst of this chaos there were some who realized this loop hole & therefore, started bringing professional people (well learned, experienced and trained people) on board to build a studio to work on quantity with quality.

These professionals made a bench mark of certain elements & key factors that was converted into a formula for lighting setups for all kind of product (with or without models) photography. Gradually paving the path for the people, to use it’s as a mediocre level, who just had a flare or rather inclination towards photography to the job. Resulting in absolute absence of professionals and compromising on the blended proportion of quality with quantity, making the latter a priority.

As the sole business is online, the essence of the images has diminished to its very core, depriving it from its true meaning & depth, as it has come down to idea of selling product not glorifying the product. As, glorifying a product has absolutely become dependent on the shoulders of the brand name through the campaign shoot and video commercials and currently social media.

The Fight Club of creativity

Images are the first & most vital entity of the Ecommerce business, as it breaks the ice of the customer to the product he desires. Every product wants to standout even in the catalog area, where in the products are shot and edited on white background. This arises a bigger question, in a world of severe competition how does one stands out? How does one create an awe for its customer? What can be the approach apart from advertising & offers? How do you elevate the customer interactive factor for your portal?

And so, the multiple images of a product came into being. Each product today has minimum of 3 and maximum of 8 images displayed. So, a viewer who is planning to buy a product has a detailed information not just through words but images too. But every time, the portals need to be way ahead in the competition, in order to have a maximum viewership. And so, the importance of lifestyle photography took a huge part in it. Lifestyle photography is seen & practiced all over social media platform.

Breaking the monotony regarding overall presentation of a website requires creativity and inventing new ideas for both marketing and the way image is taken for each brand on the catalog page. For example, Ajio started extensively using dusky or Indian models for their portal. Which became a trend and gave a new perspective of how to approach Indian audience and buyers. Not just the choice of models but the way they present the images in the catalog area. And later it was implemented by Flipkart and other competitors who started focusing on creativity and generating ideas. They started focusing on how to break the monotonous pattern of white background and create interesting backgrounds.

The reason why Myntra still beats every other portal in fashion category is because they have done the background gimmick and different light setup for different brands way ahead than their opponents.

But then the question arises whether these images taken are still coming under pro-photography?

Well, the answer is very simple, one cannot compare an omelet made by a 15 years old boy, in a home kitchen and a chef of a 5-star hotel. A chef picks a particular egg and their ingredients with precision and has made a signature omelet dish with his years of experience.

Knowledge brings insight and experience brings perfection, the ones who dwell under the shadows, are only followers with eyes bound down on the line, following the trail and incapable bringing the light far & beyond. Photography is an art and an artist always explore! Beyond the mediocrity, breaking the chains and shackles of stereotypes, in order to create something new that meets the eye. What this article aims is to understand the business and raise the relevant questions not only in terms of the photography but how it also effects the business itself. How the trend has changed or has been causing the dilution of the essence of photography and the importance it holds, as an art and as a vital aspect in terms of a business too! Enthusiasm leads to passion and it turns into a hobby with time and effort mixed into it. But the professional ground is a different dimension and seeks furthermore than all the mentioned above.