Creative, commercial photographers.

Professional catalogue photography boosts sales

September 2, 2009

It is commonly believed that it was Benjamin Franklin who created the first catalogue in the U.S in 1744 and catalogue photography followed quickly. Even so many years ago, companies recognised the potential to improve sales by providing customers with the option of ordering goods from a mail order catalogue. The idea behind this was simple and soon caught on.

By creating a mail order catalogue featuring a range of products that were available, it was possible to show potential customers these goods in the comfort of their own home where they could take their time, look through the catalogue contents as many times as they liked and then make a relaxed decision as to whether to buy or not. People then placed their order and the required items were delivered directly to their door. This was an appealing method of purchase because it provided those exploring the catalogue with a detailed amount of information about the products and also gave them an easy and stress-free way to purchase these products.

Whilst nobody can deny the ever increasing power and popularity of the internet in the selling of products and services, this does not mean that catalogues have become obsolete. Many companies continue to use catalogues as well as websites or separately and catalogue photography has moved with the times.

Of course catalogues in their paper form are still valued as many members of our society do not yet use the internet and do not feel secure purchasing online, and there are others who find the physical act of flicking through a catalogue over a cup of tea more relaxing, and hence the use of mail order catalogues is a classic method of sales that continues to achieve great results for many companies.

For catalogues or ecommerce websites to be successful, the products on sale have to be shown at their best and appeal to the catalogue owner. This is why catalogue photography is so important. Creative and professional catalogue photography will mean that the objects will be displayed in a way that will grab the attention of the reader, will inform them about the product and encourage a sale. The work done by a catalogue photographer is of great significance in the creation of a successful catalogue or ecommerce site.Â Websites have the added advantage of allowing the customer to interact with the site and view the product from different angles, whereas catalogues have limited space due to print capacity.

Catalogue photographers are working throughout the UK in cities such as Leeds, Manchester and London, creating professional and effective shots to sell a range of products in catalogues and on websites.