What is the first and foremost thing that you would do if you are planning to showcase your products to a wider audience? The obvious answer is to make a catalog. A catalog is nothing but a platform for you to showcase your products. Customers have the advantage to view the products very easily and quickly. A good catalog inadvertently leads to a spike in sales.

Which brings us to the question, what are the most important components of a good catalog? The Product is obviously the most important aspect of any good catalog. Your product has to be highlighted in the best possible manner and a good photograph will help you achieve this aim. It is only the image of the product that helps a person to either pause and take a longer glance at a product or just flip through the pages uninterestingly. There are a few things that are to be given attention to when taking a good photograph. First and foremost, a good photograph starts with good equipment. Ensure to spend in a good seamless background, adequate studio lighting and a solid camera tripod for camera stability.

Then comes the product; never forget that the product is the hero. The best catalog product photographs feature the product with stunning clarity and neutral back drop. Thus, when you do so, the product jumps from the page, appears larger and seems to be more versatile.

It is best if group photos are avoided. It’s found that individual photos produce more sales than group photos.

Try and use the suppliers art sparingly, the main reason behind this is that a supplier does not sell directly to the consumer but sells to you. He need not produce high quality design. Using the supplier’s art could have negative effect on the catalog design.

The lighting is also of utmost importance. The typical aim is to give a three dimensional feel to a two dimensional product image, something that would make the viewer want to pick up with his hands. Typical lighting would include powerful strobe lights, special soft lights, reflectors and macro lenses.

What is also important is the mood of the photograph. A good photographer always brings an atmosphere with the products that are showcased. Sometimes, some products need to carry brand image along with the catalog. If that is the case, then ensure that focus is never shifted from this. The atmosphere also plays a crucial part in this kind of photography. The props that are used bring out the environment in a very subtle way.

A catalog is any retailer’s sales document .He should invest proper time and money on a good photographer, a good photography is many a times the only difference between average sales and path breaking sales. A good photographer always needs to have a keen sense of marketing. He also spends time in understanding the product, understanding the target audience and even the competition in your market.

Catalog photographs are the only way to convince the customer about a products quality and every retailer ought to exploit this aspect of marketing.