Product Photography in Vienna: What Brands Need to Know

This article was generated with artificial intelligence for Fotografo Videomaker.

Product photography is often the difference between a click and a closed tab. Shoppers cannot pick up the item or check the finish, so the picture has to do that work for them. For brands in Vienna selling online, the photos on a product page carry most of the sales argument. They also decide how an item looks in Google Shopping and on marketplaces. We shoot from our base in Verona for clients across Europe, and the points below come from real sessions.

Why product photography decides online sales

A product page works like a shop window at night. If the photo is dark, blurred or cropped badly, the visitor leaves before reading a single line of description. The brands that get the most from their online shop treat images as part of the sales process, not as decoration added at the end.

Product photography for e-commerce has a clear job: answer the questions a buyer would ask in a physical shop. Is the colour true? How big is it? What does the material look like up close? Each answer needs a picture, and the pictures need to match across the whole catalogue so that items can be compared without confusion.

Local brands often sell in several markets at once, and the same product page may be read in German and English. Images carry across languages better than text, which makes a clean photo one of the most useful investments a Viennese brand can make. We often see the same mistake: the first shoot is done quickly, and a second shoot months later, with different light, makes the range look like two different companies. Plan the look once, write it down and apply it to every product. You can see how this works on real catalogues in our services overview.

Product photography lighting that shows the real object

Lighting is where most of the quality comes from. A small lamp placed too close creates hard shadows and harsh highlights on glass, metal or polished surfaces. Soft light from a large source, such as a softbox or a diffuse panel, wraps around the object and shows its shape without drama.

Soft, controlled light shows the shape and edges of the bottle.

The aim of product photography lighting is accuracy, not mood. A dark wine glass lit by one strong lamp may look elegant on a moodboard, but a shopper will not know what the glass looks like in their hand. On a typical shoot day, we set the light first, using an object of the same size and shape as the product, and only then bring in the real item. That order saves time and avoids surprises when the product is handled and moved.

Reflections are the hardest problem. Shiny objects reflect the room, the photographer and the camera. Black cards and white reflectors help control what appears on the surface, and a gradual fall-off of light often shows more detail on rings, watches and ceramics than a flat, evenly lit set. Keep the colour temperature consistent across the session, and shoot a test frame of a known colour before the full set begins.

Post-production matters too. Colour correction should match the physical product, not a stylised version of it. Shooting in RAW gives you room to correct white balance without damaging texture, and it makes it easier to keep the same look across dozens of items.

Backgrounds, framing and Google image rules

The background is the second decision. A plain white sweep makes the product the only subject, and it is the usual choice for catalogue shots and marketplace listings. Marketplace rules are often stricter than the look you want for your own shop. A seller guide from Blend describes Amazon's main image as pure white, with the product filling most of the frame. Check Amazon's own seller pages before you shoot, because those are the rules that count when you upload.

The same cup on a plain sweep and in a styled set.

Google's guidance on backgrounds is less specific, so a clean, neutral backdrop is a safe default for shopping feeds. Good product photography also depends on framing. A third-party guide from WebAppick suggests the product should fill roughly 75 to 90 percent of the image. Too much empty space makes a small object look like a speck, while too little cuts off edges and makes the picture feel cramped.

The rule that will change things is the image size. Google has announced that from 31 January 2027 every product will need an image of at least 500 by 500 pixels, as set out in its product data specification. That rule is not in force yet, so treat it as a deadline to plan for rather than a current requirement. Google's minimum size page covers the details, and its image guidance recommends 1500 by 1500 pixels or more for the strongest results across listing formats. Google also treats images above 1,024 pixels as high resolution, according to its content coverage page.

Shoot at a resolution that gives you room to crop, and keep the original files. Google allows up to 10 additional product images, so one session can cover the front, a close detail and the product in use.

What the cost of product photography includes

People searching for the cost of product photography usually want a single number, and that is hard to give honestly. The price depends on how many products you need, whether you want a plain packshot or a styled set, how many final images you receive, and whether the studio charges separately for props, retouching and file preparation.

The most useful step is to compare quotes line by line. Ask whether the price includes VAT, because a figure without tax can look much lower than the final invoice. Check how many retouched images each product receives, which file formats you get, and whether set-up time is billed by the hour or by the day.

What to put in the brief

A good brief saves money. List the products, the channels where the images will appear, the sizes each channel needs and the look you want. When a studio knows that a product will appear on a marketplace and in an online shop, it can plan a white background and a styled set in the same session, which is often more efficient than booking two separate days. In our experience, the biggest surprises come from retouching requests added after the shoot, so decide them before the first frame.

Working with a product photographer in Vienna

A product photographer working for Viennese brands needs to understand more than the camera. The shoot has to fit the colours of the brand, the way the products are used and the channels where the images will run. For that reason we start with a short call, look at the products together and decide which shots will do most of the selling.

Our work covers product photography, lifestyle scenes, architecture and 3D virtual tours, and we shoot video when a product needs movement. You can check the photography portfolio to judge the look before you get in touch. Our cameras capture at high resolution, and video is recorded in 4K, 6K and 8K RAW with professional colour correction, which gives a solid base for both print and screen.

If you have a catalogue to shoot in Vienna or a product that needs a clear look for the next season, send us a short brief with the product list, the channels and the deadline. You can reach us through the contact page, and we will reply with a plan that shows what each image is meant to do for the sale.

Frequently asked questions

How much does product photography cost in Vienna?

There is no single answer, because the price depends on the number of products, the style of the images, the number of final retouched files and the time needed for set-up. Ask every studio for an itemised quote that states whether VAT is included, and compare the same shot list across providers. A clear brief keeps the comparison fair and helps you avoid extra charges for props or late retouching requests.

What lighting is best for product photography?

Soft, even light from a large source, such as a softbox or diffuse panel, is the usual starting point because it shows shape and colour without harsh shadows. Shiny or transparent objects need extra control with black cards and white reflectors. Keep the colour temperature consistent across the whole shoot and test a known colour before the session starts, so the final images stay true to the product.

Do product photos need a white background?

Not always. A pure white background is the standard for many marketplace main images, and a seller guide from Blend describes it for Amazon. Google's guidance on backgrounds is less specific, so a clean neutral backdrop is a safe default for shopping feeds. For your own website, a styled set can work well on lifestyle pages while the plain packshot stays in the catalogue.

What image size do I need for Google Shopping?

Google recommends images of 1500 by 1500 pixels or more for the strongest results across listing formats. From 31 January 2027, its product data specification requires at least 500 by 500 pixels for all products, so the current recommendation already covers that rule with room to spare. Shoot at high resolution, keep the original files and check Google's Merchant Center pages before you upload.