If you have ever thought about the most used phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words”, you will only be skimming the surface about the importance of images. When it comes to online marketing, images play a critical role. It’s because your prospective buyer won’t be able to see the exact product or feel it with their hands. Therefore, you need to make the most of the image you see on your website. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the image you display on your product page or category page is not only of very high quality, but also speaks volumes about the product. The image should be highly detailed and free of unwanted objects, marks, or blemishes that might prevent the visitor from getting a good view of the product.

It goes without saying that you need to do a thorough and professional image editing before publishing them online. The first and foremost thing to focus on is removing an irrelevant background. When you post images of your product, the background should not prevent the visitor from seeing the article well. The background can be anything that can be seen behind the subject in focus. Even shadows and reflections can be part of the background.

Are you planning to post an image of sunglasses on your website? Then you should definitely pay special attention to shadows and reflection. When shooting objects that have glass or shiny surfaces, reflection is something you can’t completely avoid. Therefore, you should opt for post-processing techniques to play with these aspects and use them to showcase your product in the best light.

During post-processing, you need to focus on refining the shadows and controlling the highlights.

refining shadows

When posting images of sunglasses online, if you remove the shadows completely, then the image is bound to look soft and unnatural. Subtle shadows help give it a realistic touch. Generally, three types of shadows are created when photographing reflective subjects. They are natural, fallen and reflective shadows.

A natural shadow can be created by using a light source with a reflector on the opposite side. Drop shadow, on the other hand, is created when the product is photographed under direct lighting. To give your web image a more realistic touch, add reflective shadows. It gives the impression that the product was placed on a reflective surface before being photographed. Almost like the way the customer can see the glasses when the salesperson places them on the shiny counter.

Whether you want to remove or edit these types of shadows, you can easily do so by creating multiple layers when you’re editing in Photoshop. Make a tight selection around the sunglasses frame and use the oval selection to create new curves. Once done, soften and blur the edges, adjust the opacity and smooth the layers. The shadows will now enhance your subject and highlight its important features.

reflex control

Controlling image reflections is a whole new ballgame compared to optimizing shadows. Here, you also need to consider the lighting conditions and settings when the product was photographed.

If backlighting was used while the photo was being captured, the subsequent procession should be relatively simple. This is because, technically, the backlight tends to hide imperfections. Change the background to pure white and de-saturate any light spots or blemishes, and your final image is ready.

For products like sunglasses that have more reflections, both the light settings during photography and post-processing need to be done very carefully, or your product may end up looking like a low-quality item. Side lighting can be very effective in such cases and will require minimal post-processing.

Metal-rimmed sunglasses could once again pose a problem for photographers and photo editors alike. Here, they have to deal with two reflective surfaces: metal and glass. To capture such sunglasses, you need to set up two diffuse light sources and use side lighting for photography. When lit from the side, the product does not create too many harsh reflections, making photo editing easier. You can remove marks, blemishes or any other blemishes using healing and cloning tools.