Lifestyle vs. product photography — which is more important to feature? Because product photos make a huge impact on your customer’s willingness to buy what you’re selling, you want to be sure you’re making the right impression.

The best way to know is to ask. That’s exactly what this seller did to help choose between an artistically composed lifestyle photo and a pure product image without distractions.

Though both photos are stunning, which option would be most likely to prompt a purchase?

Which One Won?

The 50 women polled split almost down the middle. Option A, the lifestyle photo, ended just slightly ahead with 26 votes, while Option B, the product image, ended with 24. The results indicate that the business could potentially see excellent sales featuring either image.

Photography choices are subjective, especially when there isn’t a clear winner. So the seller should carefully consider the excellent insight provided by the respondents either to make an executive decision between the two choices or to tweak the images again and re-test.

A sample of the women’s comments:

• “I find the leaf distracting. I had to stop for a moment and figure out what the product was resting on and once I realized it was a leaf, I wondered what the connection was. I much preferred [Option] B as it allowed me to focus solely on the ring.”
• “I like the ring turned to see the stones, but I also like it positioned on the leaf. Use a combination of the two designs for the perfect image, rotate the ring so the stones are the focus point, but have the ring placed on the leaf to add the color and natural look.”
• “I think that the natural, green background gives more contrast to the colors on the ring, which makes it look more expensive and high-end. I think the photograph is very professional and allows me to really see the detail on the ring better than Option B.”
• “Although I’m not too excited about the background of Option A (is it a plant?), I do like the contrast it provides. This is a beautiful ring and the details get lost in Option B. You need a contrasting color background to be able to fixate on all of the intricate details of the ring. Therefore, the ring DOES need to be presented on a colored background–I’m not sure if the leaf (don’t know what the ring is sitting on exactly) is the exact thing it needs. You’re on the right track though.”
• “I think sitting on the green leaf the ring really stands out and pops. It attracts my eyes seeing the bright color in the leaf. I think the focus and details is shown better in [Option A], too.”

Lifestyle vs. product photography

Even when results are close, a poll like this imparts valuable information. The seller now knows that women are drawn to the simplicity in both images, but that adding a little color showcases the product’s details. They can choose to iterate further on the images or move forward with the confidence that the women in the poll responded favorably to either one.

For more information on the choice between lifestyle and product images, watch this video:

When you’re trying to figure out which photos to use in your listings, run your own PickFu poll. You’ll get insights and ideas on how to showcase your products and know what sells before you sell it.