Focus is important in any form of commercial photography, as blurry images generally are not well received.
In product photography sharp clear focus is particularly important because the viewer needs to be able to see the detail accurately. A failure to provide this in say an ecommerce situation will result either in poor sales - people won't buy what they can't see properly - or a lot of returns when the delivered item does not turn out to be what was wanted. Either way commercially the mistake can have a very high cost, vastly more than getting the image right in the first place.
When looking at product photography it is important to differentiate between two broad types; these being ecommerce and catalogue on the one side and general marketing and advertising material on the other. One is aimed at people making a buying decision whose needs are to be able to see what they are buying in full and clear detail. The other is aimed at a broader market where the aim is to make people aware of the product perhaps in relation to the environment in which it is used, with the intention of converting them into buyers. The catalogue image is clinical and product focussed, the more general marketing image is aspirational and focussed on creating a desire in the viewer.
Ecommerce and catalogue product photography has one simple rule as far as focus is concerned - the product must be in sharp focus throughout providing a proper representation of what the customer is looking to buy. It has to be right. Most of the big platforms like Amazon have strict criteria for these images which are enforced to maintain a minimum standard.
In the image above which is used in a catalog the focus has been set to render all of the text and symbols clearly and to show the detail of the USB connection available. A viewer can clearly see all the information needed to make an informed buy decision.
In this image also for catalog use the angle of shot has been changed and a cable supplied with it has been added. Again focus is sharp throughout, the components are clearly recognisable and sharp from front to back.
Creative advertising and marketing while still being expected to provide an accurate product representation can use selective focus among other tools to manipualte the viewer experience. Backgrounds can be blurred to make the product stand out, or features on a product can be sharp focussed to draw attention to them while the rest of the product is softer.
Using focus to draw attention to a particular area of the product is an effective way of subtly bringing it to the viewers attention.
In this image the area of sharp focus is the front of the product and the USB cable connector. The rear of the product and the far parts of the cable have been softened to emphasise to the viewer the connector needed to interface with the product.
Using focus to achieve this is done by manipulating the depth of field when shooting the image. A shallow depth of field means only a small area of the image will be sharp. Depth of field is controlled by the lens aperture; a wide aperture means a shallow depth of field, a narrow aperture a long depth of field and therefore a greater extent of sharp focus. Aperture is one of the three elements in making a camera exposure so care has to be taken to achieve consistency of appearance when adjusting depth of field. Changing aperture to change image sharpness means that some of the other qualities of the image may change as well, such as colour perception, which needs to be guarded against.
Focus is a very powerful tool when used correctly in creating product visualisation. Get it right and you are providing the viewer with the information they need, get it wrong and the viewer will probably not do more than scan across the image.
Lots of research has been done over the years about the impact of image quality on viewers on web sites and ecommerce platforms. Today it is generally recognised that high quality images produce a longer 'linger' from the viewer and create a higher level of interest. It is a key aspect of online marketing for the digital marketplace.
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