3D Packshots - easily scalable representation of products and packaging

Packshots are a standard in marketing and advertising.
Online, they are indispensable as content formats in online shops and on product pages.

The advantage: The buyer gets the essentials at a glance. Nothing distracts.

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However, packshots can be broader: Not only the static image of the product, but also as a 360-degree view in a neutral environment can represent individual products even better with a packshot. 

This can be achieved both with classic photography methods and with 3D models that can create photorealistic 3D views or animations.

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Packshot Photography or 3D Packshots?

The two examples of a packshot shown are based on 3D models.

The left, two-dimensional and static packshot is very easy to create both with a camera and based on a 3D model.

The right, three-dimensional and dynamic packshot is very easy to create in quality based on a 3D model. With photography, it gets more complicated; usually, a professional studio setup or a specially designed system with many individual cameras is necessary. 

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Packshots with the help of photo shots:

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In short: If you need a packshot for just one or a few products and hardly plan any further visual content in the future, classic photography is well-suited.

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2D images with photo shots: 

Static, two-dimensional images of products: Since there have been images of products, this is the most widespread and normal variant to create packshots. Although the market is changing and alternative methods offer more usage possibilities.

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3D views with photo shots:

To achieve 3D views through photographic methods, many photos of the product are taken, usually placed on a turntable and then edited into a GIF or video format.

Meanwhile, there are special devices or 360-degree photo boxes that enable these views for packshots. A 3D scanning process is used.

The product can thus be moved around an axis, usually horizontal, or is automatically moved, allowing for an almost complete image of the product.

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Packshots with the help of 3D models:

In short: If you need more than just a packshot format as visual content for your products and plan to create new product images and further content formats repeatedly, 3D models as a basis offer more flexibility and cost savings.

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2D images through 3D models:

In fact, this has become a very common use of 3D models: Product images like packshots that are displayed statically and two-dimensionally. 

A product is virtually modeled with software and looks as real on the computer as it does in reality. It can now be rendered as an image at any time, flexibly in various environments and perspectives, including for a simple packshot.

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3D views through 3D models:

This method is probably more predictable, as it is already in the name: 3D packshots based on 3D models are much easier than through the combination of cameras or individual images.

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Stand out from the competition with 3D packshots

3D packshots based on 3D models are the future and are already being used more and more today.

Those who want to have an advantage in the competition for attention have the chance to create new content for their product marketing much more flexibly and cost-effectively with their products as 3D models.

Above all, with their product, they are already equipped for the virtual world and appealing formats: Animations, AR, VR, and videos are just a few clicks away, without the need for photographers, shoots, and logistics. And with a quality where one can no longer distinguish between real photographs and virtually created content.

A major advantage is also that a product only needs to be created once as a so-called digital twin to easily, cost-effectively, and quickly create all desired content formats from it.

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The advantages of 3D packshots for product marketing:

• Quality: Deep zooming without loss of detail or sharpness is easily possible

• User Experience: Interactive product animations for a contemporary user experience

• Scalability: Reusability of the 3D model saves costs in the long run

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Create packshots yourself? Here’s what to pay attention to

Packshots can also be relatively easy to create by yourself with a few tips and tricks. However, the art often lies in promoting a whole range of products or even large portfolios in the same quality and at a high frequency with product images, such as packshots.

When it comes to packshots, as with product images in general, there are a few things to pay attention to:

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• The correct size representation 

Perspective and staging can change the impression of the product size. A toy car in a scale of 1:87 should not look like it is in a scale of 1:18. Disappointed buyers lead to increased returns. Therefore, the correct size representation is important for packshots.

• Authenticity of colors‍

Depending on lighting and adjacent colors, the colors in packshots, i.e., on the product or packaging, can change slightly. Even if they are just nuances, this can cause confusion for customers if color authenticity is not considered.

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• Light and shadow‍

It sounds trivial, but the ideal use of light and shadow is – especially when only one packshot image is supposed to represent an entire product at a glance – essential and anything but trivial. A level of difficulty arises when different products are to be presented across a portfolio in the same look and feel.

• Image editing

Less is more: Products in a packshot should look realistic. If various products need a lot of optimization afterward, it may not only be that the photoshoot was suboptimal. There is also a risk that the look and feel of the packshots of different products may come across very differently. And in the worst case, unrealistic product images may arise.

• Consistency in the portfolio‍

As mentioned above, consistency across an entire product portfolio or an entire website, including landing pages and product pages, is important for the user experience and the brand image.

• Optimal resolution‍

This is also often ignored or overlooked: Especially online, low-resolution yet sharp packshot images are extremely important. Online shops must be able to load many images smoothly at the same time. Ideal file formats are Jpeg and WebP for static packshots. 

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What is packshot photography anyway?

Packshot photography is a part of advertising photography that focuses on the creation of high-quality images of products. 

The goal: To present the product visually appealing and accurately, highlighting its features, details, and qualities. Often, the same perspectives and settings are used across a shop or website. This simplifies comparability and user perception.

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Packshots the RenderThat way

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Unique and scalable packshots 

Unique products like complex machines are no problem for us as 3D specialists.

Additionally, our workflows also provide the basis to easily create numerous other perspectives or entire formats from just one digital 3D model, practically at the push of a button. Particularly practical: If various products are similar, creating packshots for these products is also very easy and cost-effective.

And the quality, settings, and environments can be easily standardized on the computer, so a lot of manual effort and costs can simply be eliminated.

Packshots without a physical product

To create packshots and all possible content formats for a product, a physical product must also be present in photography. We only need a reference or the dimensions to create all visual content even before production.

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Photorealistic packshots with 3D

The level of detail of a packshot with the help of a 3D model depends only on the customer's wishes. There are virtually no limits to quality. Even complex machines or food and glass can now be digitized through 3D models to the point where the differences can no longer be recognized.

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Simplest workflows for packshots

Once a product has been virtually represented by us, the individual steps are easily coordinated digitally. Should the perspective be changed? Is this color not quite right yet? Approvals and feedback are given centrally in our tool. Content production for marketing and product managers has never been so easy, flexible, and clear.

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daniel erning