The Complete Guide to 360 Product Photography
Learn how to create 360 product spins that boost conversions and reduce returns. Covers equipment, shooting process, image counts, and embedding on your site.
Flat photos lie. They show one angle and hide the rest. Your customers know this, and it makes them hesitate.
360 product photography fixes that. It gives shoppers an interactive spin they can drag, rotate, and zoom into, almost like picking the product up off a shelf. And the difference it makes to conversions is hard to ignore.
What Exactly Is a 360 Product Spin?
It’s simpler than it sounds. You take a series of still photos at evenly spaced intervals around a product, then play them back in a viewer. The result is an interactive rotation that visitors control with their mouse or finger.
Unlike video, the shopper is in charge. They can drag in either direction, pause on any angle, and zoom into details. That sense of control is what makes 360 spins so effective.
Why This Matters for E-Commerce
Static product photos leave too much room for doubt. Customers can’t see the back panel of a speaker, the stitching on a handbag, or the profile of a pair of Nike Pegasus. That uncertainty kills conversions and drives returns.
Retailers who add 360 spins consistently report higher conversion rates and lower return rates. The exact lift varies by category. Complex products like electronics and footwear tend to see the biggest gains because there’s simply more to inspect.
When shoppers can examine something from every angle, they buy with more confidence. Fewer surprises when the package arrives means fewer returns.
There’s a bonus too. 360 spins increase time on page and engagement, both signals that search engines pay attention to when ranking product pages.
Equipment You Need
You don’t need a professional studio. Here’s the essential gear.
Turntable
A motorized turntable is the foundation. It rotates the product by a precise, consistent angle between each shot. Entry-level turntables built for product photography start around $150. Professional models with software-controlled rotation run $500 and up. The key requirement is repeatable, evenly spaced increments.
Camera
Any DSLR or mirrorless camera works. A mid-range body with a kit lens is more than enough for most products. What matters more than the camera is keeping settings consistent across every frame. Manual mode is essential. Set your aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance once, then lock them in.
Lighting
Consistent lighting is everything. If the illumination shifts between frames, the final spin will flicker. Two or three continuous LED softbox lights give you even, shadow-free coverage. Don’t mix light sources, and shoot in a space where you can control ambient light.
Backdrop and Surface
A clean white or neutral gray background works for most products. Seamless paper rolls are the standard choice. Make sure the surface beneath the turntable is stable and level.
Tethering or Remote Trigger
A remote shutter release or tethering cable keeps the camera perfectly still between shots. Even a slight bump can ruin the alignment of your entire spin.
Step-by-Step Shooting Process
1. Set Up Your Scene
Position your turntable on a stable surface with the backdrop behind it. Arrange your lights to illuminate the product evenly from both sides, minimizing harsh shadows. Place the camera on a tripod at the same height as the product’s center.
2. Configure Camera Settings
Switch to manual mode. Set a narrow aperture (f/8 to f/11) for deep depth of field so the entire product stays sharp. Use the lowest native ISO for clean images. Adjust shutter speed for proper exposure. Lock white balance to a fixed Kelvin value.
3. Frame and Focus
Compose the shot with enough padding around the product for cropping later. Focus on the product and switch the lens to manual focus so it doesn’t hunt between shots.
4. Capture the Sequence
Rotate the turntable by one increment and fire the shutter. Repeat until you complete a full 360-degree rotation. Keep a consistent rhythm. Don’t touch the camera, the lights, or the product between frames.
5. Review and Edit
Import all images and check for consistency. Batch-edit in Lightroom or a similar tool to apply the same exposure, contrast, and color adjustments across every frame. Crop all images to identical dimensions. Export as JPEG at high quality.
How Many Frames Do You Need?
The number of frames controls how smooth the spin feels:
- 24 frames: Each step covers 15 degrees. Acceptable for simple, symmetrical products, but the rotation can feel a bit choppy.
- 36 frames: Each step covers 10 degrees. The sweet spot for most products. Smooth enough without massive file overhead.
- 72 frames: Each step covers 5 degrees. Ideal for products with fine details like watches, jewelry, or electronics where customers want a very smooth inspection experience.
For most e-commerce catalogs, 36 frames hits the right balance between quality and page performance.
Hosting and Embedding Your Spins
Got your image sequence? Now you need a viewer to display it on your site.
This is where many teams hit a wall. Building a custom 360 viewer with smooth drag interaction, touch support, zoom, and responsive behavior is a huge engineering effort.
Sirv takes care of all of that. Upload your image sequence, and it automatically generates an interactive 360 spin. Embed it with a single line of code:
<div class="Sirv" data-src="https://demo.sirv.com/example.spin"></div>
<script src="https://scripts.sirv.com/sirvjs/v3/sirv.js"></script>The viewer handles drag-to-rotate, touch gestures on mobile, mouse-wheel zoom, fullscreen mode, and responsive sizing out of the box. Images are served from Sirv’s global CDN with automatic optimization. Each frame gets converted to WebP or AVIF depending on the visitor’s browser, and resized to match the display dimensions. That keeps page load times fast even with 72-frame spins.
You can also customize the viewer behavior:
<div class="Sirv"
data-src="https://demo.sirv.com/example.spin"
data-options="fullscreen=true;zoom.wheel=true;hint.message.text=Drag to rotate">
</div>Going Further
Multi-Row Spins
For products that benefit from top-down viewing (like shoes or electronics), you can shoot multiple rows at different camera heights. The result is a 3D spin where visitors can rotate horizontally and tilt vertically. Quite impressive for complex products.
Hotspots and Annotations
Some 360 viewers, including Sirv’s, support interactive hotspots that highlight specific features at certain angles. This works especially well for complex products where you want to call out ports, buttons, materials, or other details.
Background Removal
If you shoot on a white background, you can automate background removal in post-production for a cleaner, more consistent look across your catalog.
What to Do Next
Start with your top-selling SKUs. Shoot 36 frames per product with consistent lighting and a locked-down camera. That’s the whole workflow.
The harder part is usually the viewer and delivery. A purpose-built platform like Sirv handles the viewer, the CDN delivery, and the image optimization so you can focus on shooting great products.
Measure the impact on conversions and returns, then expand from there.