Is this possible? Yes it happens all the time at our commercial photography studio.The surprise is much of this is controlled by our clients. Nothing makes us happier than delivering a great job at a low cost. This ensures a repeat business for us and many recommendations. We have put together a few tips that will help your company achieve better results when hiring a Product photographer.

Plan Your Photography Shoot-Make up a SHOOT LIST…
“Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail”
Know what you need. Extra shots are fine but if you do not know what you need there is a possibility that your budget will be gone and you still need shots. I think of it like going food shopping for a holiday party but not knowing what you are going to serve for dinner. There will be a lot on money wasted on overbuying and the results will be haphazard.

Understand the Variables that effect COST…….
“How much does a Product photo cost?” This is probably the most common question we receive on our “Contact Us Form.” A simple question but not a simple answer-I think of it like asking “How much does a house cost? or how much does a TV cost?” If that question get you a hard number price I would be very skeptical that you were working with a professional photographer. Photography prices are based on several dynamics: What needs to be photographed? How will it be photographed (backgrounds, location,alone or with other products)? How may angles? How many total photos will be shot in the session? How large an image file is needed(what are you using these photos for)? How quickly do you need them? Do they need to be styled and who is assuming that responsibility? Will they need retouching and is that included in the cost? These are some of the factors that need to be considered and addressed to deliver professional photographs.

Knowing what you WANT….
Not all of our clients can afford advertising agencies to design a campaign and direct the creative aspects necessary for high end results. I suggest browsing online to find photographs you like and do not like. Check your competition. Do you like their product photos? A professional product photographer will be able to achieve any “Look” the import part is that you and you photographer are on the same page direction wise.
My most difficult client is not one that is fussy, it is the one who does not know what they want. Nothing burns up the clock more than and indecisive decision maker. Commonly they try to compensate for this by shooting many different angles and approaches- Again it is buying more then you need because you are not sure what you want. Very Wasteful!

Always Cheaper by the Dozen!
Like most other things discounts apply for volume. One photos is the most expensive situation we encounter. All of the set up for lighting, background, and camera equipment has to be absorbed in that 1 photograph..OUCH! Typically the first photo can take 35 minutes the second 15 minutes, third 10 minutes etc. When possible always opt for shooting quantity.

Good Luck!
Cathy Salamone, President
DirectDigitalPhoto.com

By Cathy Salamone, Professional Photographer

Do you need to hire a professional for website photos?

That depends mostly on your marketing arena.

Do-it yourself photography is great for:

•Selling a one of a kind for an EBay listing or Craig’s list postings surly may not justify the cost of professional photography so in my opinion try it yourself. •Community posting of news or events where mom and dad will love to see a photo of junior on the www.  •Pictures of  family and friends for announcements, Facebook posting, and treasured memories of: who where and when.  •Part time craft business – again all one of a kind items where making a few dollars helps purchase more supplies.•Any type of business advertising that is FREE- it’s free what do you have to loose!

 YOU NEED EXPERT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR:

Your business website.  If this is your “Bread and Butter” means of making a living consider this:

Photography for Professional Service providers:

Your website photography is your professional image that needs to show expertise and quality. If you are a Lawyer, Doctor, Accountant, Financial Advisor or any other type of professional do not try to save a few dollars here.  Ladies have your hair done before the shoot, Guys- yes you need a close shave! Wear colors that are flattering on you, do your part to look the best you can- including getting to bed a bit early the night before.

Selling Products on your Website

Any successful online store will confirm that your photos are the singe most important element in sales revenue for several reasons.

Curb Appeal- buys will not read the copy unless they are attracted to your website photograph.

Identity Theft-YOU MUST LOOK PROFESSIONAL, the look of your website photos must give your customers confidence about submitting their personal information.

Your Audience- The average consumer is accustomed to seeing expensive high-end images(expensive TV Commercials,) so yes they do know the difference.

How much will an Inferior Photograph cost?  Free or low cost web photos can be very expensive costing companies thousands of dollars in lost sales.

You do not BUT…As a commercial photographer for over 25 years there are many reasons why we shoot in High resolution and give our clients every digital image in both high and low resolution formats. Why shoot in High Resolution for website photography…                                                                                                         •Things Change-no one can predict future needs. Your high resolution tiffs can be used for: press releases, exhibit posters, postcards, magazine advertising, company brochures, truck graphics- whatever the new requirement high resolution files will have the pixel muscle to get the job done.

• Generally commercial photography prices are based on time and it takes about same amount of time to produce a high resolution photograph as a low resolution photograph ( just more profession equipment). So the photography cost should not be higher.

• If you decide after you shoot to show a detail of your original photo you can easily crop the high res tiff into a full size .jpeg.

Information about Photo Image Files robably the two most common photographic image formats are J-pegs and Tiffs. “J-pegs” ( Joint Photographics Experts Group) are compressed low resolution digital files most commonly used when building websites ( usually not larger than 900 pixels across). Large files can be j-pegs too – not to be too confusing the important part is the they are compressed files and not as high quality as an uncompressed file like a “.tiff” (Tagged Information File Format). These files are measured in megabits –I would consider anything over 8 MB to be high res but generally today a high res files will be 30 -80 MB.