Product photographs are necessary in the moment you need to present your product on the internet or elsewhere. This applies to the usage on your own web or on Amazon and also when showing your creation in a magazine. The image sells, so it is worthy to let it be prepared by a professional.
The price of the product photos is highly dependent on the complexity of the photo shoot, post-processing and the number of products. There are a lot of factors, but if you can send me an example photo showing your idea, it can answer many of them. The image can be from anywhere on the internet, not even necessarily the identical product, it serves just for the purpose of communication between us. The picture is deemed to be worth 1,000 words and I believe it is true. The perfect combination is an image and a description (“I need to take 30 pictures of individual pencils on white background, each of them from two angles, to make it look something like this. The images will be used in an e-shop.”) You can use the form below on this page.
Good to know
- The kind of product
- How many items (and possibly how many photos per item, this is assumed to be 1 by default)
- The type of background or scene
- The “level of perfection” of the photograph – of course, I will try to capture the item the best I can, but it is not necessary to create gigantic photos and retouch every speck of dust, when in reality the photos will be used only on the web and the details will not be visible. The reduction of the work necessary will result in a better price for you. For example: Most photos on Amazon is between 1 and 4 megapixels, the latter ones are really large. My camera produces 45 megapixel photos. There are also other decisions based on desired quality, like the light settings and the complete photography process
- The example photograph is great to show me what you expect.
- I would be glad for any other information. If you are unsure about something, let me know. I am aware of the fact that most of the population is not attending product photo shoots on a daily basis, so I can recommend a solution that worked for other clients.
Type of background or scene
The background or surroundings creates the character of the product photograph. No variant is inherently good or bad. What matters is your vision and the type of usage of the image. The more common variants are below.
White background
The photos on white background are the most common, but there are still some further decisions possible. It can be photographed without a shadow, but similarly with a shadow or with a reflection. The alternative approach is to make the background slightly darker – still bright, but not shiny 100 % white. All versions are similarly complicated and created typically during the photo shoot using a different background or lighting, i.e. this is not done is post-processing. This might change, for example if the product is too big and cannot fit the reflection board. Then the only option is to shoot without the reflection or add it later if possible.
Black background
Black background with a reflection has an elegant feel The reflection can be removed in a computer if necessary.
The background doesn’t need to be completely black. For smaller objects and certain angles we can add lighting effects, in other cases it is possible to change it digitally later.
The disadvantage of the black background is that any dust will be visible very wel. Usually the only way to fix that is the retouching.
Other crazy effects
The background can be treated differently. Sometimes it is given in advance (your company colors), other times it is a matter of experiment. It is necessary to know the emotions the image should evoke or the context in which it will be placed.
Arranged scene
The blank background is not always ideal. On one hand it is not distracting, but on the other hand it may feel a bit empty. Therefore we can add multiple products into the scene or something else as well. We will discuss it before the photo shooting.
Real scene
Sometimes the best way is to take the product outside and take pictures there. There are a lot of options, we will tune it to match the character of the photographed item.
Unreal scene
The most complex approach. The product is photographed, typically in a studio, the background is erased and the product is integrated into another scene. The scene has to be known in advance, because we will need to lit the product in an appropriate way and capture it from a correct angle. Therefor the particular background has to be chosen before the photo shoot.
Retouching and other post-processing
Almost everything could be retouched, but these adjustments take time, which has to be taken into account during the price calculation. That is why I am trying to find a solution that would be optimal for you.
For “consumable” photos for an e-shop, especially for seasonal products that are quickly replaced, there are usually only basic adjustments required – clean up the background, fix the contrast etc. The retouching is not necessary and no one would notice it anyway, so it doesn’t make economic sense. For large batches of photos the time grows up quickly: Let’s say there is just five minutes of retouching for each photo. For one hundred photos this means over eight hours of work.
The more important the photo the bigger precision of retouching work is necessary. For a magazine ad or for a billboard, the retouching is worth it. The images are in much higher resolution and the details are apparent.
The example below is an extreme one, the original alarm clock is very old and scraped. I have never worked on such a damaged product during a real job. But the experience in fixing this is useful and can be used when encountering a difficult situation.
There are other kinds of post-processing as well, most typical is creating various color versions of the same item. One color is photographed and other ones are created digitally. The advantage is obvious – the items will look identical, except the changed hue. Considering the complexity, sometimes this approach pays off as well, but sometimes the most straightforward is just to photograph all the products.
If we decide to go for this digital recoloring, it is wise to think ahead and choose the best color to serve as a basis (because some colors are very difficult to change). For me it is usually also practical to borrow all the color variants from you, so I can see them during the post-processing. Otherwise it is not trivial to match the colors, which could have different characteristics – reflections or behavior in shadows – which means it is not enough to tell the computer, for example, to just convert the green to the red.
Transparent and highly reflective items
Ordinary items made of plastic or leather are simpler to photograph and work with almost any scene. On the contrary, for transparent or very shiny objects made of glass or polished metal the situation of more complicated. We can do that as well, but the photo shooting might be more time-consuming.
Your presence during the photo shoot
It would be great if you could attend the photo shoot itself! The process is faster and we can get quickly to the version you like. Not only that we have to decide on background, but also on lighting style, angle or styling, so it is the best if we could consult it during the shooting. I can take pictures, but you are the person who knows the most about your product and its most important features.
Contact us!
You can use the form below or any other contact here.
Client reviews
Antonín Lůbal
Mr. Kovalcik took beautiful product photos of the wines and gift packages. On our behalf, we definitely recommend
Michal Němec
Mr. Kovalcik has great photography technique and experience with photo editing. Communication and cooperation was excellent. Very pleasant and kind person. I can only recommend.
Petra Kocourková
I definitely recommend it ! Friendly communication, great photography in the studio, beautiful photos, everything fast – just great !