5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Product Photographer
Generally, price is the primary driving factor for online shoppers to purchase a product. A survey indicates that 70% of online buyers want to see the product before they invest their money. Yet, most brands don't post enough pictures on digital media. More than three-fourths of customers want more than three pictures to decide to purchase.
Though you can opt for the DIY route, low resolution, blur, and pictures with bad angles can impact your brand image. Therefore, you need to hire professionals to capture flawless, quality pictures.
Wondering how you can hire a commercial photographer for your product photos or other projects? Well, here are a few questions that we would ask if we were to hire a product photographer that will give you an idea of why they are the best option.
What Type of Equipment Does a Professional Photographer Use?
We have encountered a few product photographers who use outdated or damaged equipment and fail to give the results that you are expecting from the photo shoot. From our experience, choose a product photographer with appropriate equipment to capture good, top-quality pictures.
Of course, you need to hire a commercial photographer who owns a lens and a high-quality camera. But the right tools go beyond the camera. You need a professional photography expert who can take care of props, lighting, and staging of images. Also, the photographer needs to have a knack for photo editing software. These things will help you get images that attract consumers to purchase your products.
What Type of Professional Photography Do You Specialize In?
Product photography has different categories. Ask your potential product photographer what type of product photography they specialize in. Whether they do lifestyle, wedding, commercial, health and wellness, clothing, or food photography? You won't hire a photographer working in the wedding industry for your product images, right?
Keep in mind that every type of photography requires a different type of lighting, angle for shooting, and other things. Also, every product has different attributes you need to present in an image. Shooting food products is tricky, and it's important to check your photographer's background and expertise. You wouldn't hire a chef at a burger restaurant to cook you the best seafood meal, would you?
A photographer specializing in a particular category will have an idea of how to present the product best. They will know what angles are needed to engage new customers and get a positive response from current clients. Specialized experts have skills to capture images, especially for specific platforms like Instagram, Twitter, websites, etc. This is the reason why we specialize in the CPG food and beverage industry. It gives us a refined knowledge and awareness of the industry to keep your images up-to-date and relevant.
What Services does Commercial Photographer Offer?
Every photographer's services are based on skill sets, experience, and creativity. Therefore, learning about their services are important, especially if you are looking for a certain type of support for your product photography.
For instance, you might need a photographer who can offer special retouching services. This is apparent when you have a product that is very reflective, and need to make sure the studio, camera, and photographer aren't visible in the product itself. So, if a professional can only do basic image post-processing edits, they will not be helpful to you.
First, think about what type of services you need and try to find experts with those abilities. Look at the previous work of your potential photographer. Note that some photographers charge additional fees for some services. This includes shooting outdoors, using high-quality lenses, specific equipment, building custom sets, etc. So, be prepared to invest more money than you have expected to get your desired services.
Do You Use Natural or Artificial Light?
We know what you are thinking - "this doesn't matter." Well, it does. Product photographers who only have natural light shoot experience will struggle with camera settings and lighting adjustments, resulting in poor-quality product images.
An expert who is well-versed in artificial lighting is an asset for you than a natural light photographer. This is because most product photography is done indoors, which only artificial lighting photographers can help you with. Also, you never know. A rainy day might ruin your shooting plans. Therefore, hiring an artificial light photographer would be a safe option. We know we've been in that situation where you can't control the sun or the clouds. Being able to take photos no matter the weather, allows us create consistent looking images that look natural.
How long is Your Turnaround Time?
Besides checking the photographer's portfolio, services, and expertise, you need to learn how quickly they can give pictures to you. Of course, you need to launch your campaign, and for that, you need high-resolution and well-edited photos.
Whether it's product or brand photography, you need a professional photographer who can send you photos on your desired day. Set a timeline and ask how many photos they will deliver at a particular time. The key is to communicate what you expect from the shoot.
Bonus: Also, discuss specific requirements, including usage rights, and provide details if the photographer asks for any information before the photo shoot. It helps build a positive repertoire and avoid an unwanted legal situation. Check the website, photography style, product images, recent comments, and other important things of top candidates for the job.
Bottom Line
You need to ask several questions before hiring a product photographer. However, the above-mentioned five most important questions can give you a clear idea about their work and experience that will be enough for small companies to start with. The whole process of hiring the right photographers might take a while, but it's worth it. And once you start working with them on a consistent basis, you'll build that relationship with them and trust that they know your brand and your style resulting in faster turn-around times, and less work from you, allowing you to concentrate more on your business and consumers.
An expert will help you with background removal, setting colors and resolution, and always have a backup plan for mishaps. A professional understands the ins and outs of the job. They have experience in the industry that gives an idea of how to take pictures of a particular product. So, start looking for experts to get good-quality product images that reflect your brand, help promote your business, and sell your products.
If you have products that need photos for your ecommerce store, website, or social media, contact us via the button below and let's chat! We'll make sure your business is well taken care of, and you'll know what to expect by keeping up with our process.
