Image is Everything
If there is one thing you should get right it definitely should be your photography, as they say “a picture tells a thousand words”.
What do your pictures say about your business?
Are they fit for purpose?
Are they unique to your company?
Do they represent the quality that your company has to offer?
If you answered No to any of those questions then you definitely
Need Our Help and it costs less than you think.
Packshots
A packshot photo is just as the name implies “a shot of the pack” or pack contents. It is usually photographed on a plain white background and is used in the shop section of your website. It may also be known as a Catalogue Shot. When done well you should end up with a very clean image that represents your product in the best possible way. The details should be clean and crisp and the colours representative of how they look in real life.
Colour is very important, if this is done wrong it can be classed as false advertising. For example, if someone orders a bright red t-shirt from your website and when they receive it it’s actually pink, then there is a problem. We have quality controls in order to make sure that this doesn’t happen.
Check out our examples below of the common issues & mistakes you find when your product has been photographed and finished badly.
COMMON MISTAKES
What to Look Out For
Cream Coloured Edges
This is the most common mistake that we see, if the background hasn’t been lit correctly you get a yellowing towards the edges of the picture. When you place this on an e-commerce site where the background is plain white it just looks ugly (exaggerated for example).
Seamless Background
When done correctly you should not be able to see the edges of the background, your image should become part of your webpage as a whole. It is not always possible to do this in camera and therefore a clipping path may need to be created.
Badly Cut Out
For products that need to be removed from the background quite often the cut-out will have jagged edges.
Well Cut Out
The product should have a smooth contour that follows its shape, it should not be obvious that it has been removed from its original background.
Packshot Pricing Structure
- Prices are per shot, not per product:
- 1-3 £19.99
- 4-9 £14.99
- 10-19 £13.50
- 20-56 £12.00
- 57-98 £9.99
- 99-199 £8.99
- 200+ £6.50
- Additional Options
- Cut-outs £5-10 per shot dependant on complexity
- Shadows & Reflections £5 per item
- Contact us on 0800 135 7687 to book
Some products need several shots taken to be able to gain sharpness from front to back. We may need to take up to 10 shots for a bracelet for example with different points of focus, which are then composited together in post production.
Website Imagery – Plan Everything
We have asked many companies over the years why they do not commission their own imagery? The usual response is “It is too expensive so we use stock” or “We had a load of beautiful pictures taken but can’t use them anywhere”. Let’s iron out these two issues:
It’s too expensive so we use stock – How much does your designer/agency charge you per hour for them to search stock sites for suitable images? How much do they charge you for use of that image and for what time period? How many other similar businesses are using the same image to promote their service (1000’s)? We calculate by the time you have paid someone to search and license stock imagery you could have commissioned your own fit for purpose imagery that is unique to your company and is representative of your brand.
We had a load of beautiful images taken but can’t use them anywhere – This is all down to the planning, give me a product and I will create a load of beautiful images that you may not be able to use anywhere too. Look at the website on the right, the image at the top (Hero image) is a thin letterbox shape, if the picture is going to be used here I will need to allow for it to be cropped, if I don’t you may crop off important parts of your product. You will notice in the middle there is the company’s logo, it is in an area of uncluttered negative space. You need to plan where your text and call to actions will appear so that you have the space for this. By sketching out the concept beforehand and creating mood boards it allows us to shoot a specific looking shot for a specific part of the website. This is efficient as you create an image that can be used and once you have managed to capture it you can then shoot the next planned shot. This will save you time and money as all the shots you need will be captured.
Conceptual sketches don’t have to be amazing art pieces but just give us an idea of what you are after. Supply us with a template and we can work out the rest.
This template was created for a billboard campaign, notice how there are areas of text and areas for graphics. If we know where the text and graphics will be in your advert we can allow clean space for them to sit within.
As you can see here the shot created is similar to that of the sketch, this is the most efficient way to get the shots you need on shoot day.
ADVERTISING PRICING
The price of an advertising shoot for use online or in print varies wildly from project to project, advertising is also licensed for use differently to e-commerce pack shots. The 2 things you need to consider are:
1) What is the purpose of your imagery and where are you going to use it?
2) What is your budget for a photographer and does this include expenses?
We will always try to provide you the content you need within your budget, if we believe it is an unrealistic target we will tell you. There are many ways to get what you need and by knowing your budget we can suggest suitable options for you. Below is a list of questions we ask to get you a more accurate quote:
– What is the product, who is the brand?
– Do you have any mood boards?
– Where is the imagery going to be used e.g. print or online, as part of a flyer design, packaging, on the header image of a website, within a blog post, on a billboard, as part of an editorial in a magazine, All Print Media, All Digital Media.
– Time you wish to use the imagery for e.g. 1 year, 2 year, 10 years, unlimited (please note Royalty Free usage is usually charged at a higher rate and is advised against as your content will not stay current)
– What territories will it be seen in: Worldwide, EU, Non-EU, Asia… or by Band A, B, C or D.
– Do you need us to act as your creative agency to help you design your media and sketch your concepts?
– Do you require people in your images which may need to be casted?
– For lifestyle imagery will you be supplying Fashion Stylists, Hair Stylist, Make Up artist, Set Designers or is this something you would like to handle?
– Will you be present during shooting?
– If shooting on location or abroad we will need to work out location fees, studio hire, equipment hire, travel, visas, hotels and food.
GET IN TOUCH
Have an idea or a project, lets meet up and build some awesome stuff!