How to Select a Product Photography Service Provider

As an e-commerce business owner, selecting a product photography service provider is very important as it directly affects your sales. Product photography helps to put your business in the limelight in the best ways possible. It is your shop, your mannequin and your gateway to massive business sales.

We cannot underemphasize the importance of quality pictures in product photography. Hence, a need to hire an amazing product photographer. 

When choosing a product photographer, selecting one with a vast knowledge of product photography is essential. Likewise, professionality is important when choosing a product photographer. 

Aside from professionality and photography style, there are other factors to consider when selecting a product photography service provider. In this article, we shall discuss these factors. 

Here’s a rundown of how to select the product photography service provider. First, why is product photography important?

The Importance of Product Photography 

The importance of product photography cannot be overlooked. One important thing product photography does is increase your SEO ratings. 

Search engine bots give preference to websites with quality images. Similarly, most customers will keep coming back to your website if they trust the quality of your product photos. 

Aside from this, product photography also helps you to stand shoulder to shoulder with other competitors. Since it is a battle of quality pictures, good product photography services will place you on a leveraging platform with other competitors. It can in turn create your gateway to a lifetime business breakthrough.

Also, product photography helps to highlight the features of your products. When you want to explain the usefulness of a part of your product, product photography can do the job.

Finally, product photography helps to save you cash on large adverts and on mannequins. So, it is very cost-effective. 

When you select the right product photography service provider, you can enjoy all of the benefits we have described above. Here’s what you need to do.

Related Article: Product Photography Pricing: The Important Details

How To Select a Product Photography Service Provider?

Selecting a product photography service provider starts from your initial consultation session with them. Here are the factors to look out for when choosing a product photographer:

Get to know them

Different products require different styles of product photography. Product photography for dresses is different from that of cosmetics. Depending on your product, it’s best to work with a product photographer who has prior experience taking pictures of similar products. 

When doing research, you can follow a prospective product photographer on social media to know more about them. Follow them, check the kind of content they put out and check their blogs if they have one. 

You do not want to hire an amateur to handle your product photography. This is the whole essence of knowing your proposed product photography service provider. Also, to build a level of trust, ensure you see the photographer's face and know the studio's location.

Track record experience and reputation 

Still, on knowing your photographer service provider, read testimonials from their past clients. These clients must be reputable people or companies. Great testimonials will mean great product photography services.

Contract 

A common tip when looking for a product videography services or photographer service provider is to go for one with written contracts. There are a number of things to agree upon when signing a product photographer. It is easier for all parties to adhere to this agreement when there’s a written contract.

First, before signing, ensure your photography service provider communicates their process. There have been instances of crossed swords between clients and service providers. Hence, it is best to spell out the terms from the onset before going into the agreement.

Part of the terms to agree upon will include the:

• The type of studio to use

You may agree with your photographer to use their studio or yours. Nonetheless, it is better to spell out the studio to use before signing the contract as this may affect the price.

• Your style of product photography shot

There are several styles of product photography with white background photos being the most popular style of product photography. 

Your product photographer may also offer product grouping, hanging products and non-traditional product styles of shooting. It is best to inform your product photography service provider of your preferred style before signing a contract. 

• Method of delivery

After each session, you may get your photos immediately or after the session. Know which the service entails and how long it will take to get your product photos.

• Hidden charges

It is common to find product photography service providers who have hidden charges for their work. There can be a number of factors that will affect the pricing greatly and you do not want to pay for services you did not get. 

Request for a breakdown of price and ask if there are hidden charges too. Most services will charge you for delivery and for editing. Hence, you should always clear these terms before signing.

• Refundable funds

It is possible not to get the exact quality of pictures you want. How then do you rectify this? Easy! You can request that the photographer retakes the pictures or give you a refund. Whether the photographer is retaking the shots or refunding your cash, it should be clear before you sign the contract.

• Size of the file you will be getting

Depending on the purpose of the shot, the ideal size of product pictures differs. It is up to the photographer to resize the picture to suit your purpose. For example, using a picture of 320ppi will slow your website. But it may be perfect for a banner. On the other hand, a picture of 72ppi will be perfect for your website.

It is not your duty to resize the pictures, your photographer is to resize them. Some service providers charge you for resizing while others do not. So, it is important you clear the air before signing a contract.

Clearly, a clear term agreement before signing a contract is essential for selecting a product photography service provider. Contract agreements do not only protect the work of the photographer but the agreement between you both.

Professionality

When it comes to product photography, hiring a professional is key. A professional is not just someone with vast years of experience in a particular field. 

In today’s digital age, a professional product photography service provider has a website or blog.  It is on these websites that you can access information about them and check their portfolio. 

Selecting a product photography service provider without a blog or website means you won’t be able to make an informed decision.

Hence, you may risk the quality of pictures you get and the kind of services you receive.

Also, professional service providers use advanced equipment. Often, we advise business owners to shun photographers that use smartphones. Every great quality picture has a standard quality measurement which a smartphone cannot offer. 

Finally, a professional service will always respond to emails on time and give you a contract to sign. If a product photography service provider does not do any of these, you can easily question their professionality. 

Ask for portfolio

Often, when people want to select a product photography service provider, they check their social media handles. Sure, this is an important tip to select a product photography service provider, but it’s not all. 

Here is a good tip, always contact your proposed product photography service provider to send their portfolio. In fact, a look at their portfolio can provide inspiration for your product photography project.

Proper project management

For a successful photo shoot, there are photographers, product managers, equipment and warehouse staff that make it happen. The best product photography services providers have capable staff that makes each appointment go smoothly. 

Before you select a product photography service provider, observe their staff and how they treat their staff. If the staff are not customer-focused but want to get things done quickly, you may spend the extra cash on shooting. Also, you may spend extra time shooting too. So, it is best to pick product photography service providers with well-coordinated staff.

To Wrap it Up

Selecting a product photography service provider is not as difficult as it seems. This article discusses 8 effective tips to help you select the best product photography service providers. Some of these include checking their website to get to know them and always going for a photography service provider with a contract. 

Here at Style Photos, we tick all of the boxes to ensure we help you take the best product photos. From professional staff to the latest photography equipment. We’ve got you covered. Contact us today to learn more about our services.