jsmith218

I might have the opportunity to photograph a large number of items (250-270) for a manufacturer to put on their website store. I wouldn't even know how to charge for something like this. I think it largely depends on what they expect as far as editing out the background out or whatever their expectations are. I have read some things that say start at $25 per image. Oh, did I mention they need 3 photos at different angles of each item? I was hoping to get some input here on this. Thanks.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Maybe first have a look at their website store and examine the already posted images to get a rough idea what they will expect from you, to at least figure out approximately how much time you will need to work on each item. Then talk to them to get further details.

CO

E.L. Shapiro, who manages the Professional and Advanced Portraiture section and the Commercial and Industrial photography section here on UHH, does that type of photography. I see that a lot of people have posted product photography questions in the Commercial and Industrial photography section. You might contact him.

SS319

I would not edit out the background, get a light box or in another manner control the background up front - it will cost you less. Spending 3 minutes to edit the background out of each of 1000 images at $50/hour is $2500. Spend that on lights and background instead, and then you will have them when that manufacturer wants you to do another 50 images.

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

It depends on the quality of the shots they have used. We used shoot product shots in advertising
with a big production. Studio, much lighting maybe a background that can be back lite.
We shot toilet paper for Scott Paper. Roll towels. etc.

And I had a copy stand and they have small box setups sets to shoot. The 3 angle s
worries me. And the PP might be more time then you think.

And from a business standout how much would you like this cash. No shot is easy like just one
against a cardboard sweep with 3 lights.

Also some sellers are very fussy about the color authenticity of the colors.

Lastly get the job and make the money.
Good luck.

leftj Loc: Texas

You might start by asking them what they expect.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

The more shots of each subject you have the better chance of selling the product. When I shoot for Ebay I use a plan white poster board bend so the background is seamless. I use a white fluorescent circular bulb just above and in front of the subject to allow even light and no shadows.

jsmith218

Thanks for all the input, I definitely plan on finding out expectations!

Bill P

This is the kind of work that demands organization. It should be some sort of assembly line process. These kind of shoots are a great example of why commercial guys have one of more assistants. You might, if the three shot thing is well thought out, you could set up three cameras, one for each shot, and be more efficient. This kind of work is more about planning and organization that art.

jsmith218

The organization certainly is one of my concerns, I will need to keep track of the different product photos and organize them together. It sounds like many of them may look similar so that might be a struggle

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

That would be a good idea. You need to know how the images will be used in more detail... the size they will be displayed, the background, how large the products are, etc.

I did a similar job for a friend's website some years ago... it involved about 200 items, all small enough to be photographed on a tabletop (but not so small as to require "macro"). I set up lighting, determined my exposure and locked it down, set a custom white balance and arranged a seamless stage, then put camera and lens on a tripod. I made a couple reflectors and flags that I could move around as needed to fine tune the lighting.

Once the setup was established, things went quickly. She only asked for one shot of each, but for most I took several views to give her choices. I deliberately used a shorter lens (manual focus 45mm Tilt Shift on an APS-C camera) that allowed me to reach out and arrange the subjects while viewing them through the viewfinder. I could have tethered the camera to a computer to do similar, but kept telling myself to "K.I.S.S."

I was able to shoot the entire catalog in little more than an afternoon. I probably took 600 to 800 images total, but I ended up providing around 300 (I culled out dupes, less ideal compositions, issues like reflections). In some cases, smaller, related objects were combined into a single images. Since color balance and exposure were all carefully set in advance and I used the seamless (matte white plastic) stage and background, there was virtually no post-processing needed. It was mostly just a matter of selecting the images to include, all of which I was able to do in 2 or 3 hours that evening.

I had shot RAW + JPEGs, just in case... But was able to give her the JPEGs straight out of the camera. I made a point of saving to sRGB (instead of Adobe RGB), which is the preferred color space for Internet display. The whole job was done with an older, 8MP camera. But that was more than adequate for her purposes. In the end she got at least two or three views of every item, all burned to a disc which she passed along to her website designer who was able to easily blend image backgrounds with the web pages and had everything up online in a couple days with little fuss or muss.

90% of the job was the setup... When that's done right, the rest can be done relatively quickly and easily. Larger items that can't be shot close-up on a tabletop will take longer to swap out and arrange, so take that into account.

jsmith218

Thanks for sharing your experience, that helps!

Jolly Roger Loc: Dorset. UK

I have no experience with product shots, so take what I say with a pinch of salt.
One point that occurred to me was what size will the products be? The reason I ask this is that you state you have to take three shots of each product from different angles. If they are all small, such as a wrist watch or jewellery it would become quite tedious to be moving the item or the camera / lighting for each of these three shots.
Therefore, only you can know this, would something like a Lazy Suzan be more time efficient. Set the item on it, take one shot, rotate it in one direction, second shot etc.

selena18

To drive your sales product photos are important and the most important element. Knowing the right things about effective product photography will help you to gain more potential customers.
 This article below can give you some ideas about how you can take shots of product photography for e-commerce. It's worth reading.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-need-of-product-photography/answer/James-Cooper-90

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Honestly, you quote what you think your time is worth AND how much they are willing to pay. No easy formula and without seeing your work, it sounds like you may be in over your head anyway. You need to speak with your prospective client to clearly understand what their expectations are, and compare that to your current abilities. If you fall short, then in may make sense to pass on this. If you decide to take the work, then make sure your client is full aware of what they are getting themselves into. Just sayin'