Pros and Cons to Photgraphy Services
Sure, the new product photography services that are popping up all over the internet are cheap, but you get what you pay for. So you really want your product and business image to suffer for a few pennies? The majority of services will only photograph your product against a white background for their basic fee. Everything else is an additional fee. Such as a model, props, adding color to your background, and basically any setup or prep involved beyond their white background preset. They most certainly do not shoot your product in your target market’s environment. Meaning, if your company sells beer, they will not shoot a photo of your product being used by happy, fun customers in a bar or restaurant. They do not come to you, they expect you to ship your product to them. They spend 5 minutes shooting it in a setting they have used to shoot a million other products, and you get a shot of your product against a white background like a million other products.
On the other hand, a professional product photographer with their own studio has a great deal more creativity, skills, and tools to work with. A professional product photographer knows what props, settings, and tools to use to bring out the best features of your product. Since they have done many different products for many different clients, they probably already have a storeroom full of props and backgrounds they can use for your product that they won’t charge extra for. Also, they probably already have models they have worked with in the past, and since they throw a lot of work their way, can get just the right model you need for a decent price.
I guarantee that if you were to put two photos side by side – one shot with a photography service and one shot by a professional photographer – you would see a remarkable difference in image quality, attention to detail, and marketability. After all, isn’t that what you want? Your product to stand out from the zillions of others on the internet and to look professional, not like something shot in a garage or warehouse on an assembly line? When you start to compare apples to apples, a photography service does not save you money in the long run. They may end up costing you more money in the potential clients you will lose because you didn’t step up your photography game. The bottom line? If you’re gonna hire someone to photograph your product – a representation of your company – then have it done right. Not fast and cheap. Which are the only two aspects a photography service can brag about.
Oh…and did I mention, photography services cannot do prepared food? Like dishes made up fresh or shot on location at a restaurant. They could possibly photograph prepackaged food for you, but they cannot do mouth-watering dishes, freshly prepared and staged, that cannot be shipped to them by UPS.
But don’t take my word for it. Which of the images below do you think looks more professional and eye-catching?
