Frequently Asked Questions

Can you photograph my product with a model?

Of course! This is one of the services we’re most frequently asked to provide. It seems that word is out about how much shots with a model can help you to move your product into the hands of your future customers. Shooting with a model can greatly increase the value of your images, as it helps your customers to envision themselves using your product. As you can imagine, shooting with a model does add to the scope of a shoot, and adds to the cost of a shoot, both in the form of shooting fees, as well as the model’s fees. We can help you to decide if this increase in cost is going to be worth it for your product.

Can you photograph my product at a particular location (Kitchen, Bathroom, Park, Mountains, Beach, etc.)

Yes. This is the whole point of lifestyle product shots. You want to show the product in a real life context, to help your future customers to connect with your product and ultimately make their purchase. These lifestyle shots can be accomplished in a couple of ways. Often, they can be achieved in the studio through different styling with camera techniques, sets, and props. Often this is the most economical way to get the shots you need, as there isn’t a need to go on location. If you feel that your product requires a particular setting, this adds to the scope of the shoot, but is something we often do. In going on location there are a few things to keep in mind. For us to procure and go to a particular location, there can be additional costs in the form of scouting and fees for the location. For specific locations, a permit can be required. Another point is that a scene that encompasses a whole room, for example, can need to be made “camera ready.” This means getting the area looking as good as it can for your shots. This is because you want a location to showcase your product. Clutter, or even just other things in the scene, can serve as distractions from your product. Because of these reasons, we want to be very smart about how we use locations to show off your product. We will help you determine if the in-studio option or the on-location option will best serve you and your product.

Can you photograph my product with my packaging or gift box?

Yes, we can. We are well aware of the importance of branding with online sales these days. We do feel it’s necessary to point out that there can be a trade off in including your packaging in a main shot. If, for instance, your packaging doesn’t serve as a container for your product (with slots for different pieces, for instance), including your packaging can have the unintended consequence of making your product look small in comparison. This comes down to a judgment call of whether the inclusion of branding or a color pop from physical packaging outweighs your actual product looking smaller than it could in the frame. We will, of course, work with you on this to ensure that you get the images that best showcase your product.

I live outside the United States. Can you still photograph my product?

Yes, of course. Having clients outside of the United States is one of our favorite things. There are, of course, challenges that go along with this, but we’ve never had any great difficulty in overcoming them. In this age of Facetime, WhatsApp and Skype, the only barrier we have are differences in local time, and this never turns out to be much of a problem. We have served clients in the United States, Canada, China, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and many others. If you don’t happen to be from one of the countries we’ve previously worked with, we’ll be happy to have you as our first client from your area!

How long will it take to get my images?

Once you’ve booked your shoot, you will be sent a questionnaire to get the planning started for the shoot. Generally, a shoot can be done within two to three days of receiving a product to be photographed. Within thirty-six hours of the shoot, you will receive an online proof sheet from which you will select your shots. Once you’ve selected your shots, and we’ve confirmed your selections, your shots will be sent for finishing. You’ll generally receive your shots within a week of them being sent for finishing.

Can I get my photography rushed?

This is dependent on the studio’s workload, as well as the product and would be determined on a case-by-case basis. We won’t ever sacrifice an already scheduled shoot or retouching to rush another. We also won’t so a sloppy job to get a job out the door quickly. While this should make you happy (Once you’re scheduled, you won’t be bumped, and we’ll always do everything we can to have a great quality product leave the studio) we do understand that in some cases time is a factor and this isn’t necessarily within your control. Sometimes, its actually a race against the clock! If it is determined that a shoot can be rushed, a rush fee would be required. There are things, outside of paying a fee to rush the shoot, to ensure that you get your images as soon as possible. First, book your shoot as soon as you know you’re ready to move forward. This allows the planning to get started, which allows for an efficient shoot. Sending your product as soon as a shoot is booked, or by a faster means of shipping obviously helps. For planning purposes, we will generally pencil in a shoot once we have a tracking number for your product, so make sure you provide this to us. Making sure to select your shots as soon as you can, and also to confirm them with the photographer is one of the things that can most speed up the process.

How will I receive my images?

You will receive your images via a Dropbox link in the JPEG format. The link will be valid for a limited time, so please make sure to either download your images to your computer or transfer them to your own Dropbox.

Can I get the catalog shots (on white) without having them retouched?

Your catalog shots (shots on white), are very important to the success of your product. They are generally the first impression of your product that your potential clients will get. If you’ve looked around long enough on Amazon, you’ve seen catalog shots of poor quality. These will be shot by someone on a white poster board or sheets of printer paper taped together. If you’ve done this yourself, don’t worry or be offended! We never fault someone for trying. But ask an online seller who has tried to get catalog shots on their phone and at best, they’ll tell you it’s tricky. With some products, you can get a background to pure white using just lighting. However, much of the time, your catalog shots will require additional post processing to get them onto a fully white background and looking their best. Sometimes, this even requires the retoucher clipping (digitally tracing) your product. For this reason, we don’t deliver catalog shots that have not been retouched. This is simply because we deliver completed shots. Anything we send to you, we want to be ready to be used.

Can I get the RAW image files from the shoot?

We get asked this from time to time. If you don’t know what this is, feel free to skip this question, as it likely doesn’t apply to you. Or if want to walk away a little smarter about digital imaging and post processing, feel free to read on. When we’re asked this question, we’re usually more than anything curious as to why they want them. As near as we can tell, people who ask for RAW files most often have been told by a friend or colleague that they should ask for the RAW files, without really knowing what this means. When you capture an image with a professional digital camera, as well as some smartphones that have been specifically set up to do so, the image captured is called a RAW image file. Different camera manufacturers use different file formats. Files made by a Canon camera are in the CR2 format. Nikon image files are in the NEF format. Sony uses ARW files. There is a more generalized RAW format called DNG, which stands for “digital negative.” That last one really hammers home the point. RAW image files compare directly to the negatives produced in film photography. These files are not yet processed fully to be ready to use, and this is the reason we do not deliver them to our clients. Images that are captured still need to be “developed” just like film. They also frequently require work in Photoshop. The files go through many steps before they arrive to you, ready to be posted to your listing. Additionally, the negatives are the property of the photographer, and keeping possession of these files helps the photographer to protect their copyright, which is retained by a photographer, even if they license photos to a client, unless otherwise transferred. This is actually of benefit to you. We’ve offered to contact Amazon about another seller having stolen images from one of our clients, on the grounds of copyright violation. Fortunately, we didn’t end up needing to do this. But, you should know that we are perfectly willing to defend our copyright, which can end up protecting your product.

Can I get the Photoshop files from the shoot?

This is another question we get asked occasionally. Images that have been edited in Photoshop are generally saved in one of two formats, PSD or TIFF. These are formats that are specifically designed to deal with large image files, and can contain all of the actions that were taken in Photoshop, preserved for later changes or additions. These files are the property of the studio and are not distributed to our clients. We always want our clients to be happy with their results, so please be in touch with us about any concerns you have about your shots. We’re generally more than happy to make any tweaks necessary to ensure you’re completely happy.

Can you review my product on (Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, etc.)?

We have a policy of not submitting reviews for our clients’ products. The main reason for this is that we did not receive your product because of a genuine need or want. We are in possession of your product because you hired us to create images to help sell it. When we do review a product personally, we do son honestly. We don’t feel its fair to review a product that didn’t specifically align to a need or want we had personally, that is a sample, and that we could potentially feel we had a need to positively review because of our professional relationship. For these reasons, we choose to never review our clients’ products. This is true even if we think it’s the greatest thing under the sun, moon and stars, so if you happen to ask and we decline, don’t feel disheartened. We know that you’ve done your homework and feel you’ve got a product that has a demand and will hopefully be loved by your future customers!

Can you change the exposure, saturation, etc. of my product? Or a feature.

Can you photograph multiple versions of my product?