In today’s digital world, every business needs photos for its website, social media, and brochures. While everyone has a camera these days (i.e., the one on their smartphone), many people aren’t aware that there’s a difference between personal photography and professional product photography. Professional photographers spend thousands of hours in school and apprenticeships to learn their craft, and they invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in high-quality equipment and studio space. Professional photographers also use professional-level editing software to remove dust particles (even invisible ones) and physical blemishes on models’ faces. They know photographic tricks such as using additional lighting to minimize shadows on reflective surfaces or using strobes to illuminate products with glass jars or containers.
Why High-Quality Product Photos Are Essential
Why Professional Product Photographs does matter? In today’s digital world, every business needs photos for its website, social media, and brochures. Photos are used to sell products and services. They’re also used to promote businesses and brands, create a unique look and feel for your company or organization, as well as provide consistency across all platforms (including mobile).
In addition to these main purposes of using photography in marketing—to sell products or services, and promote brands/businesses/organizations—there are many other reasons why you should consider getting in-house photography done by an expert.
Difference Between Professional & Personal Photography
While everyone has a camera these days (i.e., the one on their smartphone), many people aren’t aware that there’s a difference between personal photography and professional photography.
Level Of Expertise
Professional photographers spend years learning their craft, investing thousands of dollars in high-quality equipment, and using professional editing software to give their images an edge over those taken by amateurs. They know photographic tricks such as using additional lighting to minimize shadows on reflective surfaces or shooting with a wide-angle lens to capture more details in an image without having to crop into it later on.
Even if you have a good camera at home, you’ll still need some basic knowledge about how cameras work before trying out any techniques like extra lighting or cropping – which can lead to bad results if not done correctly!
They Know Their Job Well
Professional photographers spend thousands of hours in school and apprenticeships to learn their craft, and they invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in high-quality equipment and studio space.
In-house photography is a lot more affordable than professional product photography. But if you’re going to spend money on your brand’s marketing materials, it makes sense to invest in something that will last longer than an iPhone session or some postcard prints.
They Are Focussed Towards Cleanliness
Professional photographers also use professional-level editing software to remove dust particles (even invisible ones) and physical blemishes on models’ faces. This is because most people don’t realize that the photos you see in ads are not taken with a disposable camera, but rather by a professional photographer who uses high-end cameras and lenses. Professional photographers have access to top-quality equipment like DSLRs with long lenses, which means they can capture more details of your product than ever before.
The result? You’ll have clean, clear images for your website or social media marketing campaign — no matter what kind of camera you use!
They Know The Tricks
Professional product photographers know the tricks of light, such as using additional lighting to minimize shadows on reflective surfaces or using strobes to illuminate products with glass jars or containers. These techniques help make all items look their best, but they also require a lot of experience and skill.
In-house photographers do not have this luxury: they must rely on natural light sources and simple reflectors instead of advanced equipment like lightsabers (though these are always useful). The result is an image that may appear dull compared with what you see in an ad campaign photo shoot—but it’s still better than nothing!
Professional photographers also have the skills necessary to photograph moving objects such as people or products without motion blur. If you’re shooting at night, for example, you may need to use a remote trigger or flash so that your subject doesn’t move in reaction to the lighting during their exposure.
Additionally,
professional photographers usually shoot with high shutter speeds (1/4000th of a second), wide apertures (f/2), low ISO settings (100), and f-stop numbers above F8; however, these are not always required when working with in-house photography since there are many variables involved with each shot such as distance from subject matter being photographed as well as other environmental factors such as weather conditions that can affect how well an image will come out when taken outside on location by someone who isn’t trained specifically in product photography techniques.
Outsourcing Product Photography Vs. Doing It Yourself
As a business owner, you will be looking at costs before you decide to either use an in-house photographer or outsource a professional product photographer. While keeping costs down is a must, you should weigh the pros and cons of both types of photography before you decide.
There are a lot of things to consider before you decide to go in-house and not use a professional Montreal product photographer are as follows:
Number of Images
If the volume of images is low, it hardly makes sense to invest vast amounts of money to purchase photography equipment. To try and save on the cost of hiring a local product photographer, you will end up spending more as professional-grade photography equipment is expensive. You have the option of renting it, but you will have to bear the burden of insurance due to the high cost of the equipment.
Type of Images
The kind of photography you need will depend on where you want to use the images. For instance, a website will want 360-degree images to showcase the products to potential buyers. On the other hand, if you want to create a brochure, the type of images you require will be quite different from the ones used for eCommerce. Certain types of photography are complex, such as 360-degree apparel product photography, which require expertise, and hence, you should leave it to a professional.
What’s Your Budget?
Product photography can be expensive, especially if the project is long. However, going in-house may not be the right option if you are looking for quality. While there is software available to edit and improve photographs, the ones used by professional product photographers are superior and offer the best results. So, ensure that your budget is flexible so that you can accommodate the cost should it increase during the project. A professional will always give you a ballpark figure, which can vary as the project moves forward.
The Expertise
You may feel that there is nothing to product photography other than pointing and shooting. This cannot be further from the truth. Product photography is an art and science, and a local Montreal product photographer has the necessary expertise to ensure stellar results. Software to edit images, project management, and resources for developing images are a few of the things that a pro brings to the table and is not available in-house in most companies.
Project Control
If you are looking to manage the entire project from start to finish, it is best to do product photography in-house. On the other hand, if you are looking for exceptional results that will ensure that the product photographs get the attention of your audience, go with a professional. That way, the local product photographer will handle every aspect of the project, leaving you free to focus on your business.
What To Look For In A Photographer Contract
Finally, when you hire a professional Montreal photographer, you get a service contract that protects your rights as well as the rights of the photographer. A service contract defines the scope of work and payment schedule in advance so there are no surprises later. It also outlines what can be done or not done during shooting time—like what shots should be taken at each location or event—and protects you from any unwanted changes once all photos have been shot.
It’s important to know what rights are included in your contract with any photographer because if they don’t want to let you see their portfolio before hiring them (which is common), then they may try to sneak things into their contracts that would make it difficult for them later on down the road if those things happen during shooting time itself!
Conclusion
Now that you know the pros and cons of opting for in-house product photography or outsourcing it to a professional, you can make an informed decision. Remember, with professional photoshoots, your business will be a winner.
