Fewer add-to-carts
Online buyers cannot touch the product. If the photos leave questions, many leave the page.
01
Shot list · setup · retouching
Product photography
Product photography that answers buyers' questions before they ask: what it looks like up close, how big it is, how it looks in use. I plan the shot list and a simple setup you can run in your own space, guide the shoot remotely, then retouch and export everything for your store, ads and marketplaces.
Free: a 30-minute call, an action plan and a price range in writing.
What weak photos costWhat poor product
What poor product
photos cost you
A messy catalog
Different backgrounds, angles and light on every product. The store looks like a garage sale.
02Returns
Colors that look different in real life, sizes that surprise. Each return eats margin and earns a bad review.
03Ads with nothing to show
Shopping and social ads are only as good as the images feeding them.
04ProcessHow a product
How a product
shoot is organized
Shot listFor each product: main image, angles, details, scale and in-use shots, matched to where the photos will run.
Setup planBackground, light, camera or phone settings and props, using what you have or a short shopping list.
Test shotsA few products shot first and checked by me before you do the rest, so the whole batch is consistent.
Full shootYou or a local photographer you hire shoots the catalog. I can join on Zoom for the first hour.
Retouching and exportBackground cleanup, color correction, cropping and exports for each channel.
Pricing
Product photography
Product photography
cost
In US dollars. Planning and retouching are quoted individually by number of products and shots.
■ Photo plan and retouching[02]
Individual quote
Shot list, setup plan, remote guidance, retouching and exports.
- Consistent catalog style
- Marketplace-ready main images
- Lifestyle and detail shots
Online store[03]
from $3,900 USD
A store built to show those photos well, on a custom CMS.
See online stores→Product photos
that sell online
Product photography is your online salesperson
In a physical store, people pick a product up, turn it around, feel the weight. Online, product photography does all of that. Good photos answer the buyer's silent questions: how big is it, what is the texture, what does the back look like, how does it look in a real room or on a real person. Every question left unanswered is a reason to close the tab.
For small online stores and makers, better photos are often the cheapest way to lift conversion rate and lower return rate at the same time.
The shot list comes first
Before anyone picks up a camera, each product gets a plan. A typical list:
- Main image. Product alone, centered, clean background. This feeds catalogs, Shopping ads and marketplaces.
- Angles. Front, back, side, top, whatever the buyer would check in a store.
- Details. Stitching, texture, material, ports, labels.
- Scale. In a hand, next to a familiar object, on a person.
- In use. In a kitchen, on a desk, in a bag. This is what makes people picture owning it.
The list also notes where each photo will run, because a marketplace main image and an Instagram ad have very different requirements.
A simple setup that works
Most catalogs can be shot in an office or spare room with a roll of seamless paper or a light tent, one or two soft lights or a big window, a tripod and a phone or entry-level camera. I put together a setup plan with what you already own and a short shopping list if anything is missing. Then a few test shots are sent to me before the full shoot, so problems with color or shadows get fixed on product three, not product ninety.
Retouching that stays honest
Retouching cleans up: dust, uneven backgrounds, color accuracy, alignment, consistent cropping across the catalog. It does not change what the product is. Altering shape, size or color invites returns, angry reviews and trouble with marketplaces. The FTC also expects product depictions to be truthful, and a "Made in USA" label in a photo needs to meet its standard. Honest photos are both safer and better for repeat business.
Photos for ads and marketplaces
Different channels have different rules. Amazon requires the main image on a pure white background with the product filling most of the frame, and it bans extra text and graphics there. Google Shopping disapproves images with promotional overlays or watermarks. Social ads, by contrast, reward lifestyle shots and motion. I export each image to the right size and format for every place it will appear, so you are not resizing by hand at midnight before a launch. If you sell or plan to sell on Amazon, see selling on Amazon, delivered with a partner.
Seasonal and lifestyle sets
A clean catalog covers the basics. Seasonal sets keep ads fresh: products styled for the holidays, back-to-school, summer outdoors, Mother's Day. A small set of new lifestyle photos every quarter gives your ecommerce ads new material without reshooting the whole catalog. These photos also feed ad graphics and email campaigns. Planning them around the US retail calendar, with Black Friday and the December holidays booked well ahead, keeps you from shooting in a panic in mid-November.
What I need from you
Your product list, the channels you sell on, a few examples of photos you like, and the products themselves on hand for the shoot. If your store itself is holding the photos back, a new online store on a custom CMS can be built around them.
Where photos go next
Related services
Questions
Product photography FAQ
Do you come and photograph the products?
No. I work remotely. You shoot with my shot list and setup plan, or hire a local photographer who follows it. I check test shots, guide the session on Zoom if you like, and do all the retouching and exports. This keeps costs down and lets you reshoot new products in-house later.
Is a phone really good enough?
For many products, yes: a recent phone, a tripod, soft window light or two inexpensive lights and a clean background. Small jewelry, glossy items and very dark products are harder, and a camera with a macro lens or a hired photographer may be worth it. I will tell you which applies to your catalog.
White background or lifestyle photos?
Both, for different jobs. A clean white main image works for catalogs, Google Shopping and marketplaces; Amazon requires a pure white background for the main image. Lifestyle shots show scale and use, and usually work better in social ads. A typical product gets one of the first and a few of the second.
How many photos per product?
Usually five to eight: main image, two or three angles, a detail close-up, a scale shot and one or two in use. Products with variants need the main image per color. More is not better if the extra photos say nothing new.
Will you change how the product looks?
Only cleanup: dust, background, color accuracy, straightening. I do not change shape, size or color, and I do not add features. Photos that oversell lead to returns and bad reviews, and the FTC expects product images and claims to be truthful.
Send me a few
product links
I'll look at your current photos and reply within one business day with what to reshoot first.