Product photography for online stores and marketplaces
A photo that sells, not just shows
For an online store, a photograph is both the shop window and the salesperson. A shot on a white background is needed for marketplaces, a lifestyle frame with props works better on Instagram, and for clothing you sometimes need a shoot on a model or a flat lay. So first ask yourself where the pictures will be used, and choose the style from that.
Platforms have their own rules on background, proportions and file size. If you leave them for later, you will have to retouch and re-crop.
How to get offers through BlaBlaPrice
You write a request: what to shoot, how many items, in what style. You can add one photo, for example an example of a shoot you like. The request is checked, and you are told what the photographers still need.
Photographers and studios reply in the chat: a price per product or per package, timing, what is included in the editing and how to hand over the goods. Each one sees where their offer ranks and can improve their terms. The offer with the best overall terms is shown first, with reviews next to it. Only the chosen provider gets your contacts. The principles are on the “How it works” page.
What to put in your request
- Number of products — for example, 50 items.
- Which products — cosmetics, clothing, jewellery, food, electronics, furniture; size and material.
- Style — white background, cut-out item, lifestyle, flat lay, on a model, 360° rotation.
- Angles — how many shots per product.
- Platform — marketplace, Instagram, website, catalogue.
- Editing and format — retouching, background removal, size and proportions, for example 1200×1200.
- Extras — props, hands or a model, a short video.
- City and handover — bring to the studio, courier or the photographer visiting you.
- Deadline and budget.
Example: “I need 50 products (cosmetics in bottles) shot on a white background, 3 angles per product, for marketplaces and Instagram. Retouching and cut-out background, files 1200×1200. Montreal, I will bring the products to the studio. Ready in 3 days, budget up to $2.81 per product.”
How to compare offers
Prices are often quoted per product, so ask them to say how many shots that covers. Three angles and one angle are different amounts of work. Find out whether retouching and background removal are included in the price or charged separately, and how fast they work on a large batch.
Shiny, transparent and mirror-like items (glass, cosmetics in bottles, jewellery) need special lighting, so check in the portfolio that the photographer can handle them. For large catalogues it helps to do a test shoot of a few items first: you see the style and can adjust the requirements for the rest.
Common mistakes
Bringing in dirty or creased goods: retouching will not save them. Not clarifying the size and file format for the platform. Not including an example of the style you want. Not agreeing how the goods are handed over and who is responsible for them during the shoot.
For people, events or portraits there is photography and photo retouching, and for presentation videos, videography and video editing. Also see the “Photo and video” section.
