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Professional photographers who work in this job role aim to generate results in a way that the customers will choose their product over the competitors. As a result, a great photographer will take into consideration multiple things. For example, proper lighting, background materials, sharp camera focus, favorable camera angles, and careful editing.
Product photography is an essential part of marketing. It helps in selling those products by providing desirable images to the customers which makes them want to buy the product. This job has essentially dominated the photography profession.
Job Role & Duties
While many photographers work full time in this job, many are self-employed and work more flexibly as freelancers. Working as a product photographer comes with its set of duties and responsibilities. However, these duties vary entirely depending on the employer as well. Typically, these are the day-to-day activities in product photography jobs:
- Stage Photographs: The photographer takes the product and sets it up for a photoshoot. It also involves gathering any necessary pieces of equipment, complimentary objects, setting up the right studio lighting, etc. Moreover, depending on the type of product, the photoshoot could also be done outdoors.
- Shoot Photographs: Once the studio is set up, the photographer takes photographs in large volumes. His goal is to capture the essence of the product in these photographs. The process can be a bit static and also involve a bunch of setup and accessories change.
- Manage Post-Production: Right after finishing up with the photo shoot, the next step is to handle post-production. This part involves browsing through the captured images and selecting the best ones. This is followed by the editing of the selected images to polish them further and make them ready. The photographs also need to be compatible with multiple formats on the web like e-commerce websites, magazines, catalogs, etc.
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Skills of a product photographer
- A keen eye for detail
- Knowledge of staging for photoshoots
- Skills to manually optimize equipment for capturing good photographs
- Proficiency in photo editing software
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
Types of product photography
- Studio Product Shot: Studio product shots are taken in a studio in a mild lighting setup. The motive behind it is to take clear images that show the specifications of the product. Different kinds of products require different kinds of lighting setup.
- White Background Images: The white background images are by far the most preferred backdrop in commercial photography. Mainly because they highlight the product and take focus away from any distractions.
- Grouping of Product: Grouping of the product is used to display the available options to the viewers. For instance, it can display a group of products in one image or the same product in a variety.
- Lifestyle Action Shots: In this case, product images help in showing the purpose of the product in action. This enables the buyers to see how they should use the product.
