Sailing Off To the Photography Studio: Making Products Look Their Best During The Shoot
Prepping the products.
In your quest to fit your ecommerce with perfect images, you’ve done everything: booked a photo studio, decided on styling, calculated the costs, and read through endless manuals on what your creative director likes and does not like to see in the product images. Is it all? Can you relax a little? Almost there, we dare tell you. Before you can slump in a chair knowing that the process goes smoothly, you have to make sure that the goods you are sending to the chosen product photography studio are in the best condition. It’s called prepping the products, and that’s the stuff you have to supervise closely or perform in person.
Every kind of product will be prepared differently, but the basic approach in product photography is the following: products need to be clean, without wrinkles, and display all their pros and cons (if any).
Clothes
They should arrive at the studio already prepared, clean, and pressed. Some minor wrinkles can be removed ad hoc by the shooting team, but the bulk of work is yours. Check in advance if every item is free of holes, all buttons are in place, there are no stains or other unwanted marks. Remove tags and stickers that do not constitute the conceptual part of the clothes.
Clarify in advance how everything will be shot: flat lay, invisible mannequin, on a human model. If a model is involved, provide clothing of the size that will fit them or even one size up.
Cosmetics
Cosmetics usually fall prey to the artistic genius of a photographer: lipsticks get chopped, nail varnish flows freely, and creams are opened and smeared. So include a decent supply of products to give a photographer some creative freedom (or say that you have the single sample, so no fooling around with it). Before packing all jars and cases, polish them, and see if they are free from scratches and damage. Bottles and tubes have to be shiny, free of fingerprints or traces of their content. Clean everything properly (if the items are not sealed) before shipping it to the studio.
Footwear
Please, ship clean and polished footwear to the studio. Select the flawless items to showcase the model and materials. Some small wrinkles are ok, but major signs of tear and wear are undesirable (if you are not dealing in vintage and preloved items, of course). The people at the studio know how to make shoes look like they are on human feet without anyone wearing them. Through such a presentation, footwear looks appealing to customers.
Furniture
Definitely, cleaning and polishing are a must. Upholstery should be free of spots or loose threads, seams should be intact, all decorative elements need to be in their place. Plastic details or items have to be shiny and clean as well.
Accessories
Jewelry needs gentle cleaning and polishing (do not overdo it, though). Check if all stones and elements are in place, all hooks and clasps are unbroken. Ask if you should supply black velvet jewelry boards, or if the studio has its own mannequins and backgrounds.
All in all, ensure the products are clean, intact, and ironed, if applicable. Good luck with your shoot and remember that the better you prepare the products the less retouching you need to apply.
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