Product Photography

I love the process and practice of product photography. The flash of the strobe is only a split-second in the lifespan of bringing a product to life. From crafting a shotlist to the shoot day and then through post production and publishing it is a technical and rewarding process. Whether I’ve been planning, shooting, directing, running post-production*, retouching or publishing via a DAM (Digital Asset Management system) I enjoy and embrace the attention to detail needed along each step of a process that is largely unsung.

Q: What does every “eyechart” spreadsheet need?

A: An accompanying bland clear SOP doc!

Kidding - not kidding - the eyechart above is a look at an Airtable-based system where we tracked the progress of product photography including samples, shoot schedules and post production.

An approach like the one shown above also gives you the chance to pre-populate image file names, being ahead of the need for good file names streamlines the process for the photography and future image users.

* “Post-production” There’s lots to unpack there, but to be short, that’s everything that it takes to get an image from the camera and out into the world. Starting with selecting images, retouching, compositing, adding shadows, formatting and finally through to publishing/sharing those images. An average on-body image will be handled at least 6 times and often closer to ten through its process. In addition to being hands on throughout I’ve partnered with offshore production houses for years who can handle a significant workload and do so at an incredible value.

BOORING! - too many words, lets look at some photos…

My first ‘real’ job was working at an outdoor footwear company (Hi-Tec Sports, USA) so I’m still a bit of a shoe dog and always enjoy shooting footwear.

“Loadout” shots are a favorite image to produce, the storytelling options are expansive! These above and below are a few of my favorites.

Tastes change and product photography follows (or sometimes sets) trends. These pant photos below were a test and I look forward to seeing this style of photography adopted. It has a look that is a bit more ‘premium’ than shots on a white background.

The devil is in the details - file names, sample availability and accuracy, model selection and fit are all important steps along the process. In order to bring visibility to the process I created a studio tracker in Airtable. That provided visibility to the teams about the work currently in progress, upcoming shoots, as well as granular details like what shirt goes with these pants… (Ask me about “Uniforms need to be uniform” sometime.)

I’ve shot, directed and produced tens of thousands of product photos. Flats, pinups, mannequin/forms, on-body, movement, macro and more. I have favorite steps throughout that process and whether I’m the one tripping the shutter or directing the shoot at a partner studio its always a rewarding process.