Should I hire a product photographer or do it myself?
By Dan BartleyUpdated 3 minute read
The short answer
Do it yourself if your products are small and simple, you only need clean shots on a plain background, and you have time to learn a repeatable setup. Hire a photographer for models, food, jewellery and campaign shoots, or for styled scenes you cannot stage. Between the two, frames made from your phone photos cover room scenes without a shoot.
When does doing product photos yourself make sense?
When the products are small and simple, the photos you need are clean shots on a plain background, and you are still finding out what sells.
- Your products fit on a table and are not shiny or see-through
- You need the same few angles of every product, on a plain background
- You have a window with good daylight, or a corner you can light the same way every time
- You will photograph new products often, so a setup you own pays for itself
- You are testing products, and spending on photos before they sell would be premature
What does it really cost to do product photos yourself?
Mostly time: learning, setting up, shooting, editing and reshooting, on top of a modest spend on gear.
- Gear: a tripod, a backdrop, white card to bounce light, and a light or two if you have no good window
- Learning: a few rounds of practice before the photos match each other
- Shooting and editing: every product, every angle, every colour
- Reshooting: products that came out wrong, or new stock that has to match the old photos
- Space: a corner that stays set up, or the time to rebuild it each session
Count your hours at what your time is worth to the business. If a day of photos costs a day of selling, marketing or sourcing, doing it yourself is not free.
When is a professional product photographer worth it?
When the photo needs something you cannot produce at home: a model, a location, a food stylist, macro detail, or a large product lit properly.
- Clothing that has to be seen on a real person, where fit and drape decide the sale
- Food being poured, cut or eaten
- Jewellery, watches and glassware, where reflections need controlled studio light
- A launch campaign with a particular look, where the photographer’s style is part of the brand
- Video of real people using the product, shot on the same day
Before you book, ask for a portfolio in your category, a price per finished image with retouching included, and who owns the photos. The checklist in what a product photography quote should include covers the rest.
Can my phone photos become finished product frames?
Yes. You take a couple of phone photos of each product, and a studio makes the finished frames from them, including room scenes and close-ups.
Bartley Studio works this way. The phone photos are taken in daylight: the front, one other angle and a close-up of the material, with a note on what it is made of and its size. Nothing needs to be posted. Every frame is made with AI and finished by hand, and any final image that does not match the real product is re-edited until it does, with no cap and no extra fee.
The smallest order is one product with six images for $350 plus GST, and ten products with eight images each comes to $2,040 plus GST. The first look arrives in 2 to 3 working days.
Which option suits my products?
Start from what the photo has to show. The table below is a starting point, and one brand can use two routes: one for the clean shots and one for the scenes.
| What you need | Best first route |
|---|---|
| Small products on a plain background, early days | Do it yourself |
| Clothing on a real person | A photographer with a model |
| Food being poured, cut or eaten | A photographer with a food stylist |
| Jewellery and fine detail | A photographer with macro lenses and studio light |
| Furniture and homewares in real rooms | Frames made from phone photos, or a location shoot |
| A new product, before the stock arrives | Frames made from phone photos of a sample |
| A large range of similar small items | A fixed setup in-house, with made scenes for the best sellers |
Other questions people ask about this
Can I learn product photography myself?
Yes. The basics are light, background, a steady camera and doing it the same way every time, and they come with practice on your own products. Lighting shiny, see-through or very large products takes much longer to learn.
Read the full answerDo product photographers charge per image or per hour?
Both are common: per image for catalogue work, and a half-day or day rate for styled shoots. Ask for a total that includes retouching, so quotes can be compared.
Read the full answerWho owns the photos if I hire a photographer?
In Australia, unless your contract says otherwise, the photographer usually owns the copyright in commercial photos and licenses them to you. Get ownership or usage terms in writing before the shoot.
Read the full answerStill have a question? Ask us