A quick Google search of the keyword product photography services yields an astounding 1,3 billion results in under a second. The rise of commercial product photography matches the growing trend of e-commerce.

Google trends for "product photography" for 5 years

But.

What exactly do those product photography studios sell?

What services do they offer?

What does a potential client need to know about the menu of services such businesses provide?

How are Amazon product photography services different from those for social media?

Is retouching included, or is it an add-on?

Who is responsible for the creative part of the photoshoot, and what's the flow of the process?

How do you choose a professional photography studio?

Here's our lens-to-viewfinder guide on the range of options in this creative part of the e-commerce industry. But first things first — if you are a total beginner to the subject, here's a quick recap of the definition.

What is product photography?

Product photography is a commercial branch of photography that mostly deals with image production for e-commerce. It creates photos of different objects according to strict parameters to facilitate their consecutive sale on websites, social media, and marketplaces. Most such product images are isolated against a white background, but there are more creative variations as well, including props, models, and textured backgrounds.

E-commerce photography services

While making pictures involves 2 main stages for a person uninitiated into the process (the production part and the post-production or editing part), the most critical one is still the preparatory step of creative direction. It's rarely sold as a service, yet it is the foundation upon which the entire business firmly relies.

So, we insist on singling it out as product photography consulting & art direction service.

CONSULTANCY & CREATIVE ADVISORY SERVICE

Even though most studios specializing in product imagery don't charge for this stage, it's the most valuable ingredient of the offering: accumulated decades of experience and artistic vision.

Here are a few scenarios where photography consultancy can be a paid-for service.

SCENARIO 1

Say you are a startup that is tight on budget and wants to know how to DIY product photos for your online store.

You will likely have watched a few videos on YouTube and read a few guides on e-commerce photography.

But then you may also consult your experienced photographer on the best equipment and tricks over a coffee or beer, picking his experienced brains before renting a camera, studio, and lighting gear. See? You have just taken advantage of the product photo consulting service.

SCENARIO 2

Alternatively, you may have grown your business to the point where you produce more than 20,000 images per year, so it's time to set up an in-house photo studio.

This is when you are better off paying for an in-depth consultation on how to set up a photo studio from scratch based on your specific requirements, the talent available, premises, budget, etc. Consulting a seasoned photo studio founder will save you tons of hassle, time, and money. You can also buy a step-by-step guide to purchasing equipment, manning, workload cycle planning, and so on and so forth.

SCENARIO 3

You have a reliable photo studio with which you have cooperated for years, and this is optimal value for money for your bottom line. However, your image portfolio could benefit from some art direction.

You can get professional advice for your next product photoshoot by hiring a creative freelancer. They will assist you with concepts, props, backgrounds, references, and ideas, providing a detailed plan for your shoot.

As a result of this creative advisory session, you may end up with a photoshoot mood board of sorts that outlines the props, background, model types, angles, and formats of the resulting images for your items. This mood board, with a few improvements, can be used as a detailed brief for your regular studio to follow.

Several such scenarios are possible, but one thing is for sure: when you buy an advisory photography service, you purchase decades of experience and heaps of talent in one.

PRODUCT PHOTOS: THE CORE SERVICE OF THE INDUSTRY

This service is critical for both the resulting impact that images will leave on viewers and the budget of the shoot.

Here, creativity meets technicalities, and the idea meets its physical implementation, planning meets the process, lighting meets the object, and, finally, the model meets the accessory.

The success of the photo session depends on the planning and conception stages, while the post-production stage depends on the shoot itself.

If you have planned it all nicely, purchased all the props, and reminded all the models to attend on time, you will have a smooth shoot where items are replaced by the clock, with no overtime to be paid for studio or equipment rentals.‍

Types of product photography

By the industry or photographed object

• Food photography. Food photos are the ficklest of all, with many inedible tricks used to make the food look edible (did you know that shoe cream makes a chicken look nicely grilled, and glue substitutes milk in cereal shots?).

• Fashion photography (apparel, handbag photography, shoes, jewelry). Each subcategory of this type of product photography is worth its book of wisdom, and we have linked a few of the in-depth articles we have produced.

Photos: Squareshot

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• Beauty photography. This multi-billion industry keeps humanity crisp and shining, and Squareshot loves playing with props and backgrounds to produce the perfect beauty hero shot.

Photos: Squareshot

• Home goods photography. Kitchenware, linen, and bathroom appliances come in all shapes and price ranges. Their bulkiness, shiny surfaces, and cumbersome shipment are among the top challenges for a photo studio.

Photos: Squareshot

• Electronics & gadgets. As the average check for this segment is above $150, most manufacturers make sure to produce multiple stunning shots of the same gadget at different angles against various backgrounds for every channel. Hero shots are in high demand in this category, whereby each product page usually looks like a landing page of a full-fledged website.
• Kids & toys. With plenty of bright colors, box inscriptions, and child safety warnings at the forefront, toy photography uses a lot of group composition and close-ups.
• Sports & Outdoors. Product photography for this type of product is less commonly used in isolation against a white background due to 2 factors: many of the products are bulky, and most of them look better in context outdoors or on a model in action.

Photo 1: New Balance, Photo 2: Wilson, Photo 3: Saucony, Photo 4: Asics, Photo 5: Dirilievo

• Automotive and industrial photography is a beast that few photo studios specialize in due to one massive aspect: many objects are massive. This is still product photography by definition, as it is made for the purpose of e-commerce distribution, but this is a rather specialized niche branch of it.
• Photography for handmade products. Handmade products are usually shot on an iPhone by the person who made them for Etsy posting. Premium items with manufacturing scalability potential may enjoy some professional eye, in which case lots of close-ups are used to showcase the uniqueness of the hand-crafted item.
• Photography for antiques. Like automotive images, antiques are bulky and rigid to ship (both due to fragility and insurance costs), so they may also engage an incoming photographer service.

By the format of the resulting image

While they may sound too technical, you will usually be OK with JPEG and PNG. Different file formats serve different purposes — some are large and high-quality, suitable for billboard printing; others are lightweight and optimized for screens. Certain formats work best for online marketplaces, while others are ideal for platforms like TikTok. Here is the list of the most common formats:

• TIFF
• JPG
• PSD
• PNG
• RAW
• GIF
• MP3

Depending on the channel of distribution

E-commerce marketplaces compete with each other and smaller brand websites. Therefore, they all have strict image requirements designed to fit the platform's UX and UI design.

Some e-commerce giants will trim your images automatically, while others require exact resolutions for each type of marketplace page. Such rigid regulation aims to facilitate a smooth collaboration process for all merchants and speedy website performance.

• Amazon product photography services
• Shopify, Etsy, eBay
• Social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
• Brand online store: category shots, hero shots, product page shots.

PRODUCT PHOTO EDITING SERVICES

Last but not least, product photo retouching services can be outsourced freelance or purchased as part of the shoot.

These are some of the functions of the post-production stage:

• Background removal
• Background replacement
• Form adjustment
• Color correction
• Inscription and collage design
• Formatting as per platform requirements
• Watermarking

Photo editing is a time-consuming process that requires extensive technical skills, so any photographer aims to produce images with minimal shadows and imperfections to reduce the post-production stage.

Product photography services in NY & LA

Whether you need support with art direction, shooting, or post-production, Squareshot offers the expertise, tools, and team to handle it.

Our portfolio of brands — whose online stores we've helped bring to life with product images—speaks for itself. You're welcome to explore it or connect with our sales manager, who understands e-commerce and can guide you toward the product photography services that best fit your current goals.