So you have gone through the long and drawn out process of sourcing eCommerce products, Deciding what to sell and creating your product listings. Now you need product photography services and you have no clue where to start or how much to pay.... let me simplify the process for you.
In this guide you will find a few places to source your product photography and recommendations on how to approach potential photographers.
Fiverr:
This site can be very valuable or a complete waste of time. I would suggest it for those who do not really know what photography styles they want, have a lower budget, and do not want to spend time reviewing cover letters.
Fiverr's platform was founded on the idea of offering cost effective services at a cheap price. You will find many budding photographers and a few career photographers. Beware that this platform is easy for a seller to manipulate to look like they have more experience than they actually do. If you learn how to weed out the poor sellers you will have a great source of middle quality work at a lower that average price. Keep in mind you get what you pay for here, buy cheap work, get a cheap result. Check not only a sellers reviews, but physically look at their live portfolio. Live portfolio is an awesome service where you can see actual work that seller has delivered to clients. To do so simply scroll past the first three photos in a sellers gig until you see images with reviews attached to them.
Upwork:
One of the largest freelance platforms out there... it can be hard to use for the newcomer. But when figured out it offers highly professional work at a decent price. This site would be better fit for those that want the high quality and are willing to pay a medium price for it. The site has a good system of checks and balances that keep sellers performing honestly. Though it can be time consuming to read through cover letters and decide who you want to hire, Upwork offers a more reliable pool of freelancers.
It is wise to do a bit of research into how to post on Upwork and inlcude something in your job post that helps rule out freelancers that do not actually read before applying. For example you might state at the end of the post "include the word purple in your introduction if you have read and understand the requirements of this job"
Google and Direct Webpages:
I recommend going straight to google or a freelancers web page to anyone that understands the photography process well and wants to work on a long term basis. Finding product photographers video google or webpage can result in high end work at a cheaper price than freelancer sites. There is more risk and more reward.
Find a site with good reviews and offer to do a "sample order" Most sites offer a free one or two photo sample and the pricing will always be less if you are not working through freelancer sites. For example we always offer two free white background photos to new clients looking for product photography on our website. Try a photographer out risk free, if they are not willing to provide a sample, they are probably too busy to work with you anyways.
Thanks for the read and please sign up for our mailing list if you want to hear more about product photography, graphic design, or just want to get special offers for our eCommerce web services!
Evan Buckallew
B-C Video Photo Owner
Comments