Product Photography Outsourcing

[sparkle.and.give]

I have a small-ish store that sells vintage and used jewelry (lower end) and would like to hire someone to take product photos for me.  I would do all of my own editing; I just need someone to take pictures of the items on a white background.  

Any suggestions?  Hiring someone by the hour would probably be more cost effective than per piece since most of my pieces sell for a fairly low price anyway.

I would ship the items to the photographer (US only) and have them shipped back.

Thank you!

[duncanvr · Accepted solution]

Put up a local ad for local photographer and interview a few different people who are good at photography. Get them to show you examples of their work. Pick one that does not live that far away and start them on trial then if you like them hire them part time (Send them the items). Even better if they are not to far you can take the items to them yourself. Make sure your aware of all the requirements when you hire people, tax etc. I think you have to pay them the minimal part time wage.

It maybe easier if you know a younger teenage family member in your extended family and see if they would help part time taking pics, they could learn how you want the pics taken. Pay them cash. Teenagers are usually good with their smart phones at taking pics.

[downunder-61]

You are better off investing in a light box as that is a one off taxable expense. They are not too costly and easy to use and even a pic taken from a phone will look professional. If you know someone who could make you one, even better.

Your way will be very expensive - sending the items, paying for them to be sent back, hoping none go astray, the actual photographers charge.

A sellers profit is based on his costs [item cost/fvf/listing fee], so a seller (especially a small seller) needs to keep those cost's as low as possible.

JMO but payng for photography I can do for $0 would be counterproductive and cost prohibitive.

[dhbookds]

College nearby?  perhaps they have photography courses....and a teacher could recommend a student....

[taferg1778]

I think there are photographers everywhere and you should look for experienced freelancers and contact them to arrange a photo shoot.

[whorunbartertown]

I am available to do this. Take a look at my jewelry pieces and see if you like my pics. 

[maxine*j]

Who did the pictures in your current listings?  They are better than many that I've seen, because jewelllery can be hard to photograph, although you're right that you should use a plainer background.

I honestly do not see how you could do this from a cost point of view, given the modest selling prices for such items, not to mention the problems inherent in shipping the items back and forth.

I agree with Duncanvr that your best bet, if you want someone else to do the photos, is to find a local teenager with a smartphone.   Youngsters can work wonders with the technology and are always happy to get some pocket money.  Find someone in your family or through a friend, or ask around at your church or any group(s) you;re a part of. 

=

[cool.jewels.by.jeff]

Try using the manual focus over the auto focus.  It will allow for crisper pictures and move the lighting around to avoid shadows. 

[m60driver]

 Crikey, your photos are fine.  Just go out and buy a few of those cheap white foam boards from Michael's and use them as your background.  Two of those pieces set up at 90° work better for me than any light box contraption.

[sparkle.and.give]

Lol, thank you for the compliment on my pictures!  I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I put quite a bit of time into taking them (take lots at different angles, edit, etc).  This is what takes so long and makes me dislike the process.  😛  

Thank you for your idea!  I've tried different backgrounds and a couple of different backdrops with less than stellar effects.  I will get some foam boards.  😄

[sparkle.and.give]

That's a good tip, thank you

[sparkle.and.give]

Thank you for the compliment!  I did them myself.  Takes quite a while with my shaky hands (have to take multiples) and then with editing.  

You and the others are right.  I'm just going to have to deal with it b/c otherwise would be too expensive.  I do, however, have a teenage neighbor that's always saving up for a video game; maybe I can talk him into trying it.  😛

[sparkle.and.give]

You're right.  After getting some quotes from photographers, anything that I'd be able to pay them would be downright insulting to them.  So, I'm just going to have to deal with it and/or find a teen or someone who could take some of the pics part time.  

Thank you for taking the time out to reply.

[downunder-61]

The actual quality of your photo's are absolutely perfect, only suggestions:

Silver jewelry - black or dark grey background (never white)

Gold jewelry -  cream/neutral background 

Colourful stoned etc - black or neutral depending on the framework being gold or silver

All - Plain background - no printing or writing to remove the focus from the featured item.

[farmalljr]

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@sparkle.and.give wrote:

Thank you for the compliment!  I did them myself.  Takes quite a while with

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@sparkle.and.give wrote:

Thank you for the compliment!  I did them myself.  Takes quite a while with my shaky hands (have to take multiples) and then with editing.  

You and the others are right.  I'm just going to have to deal with it b/c otherwise would be too expensive.  I do, however, have a teenage neighbor that's always saving up for a video game; maybe I can talk him into trying it.  😛

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You can eliminate shaky hands with a tripod. I assume you are using some kind of camera rather than a phone. A better way to take photos is with a tripod to hold the camera and a remote shutter button. Depending on the camera, a remote can be attached with a cord or cordless. These two things combined take your shaky hands out of the equation. Setting the camera on a tripod also eliminates jumping all over the place to take photos. 

All of this can be done with a phone, rather than a camera, by the way. There are tripod adapters and shutter remotes made for phones too.