Gone In A Flash - Five Tips For Making the Most of Your Photo Shoot
/Updated June 16, 2021
“It needs more zhushing,” were her first words to us when our photographer looked at our gift box. We stared down at our beautiful box and realized she was right. Get plumping! The idea of a photo shoot seems so simple, but in reality, it requires planning.
Time is money, and planning your photo shoot will save a lot of both and create tools for your marketing channels. A lack of planning can mean missed opportunities, maybe missed purchases, because you don’t have the pictures you need when a potential buyer comes calling. The opportunity cost of waiting until next time – especially in a major buying season (holiday, weddings, etc.) - can be painful.
Here are 5 Tips to Help You Get Focused on a Great Photo Session:
Are professional pictures really necessary? Absolutely, yes. Give yourself every competitive advantage. With the average website visitor staying less time than it takes for a few sips of coffee, your images need to attract and keep visitors on your site or social media channels. Give them every reason to stay and purchase, or at least engage. Free yourself from worrying about the lighting and angles; let the pro do it. And a good photographer (hat tip to @whitneywassonphoto) will offer the bonus of product positioning ideas based on their years of experience. This doesn’t mean every photo needs to be taken by a professional. We take many more photos ourselves; however, we have a core of professional photos available, especially for our website.
Make a list of each picture you need. Think ahead about how many photos you’ll need to be posting weekly/daily and across all the platforms (newsletter, email, website, social channels). It may seem simple to come up with the list now, but things get busy quickly when the photographer arrives, and you’re trying to make the most of your time together. If you don’t have your list ready, it’s easy to start jumping around and miss key shots. Write down a brief description of each photo, list the different colors and arrangements of those items as separate photos. You may sell one combination of products, but having pictures of two or three combinations will give you different ways of showing off some of your favorite pieces: large groupings, small ones for variety, mood, flavor. And you can spread that variety across multiple channels to promote the same end product in unique ways. Options and ideas, that’s the name of the game.
Plan the order of pictures. When you start moving individual items in and out of pictures, a session can get unorganized in a hurry. Think about whether individual items will be in multiple shots in the same background? Different backgrounds? Don’t waste time getting the same pieces in and out at different times in the shoot. Have a logical order based on which items are being used the most, and in which groupings. Keep the pieces handy, switch the backgrounds, or add a complementary element for a different occasion. Same piece, different purpose with the addition of a bow or seasonal accent.
Seasonal vs. non-seasonal? Without planning, you can miss the obvious, like the fact that three different buying seasons may occur in the next five months (August through December). Consider what you’ll be selling in the months ahead. If possible, take pictures in the different style settings, with a range of backgrounds and accessories, colors, etc. (Yes, that means pulling accessories/decorations packed away in storage.) Otherwise, you may realize too late that you need the same items but in a holiday styling a few weeks later.
Remember Individual items. What about individual pictures of products to add variety across social platforms and your emails? Different shot styles for the Individual items you want to highlight allow more content options that ultimately link back to product pages. If you don’t take individual item pictures, your photos may start to repeat quickly.
These are a few of our lessons learned the hard way. With a few years under our belt now, we appreciate the importance of being prepared. While we still learn something new each session, we share these tips through the lens of our business in the hopes that it helps yours.
