Ok so I’ve heard some horror stories about people hiring product photographers and it baffles me every time. 😅 I know there are a TON of newer self taught photographers trying to get into the product photography market and I’m not saying they are all bad but you have to understand what to ask a photographer if your looking for high quality work that meets your brand. Not every photographer who says they can photograph products understands how to properly light, style or worst of all really understand how to properly represent your brand. So to make it easier for you to find the RIGHT photographer, I’ve pulled the Top 5 most important questions to ask any photographer you’re considering hiring.

How many years of product photography experience do you have?
Make sure the photographer has plenty of specifically “product” photography experience. It’s hard to really trust a portrait photographer to understand how to photograph products. People and products are two completely different subjects and each one takes a different kind of approach to photograph. This doesn’t mean not to hire a photographer that also does portrait photography but just make sure they have a few years of experience in that specific area.

Do you have all the required equipment & studio?
Make sure you understand how the photographer is going to photograph your products. Do they have studio lighting? Do they use natural lighting? A combination of both? Do they photograph at a studio or out of their home studio? All of these questions will help you understand how your photographer works. Just because a photographer works out of their home doesn’t discredit them at all, in fact I work out of my home studio for my product photography clients. This allows me to work whenever and gives me the biggest opportunity to create great custom lifestyle images to my clients.

What is your rate? Do you charge by click, by hour or do you have a set priced packaged deal?
Every photographer charges differently and it’s good to understand how they could charge for their work.

By Click refers to every image the photographer takes, for example the photographer will charge a certain price per image so $30 per image they deliver.

By Hour refers to every hour they shoot is a certain amount, so $150 per hour with a minimum of two hour session.

Set priced package is exactly what it says. It’s a set price that includes a certain amount of shooting time, images, and other additions included in the price. Personally this is how I set my pricing, because it brings the most flexibility to my clients and is more affordable for them.

Do you have any feedback of past work?
This is basically asking for any previous client testimonials if they don’t have any visibly shown. This is proof that they have worked with other businesses and received positive feedback of their work.If they are just starting out they need to be 100% upfront about it, so you are aware they are working towards getting those testimonials.

Do you have the required technical knowledge about ecommerce products?
This is probably the most important question to ask when interviewing a product photographer! You want to make sure they know how products need to be showcased for ecommerce sites including your website. They should be able to give you details of how they will photograph your products depending on how you need them photographed and for what platform.

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Now your set to make sure you hire a true professional product photographer for your business! Just remember that product photography is an investment for your business and in the honest truth fashion, you get what you pay for. If you would like to learn more about my product photography services head to my product photography page.