PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY PRICING
Product Photography is a very diverse field. Our clients manufacture or distribute a wide variety of products, of all sizes, shapes and finishes. We photograph beautiful hand made jewelry, 50 gallon drums of concentrated, industrial desalination chemicals and everything in between, including beauty products, electronics, medical equipment, clothing and sports footwear. We photograph products at our client's facility or in the environment where they are used, we also photograph small products on table top set ups at our Pasadena studio. Food photography is always done on location.
Because every product assignment is different, with unique challenges, both in the studio and in post production, we quote every product assignment individually.
Setup fee: $150 (may be adjusted depending on number of items and location).
For most products photographed on location, in studio or environmentally, using seamless paper or a tabletop set, our fee is usually $25 to $65 per finished image delivered, depending on amount of retouching needed. The minimum charge for finished images ordered is $400.
Composited images (one image created with several files) may require an extra charge and would be quoted prior to the assignment.
Clipping Fee (with or without shadows): $9 per image
After we photograph all the items in an assignment, we create a password protected, online gallery for our client to select the final images that are to be "finished" in post production. These final images are the only ones we bill for.
We often have clients with a large number of similar items, like our cosmetics manufacturers with small glass and chrome bottles and jars. In this case, the finished item fees are towards the lower end, providing there is not a large amount of post production needed. In the case of only 2 or 3 items, the set up fee will be towards the higher side, and the finished item price will vary depending on number of items to be photographed and the time spent in post production to create the finished images requested.
"Post production" refers to everything that has to be done after the images are captured. Some items, because of their color and surface, are relatively easy to light, especially if photographed alone. Other items, like jewelry and cosmetics are more challenging to light; so much so, that, in order to achieve a perfect image, we often "composite" several images, lit in different ways. This applies to very shiny glass bottles with gold or chrome lids.
"Clipping" refers to lifting an image from the background so that a new background can be used, or the image be placed with other items in a larger image.
How sexy do you want it? How the images are going to be used can have a bearing on price. If we're talking about images of hand held desalination equipment, for instance, to be used in a catalogue or online, aimed at consumers ready to purchase the item, and only need to see which one they want, you need a very informative image on a plain background.
If, on the other hand, we're photographing jewelry, electronics, clothing, cosmetics, food, etc. for a printed or online ad, to be seen by someone our client wants to have as a future customer, we're talking about a totally different approach, sometimes involving location shooting, models, etc.
We always talk with our clients about the intended use(es) of the images so we can do the best job for them. The more we know about the products we photograph, where and how they are used and who is the target audience, the best job we can do and the more cost effective we can be.
We at Barnet Photography do most of the product post production in house. However, with some assignments, because of a large number of items, deadlines, or degree of difficulty, we utilize the services of expert retouchers who specialize in that type of work.
All charges are always quoted and explained to our clients once we know the exact scope of the assignment, number of images, background required, if images need to be clipped, etc. Rush services are available, but they may increase the cost substantially, especially if we need to use outside vendors.