Product Photography Workflow Options & Contracting
One corner of the QuirkWorks studio: small, simple, and powerfully creative!
Basic Workflow
Whether you ship your stuff to me, come to the QuirkWorks, or I visit your site, the basic workflow goes like this.
Initial consultation: Preferably by video conference, where we determine your needs, discuss basic shot designs, and see if I’m a good fit (free, no obligation).
Test Run: If you wish, you may send a few samples to test the system (optional, no obligation).
Proposal: After consultation, I will provide a proposal that will outline the prices for each type of shot that we have identified (see the pricing page for guidelines).
Contracting: Once we have agreed on all parameters, including scheduling, pricing, terms and conditions, digital storage, etc., we sign a contract. (I’m happy to sign NDAs.)
Deposit: You pay the initial deposit when we sign the contract (50% up front, 50% upon completion).
Creating the Brief: You will create a shot-by-shot outline that details angle, lighting, composition (for groups and composites), and any other parameters that I will need to make each image just right (phone images approximating what you want for each shot are very helpful). I will provide a form that asks all the right questions and provides examples.
Shoot: If you have shipped your products to me, I begin shooting your images. As I shoot, I upload images to an online proofing service, where you can review them and provide feedback (I use Pixiset). We can do a Zoom call from the studio if we need to consult in real time to make sure that we get a tricky shot or sequence just right. If you come to me or I go to you, we review draft images and tweak things as we work..
Post Processing: Once all the draft images are made, you choose the final images for me to process. I will then upload low-res versions of the final shots to the online proofing site. Any final adjustments are made at this time.
Final Payment: Once all the images are exactly how you want them and you have approved them, you pay the final invoice.
Ship: After the final payment has been received, the final high-resolution images are delivered, and If you have shipped your proudcts to me, I will ship them back to you (the images are delivered electronically, you pay shipping both ways for the physical product).
Planning: We plan our next shoot together!
Shooting Options
Covid-19 has changed the world and changed the rules, and getting together for photo shoots is harder to do safely. But you still need your products shot, and there are still ways for us to do it safely.
Sending your products to me is an efficient and cost effective option that is utterly safe.
My 300 square-foot studio is located at my home, and has been built specifically to do high-quality tabletop and product photography. I can’t shoot a motorcycle or pony (although it would be fun to try), but anything smaller than, say, a big flat-screen TV will work just fine. Communication is key for this to work well, but technology makes it quite easy. This is a great, mid-pandemic way to get your stuff photographed.
If we can do it safely (during these times of Covid-19) then another option may be for you to bring your products and stay with us. My wife and I run an Airbnb and we have two rooms available in our lovely 1820 farmhouse. We’re about an hour north of Portland, Maine, and 3.5 hours north of Boston. You can see our Airbnb listings here and here
This option may be best for you if you want more direct control over things as we shoot your products. You can work right alongside me in the studio and help compose and style the shots. We can also review the high-resolution draft images in real time and make any changes necessary as we go.
Staying with us also means that you will save dramatically on yout travel expenses. Our Airbnb rooms are extremely reasonably priced, and they come with breakfast and all the caffeine you can handle. We are only three miles from a lovely little village with all the restaurants and other amenities you would need. And this is a recreation wonderland, so in your spare time (!) there are lots of things do to outside.
The upside of this option is that we can work from the crack of dawn until midnight.
The downside of this option is that we can work from the crack of dawn until midnight.
Covid-19 notice: Because of the virus, we likely will not be taking guests until the fall of 2020.
If shipping your products or visiting us won’t work well for you, then I can bring my studio to you. This may be the best option of you have a lot of products, need to consult with other staff members during the shoot, or need lifestyle or other on-site images. I will need a large space (at least 300 square feet) that can be made completely dark, plus power and wifi access. You will also be responsible for travel, lodging, and meal expenses (Note: my needs are extremely modest: I don’t like wasting other people’s money).
Covid-19 notice: Because of the virus, I can only offer to come to you after we have discussed safety protocols.