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Wanted insights on Apparel photo shoots for ecom websites !!

By Amar Shah on 35 Comments / 3168 views

Hi,

All these ecom website that sell apparels do they actually hire professional photographers / models for shooting each image individually (i.e. front/back and side profile) or is there any alternate technology by which one can go about doing it ? 

My understanding is that photography cost is prohibitive even if you hire a unknown model.

Can anyone provide me leads or solutions for high volume photo shoots.

Thanks

Amar 

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35 Comments

  1. There are many agencies which do the whole cataloging work. I get it done from tasveer.com

  2. Thanks Atul. Would it be possible to share cost please.

  3. Nice question!

    Let me promote next week

  4. Awesome thanks a lot !!

  5. Hi Amar.
    I own a Photography Unit, Costumier Studio. We are serving apparel manufacturers, retailers, designers and e-commerce for all photography related requirements. Let me know if you need further details. 

    I have a related post https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/scope-of-professional-photographers-in-the-era-of-e-commerce-and

  6. Checkout http://www.bhane.com

    Street photography in ambient light, no goofy setups. I like how they are also promoting fashion sense by combining environments with attire.

  7. Some do it themselves and some get it done by a professional. Having a good camera with the right lenses helps. Renting out a decent studio with a photographer and a model would cost you 20K-30K.

  8. How about stock photo sites? I did a search on dollarphotoclub.com for ‘Indian Models’ and got the following result:

    https://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Search?k=indian+model&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Aphoto%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Aillustration%5D=1&filters%5Bcontent_type%3Avector%5D=1&search=Search

     

  9. Thanks Partha, but we require photos of our products i.e. Garments !

  10. Have sent a request.. lets connect and take it forward !

  11. Yes, exploring that but then one can not do everything inhouse so trying to work a win-win situation !

  12. Thanks Rupin, well we do not need any fancy setup or background even.. a plain white or pastel color works fine. Any clue on who has done bhane photographs ?

  13. I have worked earlier with ShopInStudio in Mumbai. They are a apparel store with no online presence. If you are a apparel retailer, you should be able to ask your supplier/manufacturer for photos. If you are a manufacturer, you would most definitely need professional guys doing your photoshoot.

    As for the technology, there is no shortcut. Models dress up, photographer clicks. And all the bells and whistles that come with it, like makeup, backgrounds, lighting. My experience tells me it takes roughly an hour for one dress/ apparel to be fully documented/photographed.

  14. Thanks Rupin. In this case it will be manufacturers. 

    Well I do understand that there is a need for professionals but for a ecom play the photos and the setup is pretty basic. As you say there is no escape from having a photographer clicking away along with models. 

    Would it be possible to share some costs / financial working per product for approx 1000 SKU’s a year !

    Regards

  15. I don’t have hard numbers, but we can extrapolate.

    with 4 views per product, thats 4k photos. A really pompous gujju wedding will reach that many number of photos for the album. But that’s in a span of a couple of days, hence the time of the photographer is on a short span. It would be different for a garment manufacturer, which needs to setup the whole shebang every month perhaps.

    You are looking at a 2 day photoshoot every month atleast. Each day for the photographer will cost 12-15k, which includes the lighting and gear. Male models will charge around anywhere from 3k to 15k for a day’s worth of work. slightly higher for female models. a reasonable good makeup artist will cost you 1k-3k for a day.

    All in all for 1000SKU’s a year, you are looking at a 200k  and upwards. 

    Now, most photographers+models+makeup artists have work that is contract based, but you have the advantage that you can negotiate work which is 100% certain and falls on a certain day. I am sure you can negotiate a better cost with all three.

    Now all these are ballpark’s, which means these numbers are fairly approximate. 

    There are definite ways to lower this cost. I sometimes do a photoshoot for soshiam, owned by my sister(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Soshiam/1397703693823109?ref_type=bookmark), but that’s when I am not building my 3D printer. We use a mannequin, the draping is done by the her. We use creative placement of the mannequin to ensure its looks professional. 

  16. Hey Do Connect Me. Can show you some good samples.

  17. Hi Amar,

    I don’t think they use any tool to create photo for front, back etc. You can use tool for electronic devices where 3D is used to create the product, but I feel for products like shirts, t-shirts etc you will have to shoot them.

    What difference i feel is that since these companies are big, they might have a in-house photo shoot team who would be shooting and cropping the products.

    If you need assistance with your eCommerce store may be I can help you https://www.72interactive.in

    Regards,

    Amit

  18. Thanks for the details… This works out to be approx 2k per product… I am on the l

  19. Sure thing !

  20. Yes thats an option Amit to do it by oneself… but wouldn’t a retainer type concept with a budding photographer work out better in the long run. 

    One does not need to shoot everyday. !

  21. Yes Amar, you can look at retainer concept, but it will only work if you are tie up with at least 2 to 3 retailers every month so that you have enough work to strike a bid, else you might loose money. Since even retailer model is not inexpensive. 

    What we suggest to some our clients is that if they tie-up with start-ups who are looking for work and strike a deal with them, what additional effort you would need to train these guys on how do you need the picture, spend more time etc, but if you find a good guy, the out come could be nice.

  22. If you are a startup and

    You are a good photographer, you need to invest in a camera and

    A corner in your office space with a white or …… Color background(curtain). This can be a multiuse space. It could just be the open corner in your office, with a movable workstation.

    For Model Call a college student or your friend, cousin, etc.

    If shoes or accessories. Do not need to click the entire person.

    Hope this could help you.

  23. On an average 25k to 40k depending on no of hrs. You’ll probly need a full day if its a lot of changes. This for a basic model + make up+ studio & photographer

  24. Hey Amar,

    Multiple agencies provide retainer ship models, please text me your email address and i shall have an email forward to you which i received a few days back

    Regards

  25. I have done apparel shoot for web site
    With basic knowledge you can do it only it’s bit back breaking. But you may learn
    Get a decent camera 10 mp cel phone should serve, or small click cam with good resolution.

    Shoot clothes against white bg with one strong left or right source and middle and ambient source
    Results are awesome

    Take the images in PC get in photo shop ,clean them if needed and post on your site subject to necessary compression or suitability as per the site requirements.

  26. Just sent a request !!! touch base with me at amar@fcml.net

  27. Thanks !

  28. Hi Amar,

    The agencies offer choice of models to shoot your product with – cost depends on the model chosen. Indian models can be hired around 15-35K per day. One of my client ( sujalassociates.com ) offers photography, equipments, models (now even International models at 25K upwards) for shoots in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

  29. The only alternate is to find couple of good looking friends and take photos of the products yourself with a point and shoot camera. 
    Find an Image Retoucher and send him all the pictures for editing. 

    Use natural lighting conditions. Try Outdoor locations like a park and hope that no one disturbs you. Invest time and be patient to find the right sort of time, location and lighting for the best picture. 

    HTH

  30. Amar,

    I do Photoshoots regularly for the bags i sell. I can connect you to the photographer who photographs for me, i use his studio and basic white backgrounds. No models.
     Charges me 50 bucks per click.
     And his pictures are pretty good. Ive been using them on various marketplaces like amazon etc.

    But youll have to look after everything else ie models,make up, product angles etc etc.If youre interested, i can connect you to him.

    Karan

  31. Thanks Karan, please do share the contacts !! amar@fcml.net

  32. 9870481168 – Viju—Kamal photo studio , chembur camp.

    If you want , you can tell him , that the guy who clicks printed ladies handbag images , has referred you to him. He may/may not remember me by name.I usually interact directly with the photographers.

    ***Tip : If things work out with him, insist on working with a photographer called “mahesh” . He is the best they have. I do all my shoots with mahesh.***

    Good luck

    Karan

  33. Hi Karan,

    One of my client in Mumbai is looking for a good product photographer. Can you help me connect with someone. 

    Regards,

    Amit

  34. Hi Amit,

    The above mentioned photographer is the only one i work with on a regular basis. so i can recommend them, based on experience. I do not know anyone else,whom i can recommend.

    Hope that helps

    Karan

  35. We are running our network in the same domain.
    http://www.frameinn.com

    Drop me an email if you need any help with product Photography: dhananjay@frameinn.com

    Cheers

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