Save Time and Get Creative: Outsource Your Product Photography and Unlock Timesaving Opportunities!

Are you looking for ways to save time, money and free up resources for other projects? Outsourcing your product photography needs can be a great way to do just that and open up a world of creative possibilities. But before you jump in, there are a few things you need to know. We’re going to explore the benefits of outsourcing your product photography, how to find the right photographer for your project, and include some solid tips for getting the most out of your photography budget.  

As we’re a one-stop visual media shop, offering professional product photography, high quality video and social media strategy and management services, we’ll also dish up some creative ideas for using photography in your marketing efforts.  

What is Outsourcing? 

Outsourcing is the process of delegating tasks, projects, or services to an external source. It’s a popular option for businesses that want to save time and money, as well as access specialized skills and knowledge that they may not necessarily have in-house. The outsourced work is usually performed by a professional specialist service provider or freelancer, who can provide quality work in a timely manner. 

When it comes to product photography, outsourcing is a great way to free up your attention, so you can focus on the other aspects of your business. With the right photographer, you will get creative projects done quickly and easily – without the hassle of managing in-house teams.  

Benefits of Outsourcing Photography 

Outsourcing photography has several advantages. Here are a few of the most important benefits: 

• Cost saving: Hiring an in-house photographer can be expensive, particularly if you have sporadic or occasional photography requirements, but outsourcing can save you money in the long run. Professional photographers typically charge by the hour or project, so you can save on the regular overhead costs that come with having full time staff. If you’re considering setting up in-house, then bear in mind that a basic commercial set up can and will cost a minimum of £50,000 for photography alone. Expect that figure to rise by around £40,000 when factoring in future investments in video equipment, software and upgrades. 
• Specialized skills: Professional photographers like the team here at Picture Perfect Photography have the technical and creative skills to take stunning photos for any project.  
• Quality assurance: When you outsource photography, you can be sure that the photos you receive will be of the highest quality. Professional photographers like our Collette have the experience and expertise to ensure that the photos meet your needs and specifications.  

• Additional creative services: A good experienced professional photographer will be able to offer good quality referrals to their creative network and additional services such as CGI or creative retouching, to take your product photographs to another level. Plain, on-brand product images are great for brochures, website product pages, or other official literature. If you add that bit of something extra that comes from the creative retouch process, they become spectacular print ads or social media campaign material that stop your audience in their tracks.  

Advantages of Outsourcing Photography to a Professional 

When you outsource photography to a professional photographer, you’ll get a few additional benefits. Professional photographers can provide: 

• Project management & Planning: A good photographer that is worth their salt will save you time and effort by working with you in the project management stage. A red flag you should keep an eye out for is a photographer that will simply turn up having expected you to do all of the pre-production work. This alone can be very stressful for a business – the work is done once, and then you find yourself wasting time explaining everything. At Picture Perfect Photography, we take the time to work with you, listening to your requirements and objectives. We’ll use our network and experience to make the project run as smoothly as possible.  

• A creative approach: Professional photographers have a creative eye and know how to take photos that stand out. They’ll be able to capture the right angles and use their extensive knowledge of lighting to create stunning images. Here at Picture Perfect Photography, each job we take on begins with a creative strategy session to understand the wants and needs of our clients – we are happy to work directly to a strict brief, but we are equally happy to work with you and make strong, creative recommendations that might inspire greater things than you had previously imagined. 
• Expertise: Professional photographers have the expertise to take unique and interesting photos for any project. They’ll be able to bring your vision to life by creating amazing photographs that inspire your customers and prospects to want to know more about them. When you have a photographer with vast experience in what they do, vital aspects of the shoot such as lighting and set up are effectively decreased, giving you more of the important stuff for your investment, which is the photography itself.  
• Professional editing: Product photography is very rarely a case of simply taking some photos and sticking them straight onto your website or posting them straight to social media. Picture Perfect Photography will edit each photo individually to ensure that they look their absolute best. Colour correction, contrast tweaks and removal of any blemishes or backgrounds are all part of the professional services we offer to our clients as a baseline standard.  

What Should You Consider When Outsourcing Photography? 

When outsourcing photography, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are a few things to consider: 

• Budget: Make sure to set a realistic budget for the project, if you’re not sure what this is, just ask the photographer or videographer. By taking advantage of a block booking or monthly subscription package with Picture Perfect Photography, you can spread the cost of your project across several months, helping you to manage your budget effectively. The membership packages also include exclusive discounts and services that massively increase the value of your product photography project. 
• Timeline: How long have you got to complete the job? At Picture Perfect Photography, we can offer fast turnaround of your images as part of our great deals, enabling you to complete your project in a timely manner.  
• Quality: You need to know that your photographer is going to deliver the highest quality images for your products. Check out reviews, brands we’ve worked with and our extensive portfolio of work that covers many different industries and photography types, from lifestyle and fitness photography with models for UGC, to creative promotional materials for large marketing campaigns, interior and architectural, food and to more sober, superior quality manufacturing and surgical product photography.  

• Communication: Make sure that the photographer is easy to communicate with. With Picture perfect Photography, you will have easy access to directly communicate with our principal photographer and company founder Collette through a few channels. Are you more comfortable on WhatsApp, or do you prefer to work on Microsoft Teams? Whatever works for you, will work for us.   

Some Ideas for Using Photography in Marketing 

Photography can be a powerful tool for marketing your business. Here are a few ideas for using photography in your marketing efforts: 

• Social media: Use the photos to create eye-catching posts for your social media accounts that will engage your audience effectively. Why not work with professional UGC creators, through our trusted network or an influencer agency such as Social Cat or Gifted to build valuable User Generated Content that resonates with and inspires the viewer? We can also create unique video content for your followers, such as behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot to show your followers the process and people behind the brand.  

• Website: Use photos on your website to showcase your products and services. For retailers and brands whose main sales channel is e-commerce, great product photography can be the difference between a sale for you or your competitor.  
• Work with Influencers to create UGC: Great photography can effectively illustrate the quality of the products to an audience, but working with a notable personality in the relevant industry to have them modelling your products in a variety of ways, can help to inspire a want and a need in that audience. Somebody using your products helps your prospective customers to visualise themselves using them, especially if it is somebody whose content they follow and enjoy.  
• Advertising Campaigns: Whether print, billboard, or digital banners, great creative product photography can and does inspire huge awareness of your brand and the products you supply. Working with a professional photographer ensures that your images are the highest possible quality and optimised for use in literally situation.  
• Video content: Short or long form video content to grab the attention of your audience and easily communicate your brand values, services or product. 

Picture Perfect Photography is the ideal partner for any brand looking to refresh its product visuals, whether for use on websites, in brochures, or across social media. We offer professional photography and video sessions in our two Yorkshire studios for manufacturers and retailers of any products, although we are more than happy to travel to any location to capture high-quality, on-brand visuals.   

After the photography shoot, why not consider taking advantage of our creative retouch services, where we can effectively utilise professional CGI techniques, to add a completely new dimension to your product photography? This is perfect for delivering high-quality visuals that can bring a product to life in completely unique ways.  

We have a superior social media management partner in Jen Hammonds, who helps our clients to harness their personal brand, plan and deliver social media content that truly engages and grows their audience. This total service approach to working with our clients means that we are well placed to provide a one-stop shop, from devising content to creating it to finally distributing it via social channels.  

We have carved out a specialty within the health and fitness industry, having worked closely with numerous notable brands such as HD Brows, Bulk, C4, Eryx Fight Gear, and Gluteywear.