DIY or hire a professional photographer?
I, like most people, have said, “I can do that” and then end up realizing it’s much more work than expected and get frustrated with the results. As you gear up for this holiday season you want to put your best foot forward and showcase the best your business has to offer.
To do this, do you hire a professional photographer or do you attempt DIY photography?
Well, let’s break down why you would want to hire a professional and why you may want to DIY some photos yourself.
The pros to DIY photos: it’s cheap, the owner can have control over everything, and you can photograph as much as you’d like. Some areas where you might consider DIY photography would be behind-the-scenes photos, quick instagram story updates, or live video on social media. If your photos are living on your website or are for a promotion, it may be a good idea to hire a photographer. Professionals have a trained eye for what makes a great image, they have the equipment, and consistent editing skills.
The cons of DIY photos: time, skill, inconsistency, and poor quality. You may not have the time to spend on trial and error just to get an okay image and be frustrated. As a busy entrepreneur, you can try to wear all the hats, but it leads to burn out. The quality of photos could be grainy because of poor lighting, equipment, color correction, and editing issues. There’s also the risk of going off brand by having inconsistent looking photographs, giving an unprofessional look. Here is an example of a DIY product photo.
You can't quite tell what the product is, there’s no styling, and the lighting is bad.
When you’re ready to hire a photographer, the only thing you’ll need to do is prep your products, communicate what you want with your photographer, and have a little patience while they are photographed, edited, and processed. The less prep work your photographer needs to do, the less time it will take to photograph all of your products so you can get on with business.
We’re now offering styled holiday product photoshoots through November 16th at our regular product photography rates.
The deadline to have products in-hand to us is November 16th.
We look forward to helping you present your products in a professional light.