The Competition and taking photography for granted.

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Our doors at POW! have only been open for a little over a month and so far so good. We’ve had a wide range of clients big to small, clothing to beauty and all have been amazed with the imagery we’ve been producing. And with that said I would like to take the time to compare the quality of imagery we produce and to help you find the right solution for your product photography. Many people take photography for granted, especially with digital photography now allowing anyone to become a "photographer." But when it comes down to selling your products, it will be your images that will make or break your sales.

A good example of this is a recent story done on CBS's Sunday Morning on pet photography for animal shelters. Now I know what you're thinking, pets aren't products. Well watch this video and then tell me what you think.

Adoption rates soared, and every pet photographed by a professional photography was adopted within days! See what a difference professional photography can make! It can make all the difference in a shoppers perception of your product. Whether it be a shoe, a diamond ring, or a wiener dog; if your products are photographed by someone who cuts corners or pays no attention to the detail in lighting your product, your sales will hurt.

So what we can take from all this is taking your photography for granted can cost your business tremendously both in sales and reputation. If there is one thing a product oriented company should take seriously, it's how its shoppers see their products. And there are several online photography "studios" that claim they can solve that for you and for CHEAP....

Many of these "Studios" claim to be professional photographers, in a professional environment providing professional quality images. But few can actually produce quality images. So we suggest before choosing your photographer for you products, take a close look at their images, not just the bottom line and ask the following questions.

Do they use a light tent to photograph your client’s products?

At POW! each item we photograph is lit for that specific item, paying attention to the texture and details of the highlights in the product. If an item is photographed in a light tent, you’ll get nothing but a muddy, flat looking picture, like this.

Pay attention to their website and how it looks.

Just like any website, it should appear professional, both in look and in content. At POW our product is our Photography. You should feel comfortable with what you see on the site. You should be able to contact them by phone, email or their website. And naturally, their photography should look AMAZING! Because, ultimately, you want AMAZING photography for your business and in turn AMAZING sales!

Some examples of websites that seem to provide an "affordable" service but upon further inspection may not be the solution you are looking for are ProductPhotography.com and Product Photography 4 Less. Both seem simple, cut and dry solutions for your product photography. And they may be, but they both fail to sell you their "product" from a visual standpoint.

Price shouldn't be your only determining factor.

Now, I've owned and operated my own business for years and if anything I understand that keeping costs low is necessary. However, there is a tipping point or a line to cross in every industry where trying to cut costs can at some point be detrimental to your profits and your reputation. Your product photography is one corner that should never be cut. While there are some studios out there that offer product photography for less than $10 an image, I can assure you, you'll get what you paid for and then some. But trying to save some up front cost, you loose 10 fold in sales.

So, next time you consider going with that craigslist photographer who will shoot all 100 of your products for $100, or that online studio who will photograph all your products in a light tent. Take a step back and consider the bottom line.

Here are few photos from some of our clients from last week. Enjoy!