The Snuggle Me Cushion (rest)

Originally uploaded by getcultstatus

This is one of a series of 3 product images I shot for the Snuggle Me Cushion, a product produced by Simply Mommy (Roseville, MN). This product was shot as part of a brochure I’m working on at the moment.

For any product-producing business, band, or organization that sells a product/merchandise, product photography is becoming a new standard.

In the past 10 years, printing and websites have not only become more accessible, they have become the gold standard of existence. No group, business or organization can expect itself to get very far without a print and/or online presence… and what good is an online/print presence if you can’t show the very products you sell? (be it merch, manufactured goods or otherwise.)

If you look at E-bay as the microcosm of free-range capitalism, it’s easy to see the role that product photos play. The items with the biggest images, nicest images, most number of images tend to win out with either higher bids, or faster sales. At the very least, they are the ones that catch our attention the fastest.

In the general print and web-store environment, a well-done product photo is really what does the actual selling. Sure, people read headlines and sales copy (sometimes), but they always see the picture and the pic is what does the talking first, the most, and the loudest.

The nice thing, these days, is that with the advent of Digital SLR cameras and Photoshop, product photography is fast becoming very accessible –even to the little guy. Everybody from a band with a CD and a couple T-shirts to a retailer or manufacturer with a full line of products can benefit from this.

My pricing is dependent on the item or image requirements, with a starting range around $65 for one image and tends to fluctuate with factors such as turnaround time, size/shape, and quantity.

One unique thing about Cult Status is that I am also able to offer discounts if a client wants a brochure or website AND wants me to shoot their products for the application. –and really, aside of the fact that selling one or two items will most likely pay for the product shot in full, you can’t put money on the polished image it portrays!

For the $50-$90/image (general industry standard) price range, a product photographer should include a Hi-res image, a web-ready image and will typically release the copyright to you. As a general practice, I often include a version with a transparent background just in case it’s needed for other applications. In the case of this cushion, I also made an animated .gif to show the cushion’s pantent-pending “snuggle” action.

There is a lot value in good product photography. It’s often what does the actual selling and it can really say a lot about your business or group.

(contact me for a quote!)