HOW TO SAVE MONEY BY HIRING A COMPETENT JEWELRY PHOTOGRAPHER
In the past, jewelry manufacturers, designers and retail
store owners who needed jewelry photos would turn to
a professional jewelry photographer who would provide
great pictures and service. Jewelry was photographed
on film with 35mm cameras to large format
8x10. When digital photography was ushered into our world, jewelry
photography, along with all other segments of photography,
became more competitive. More and more jewelers
have chosen not to hire professional photographers
but rather to purchase state of the art digital cameras,
accessories and lighting equipment in the belief that they
could successfully produce professional quality digital
images of their products and save thousands and thousands
of dollars. Producing good jewelry photos has little
to do with owning expensive equipment and knowing
technical data. The 'secret' is in seeing and understanding.
So what makes you think that a capital investment of a
few thousand dollars will secure the results achieved by
professionals who in practice and technical terms are
inconceivably more advanced in their craft? It must be
that huge sense of possibility. That sense could prove to
be disappointing!
The truth is you're just beginning to glimpse and appreciate
the complex world of jewelry photography. Without having the passion commitment |
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and technical skills - you are wasting time and money! By hiring the
wrong photographer (yourself) your company could be
wasting a great deal of capital and reputation. So how do
you ensure a solid visual communication with the market?
Hire a professional jewelry photographer; use the
gained time in doing what you do best, and save thousands
of dollars.
A professional jewelry photographer would have
equipment to simultaneously facilitate a number of jewelry
photography assignments, from a single item to be
photographed on a small table-top, to multiple set-ups
including models photographed on custom built sets. We
are talking of a serious responsibility to the profession.
Securing a lease or even purchasing a building, investing
tens of thousands of dollars in equipment, insurance,
human resources, not to mention time, effort, and commitment,
in order to 'take pictures'. We call this place a
professional studio space. After years of practicing a
daily routine of taking photographs some call themselves
professional photographers. Why? Because they
earn a living by undertaking the task to perfect the art of
photography.
LOOKING FOR PROFESSIONAL SPECIALIST
I have said this repeatedly, and it seems obvious; it is
essential to find a photographer who has experience in
jewelry photography. In photography, as in medicine or
the legal profession everyone has a specialty. There are
wedding photographers, medical photographers, food
photographers, portrait photographers,
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photojournalists, industrial photographers, fine art photographers, architectural
photographers, and so on. Each domain has its
own unique equipment and skill requirements, and its
own special tricks and techniques. A jeweler needs a
photographer who beyond his technical skills knows and
understands jewelry. When a photographer tells you that
they shoot everything, beware!
WHERE DO I LOOK?
A good way to find a local photographer is to go to your
favorite search engine and type in: jewelry photography or jewelry photographer or digital jewelry photography or jewelry photos. After all, thousands of photographers
are listed in hundreds of directories. Another way is to
call your jeweler friend and ask for a recommendation.
Your local telephone book most likely will not have a
listing for a jewelry photographer . You can always call
a few product photographers and ask if they have shot
jewelry before and ask to see some examples of their
jewelry photos . Explain what you are looking for.
Consider sharing with the photographer a sample image
to give them an idea of the kind of photographs you
want.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
In my experience, there seem to be many ways that photographers
charge for their work. The first is to charge
hourly. < Back - Continue >
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