We understand together what photos you may need on the site and how to choose a professional photographer who will take exactly the pictures that you expect from him.

Where to get photos for the site? Hire a professional photographer.

It would seem that this can be completed, because he is a professional to do the right thing. However, not all so simple. Professional photographers, as well as people engaged in any other field, have their own specializations. There are reportage photographers who catch great shots at city events and celebrations, portrait photographers , or, for example, photographers who only do landscape photography . And you should not force them to photograph buns for the catalog or to do a “full fashion” with models in the studio, because it will come out, to put it mildly, not at all what you expect. They are not bad photographers, they have a different specialization.
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First you need to understand for what purpose you need photos? What will they illustrate on the site - the history of the company, the section “Our Employees”, or force the rumbling of the stomachs of those who decided to buy pizza from you?

Let's look at what kind of situation a photographer should be looking for, for example, if we sell shoes and we want excellent photos on our website. And is the photographer always “guilty” as a result?

1. Looking for “standard” photos for the catalog

The catalog on the site requires photographs of a collection of men's and women's shoes, made on a white background, from several angles - this is the problem. You find a subject photographer, give him such TK, a box of shoes, part of the fee and money for renting a studio. A few days later the photographer sends you an archive with pictures, where everything is perfect in light and color, but the laces do not hang the same, some dust is seen ... In general, the shoes in the photo are imperfect.

Because:

• In the TK there is no word about retouching.
• Retouching is most often paid separately.
• Not all photographers are involved in retouching, usually these functions are performed by the designer from the web studio.

But there is no particular problem, if there are high-quality source codes, either the photographer himself or a third-party designer or from a web-studio that develops the website can retouch the photos.


Example 1. Photos from Instagram @adidasuk

2. Looking for "live" photos for the catalog

You have decided that just photos of shoes in three angles is not enough. It is necessary to show how they sit on their feet. Therefore, you find a studio photographer (with your studio, or also give him a rental amount), select models - a man and a woman, confirm with all the time, collect a box of shoes and, remembering the previous time, ask the photographer to bring the photos to the ideal of retouching (provided that his price list has this item).

A few weeks later, the photographer sends you an archive with photos in which you see "body parts" - perfect bare feet in your shoes, socks of a strange color, and everywhere are the same blue pants. Lookbook did not work.

Because:

• In the TK you did not indicate what you need to wear models for each pair of shoes.
• They did not provide clothes (socks, pants, stockings) for models or did not agree with them to choose their own.
• Not discussed with the photographer whole images.

Here to solve the problem is more difficult. Because wearing other pants on a model or repainting socks in Photoshop is not always possible. It is better to meet again with the photographer (it is advisable to invite a designer to the same meeting) and calmly come to the “lesser evil” for all parties.


Example 2. Left: Adidas sneakers at Asos, right: Casadei ankle boots at Lamoda

3. Need a cool lookbook (glossy photos)

To place a clickable banner on the main page, make a mailing list for customers and post on social networks, collect likes. Therefore, remembering previous experience, you sit down to write TK for the photographer. You think about what models you need, what they should be dressed in and how they make up, what emotions they will play, what subjects you want to see in the final photos and where they will unfold - in the interior of a photo studio, an expensive restaurant, city park or in the mountains. And, most likely, you will need retouching again.

Then you find a fashion photographer who shoots exactly in the location in which you need (not all studio photographers agree to shoot in street conditions and vice versa), discuss with him your vision of the final images, introduce models, makeup artist, your marketer (manager or other responsible person, who will be present at the shooting), issue a box of shoes and a box of clothes and, possibly, a driver with a machine that will deliver this company to selected locations.

A month later, you receive from the photographer an archive of photos, where, from an unusual angle, your shoes gleam with dew drops in the grass, and the white-toothed girl smiles, standing on her heels on a huge boulder (how did she get there?) Against the background of the perfect Cote d'Azur. Though in the center of the city hang! And all because the TK was detailed.


Example 3. Adidas Sneakers by @rontimehin


Example 4. Christian Louboutin boots

Naturally, if you sell not shoes, but food, you will need a food photographer , not the previous three comrades, because only he knows where to use glycerin and hairspray, what to fry stronger, and what is easier to tint, how to expose the light to crust crunch and other tricks inherent in this genre. A photographer specializing in shooting watches, jewelry or cosmetics will definitely have thin gloves in the arsenal, a lot of polishing cloths and a pear to blow off dust particles. With their tricks to the case fit car photographer , industrial , interior . But it is unlikely that they are the master of all hands.


Example 5. Food photo from @darkzip

So concretize and ask for a portfolio. Virtually every commercial area has its own pro.

4. Looking for atmospheric photos

If you think that you don’t have to show perfectly retouched people in your shoes (you are more likely even for some negligence), but you still want to illustrate a new collection of shoes with atmospheric shots, then a photographer specializing in genre photography will come to your aid. With him it is important, first of all, to discuss the emotions and stories that should reflect the final images. Most likely, he will even offer you locations himself and tell you what he needs for this. To make it work, be sure to make some sketches by hand at the meeting, give the photographer shoes (you can hardly see her again) and wait.

A month later, the photographer will send you some pictures where your shoes will travel in black and white with a bearded man in a panama hat in the second-class train carriage in the rays of dawn with sparkling dust in the air; or where a happy girl dances in the rain in a puddle right in boots from your company, throwing spray. It was worth it, right? Such photos can be used even on the landing page, at least on the main page of the site, even on bilbodah.


Example 6. Nike sneakers from @jayscale


Example 7. SOREL boots from @graeme_o

5. Looking for pictures for the section "About the Company"

What would you like to show in this section? The history of your company, your employees, the production process? Let's look at examples.

• You are proud of the staff and want to tell a little about everyone
  You may need: portrait photography in a studio or a staged indoor photo (for example, at work).
• You want to tell the story of your company.
  You will need: documentary photos of the workflow (their main feature is a reflection of the immediacy of the activity, that is, even if in the photo you hand a diploma to the best employee of the month, you do not need to have a smile at the camera), reportage photos from your events.

Example 8. First Vans. Photos of 1966

• You want to show the production process
  You will need: staged photos from production, reportage photos, documentary photos, genre photos. It all depends on what story you plan to tell and what emotions with the help of it and photos to cause for those who go to the section "About the Company".

Example 9. Christian Louboutin shoe manufacturing process

• You need a photo in the news feed
  And here again, everything depends on the context, or rather, the news. If this is news about new equipment, then you need a photo from the production; if about the new employee, then his portrait behind a workplace; if the launch of a new collection of shoes, then fit not only photos from items number 1, 2, 3 and 4, but also a few shots from the backstage shooting.

All photo genres that can be used on the site (even if we are talking about a company that produces shoes), it is impossible to embrace in one article. Because each of them can be used for different purposes. For example, macro photography is useful to show the quality of the seam, and with the help of vintage or pop art styling , you can tell unusual stories and conduct an entire advertising campaign. The main thing is to decide in advance on your goals, to select a photographer (or photographers) who specializes in the chosen genre and discuss everything as much as possible with him.

So, we summarize:

1. Determine the goal. Why do you need pictures?
2. Make a technical specification for the photographer, taking into account the nuances, tell us as precisely as possible what you want to get in the end.
3. Choose a photographer who has a suitable portfolio in the genre of photography that you need, and discuss everything that you have planned.
4. Give the photographer as many products for filming as he asks (for example, not 3 buns, but 5, because most likely you will need to break, bite, cut and look for views).
5. Discuss in advance the time for which you need ready photos (and preferably, with a margin, so that there is an opportunity to finish something if necessary).
6. Choose the best pictures and publish them on the site.

Noticed that the text was not a word about photo stocks?