Product photography in Bogotá, Colombia, for your store and your campaigns.

What this service is and what problem it solves

Product photography creates consistent, accurate images that explain an object, make it easy to compare and make people want it. It can cover an ecommerce product page, a catalog, a campaign or an image library for social media. The result depends on how lighting, perspective, surface, color, art direction, retouching and channel specifications work together.

Several types of image usually live side by side: the white-background packshot that allows comparison, the detail that shows seams, textures or finishes, the lifestyle photo that suggests where the product is used, and the image with a model or hands that gives scale. Each one answers a different question from the buyer. That is why, before talking about style, it is worth asking what someone needs to know to decide on a purchase without touching the product.

When it makes sense to produce it

It is useful when a catalog mixes photos from different sources, when the product needs to show texture or scale, or when a launch calls for its own visual identity. Clean-background and lifestyle photography do different jobs: the first makes comparison easier; the second builds context, benefit and emotion around the object.

It is worth producing when you change sales platforms, launch a collection, join a marketplace with image requirements, or notice customers asking in chat about things a photo could answer: the real size, the exact color, what comes in the box. Also when different suppliers send you photos that don't match. If you only list two or three new products a month, a one-off shoot with a replicable set may be more practical than a large production.

How to turn the brief into a plan

The inventory should identify SKUs, variants, angles, details, groupings, backgrounds, final sizes and uses. We review the products before the shoot and agree on a style test when the collection needs consistency. Responsibilities for transport, cleaning, assembly, styling and the return of each unit are also defined.

A spreadsheet is the best brief: one row per SKU with code, name, color variants, required views, background and final use. Alongside it, two or three reference images you like and one you don't, with the reason why. If your store or marketplace has a template with dimensions and margins, share it. With that, we estimate how many lighting setups are needed and which products can be shot on the same set without moving it.

Pre-production, crew and execution

The shoot is organized by lighting and composition setups to maintain continuity. Reflective and transparent surfaces, textiles, food and small objects call for different techniques. We log the shot list and validate samples to catch problems with labels, dust, color, perspective or proportions before working through the whole inventory.

On a catalog shoot the set is locked: camera, lights and marks on the table so every product sits in the same position at the same apparent size. Each shot is checked on a large screen as it is taken, not on the camera's small one, to catch dust, crooked labels or loose threads before moving on to the next. Lifestyle photos are done in a separate block, with props and art direction, so the catalog set doesn't have to be taken apart.

Deliverables for each channel

Delivery can include JPG or PNG files for ecommerce, high-resolution files, transparent cutouts, aspect ratios for social media, campaign compositions and file names linked to the SKU. Background, color profile, dimensions, file size, margin, shadow and retouching must be agreed. A beautiful image that doesn't meet the store's template creates duplicate work.

The usual approach is to deliver each SKU with a fixed number of views in the same order: front, three-quarter, profile, back and detail, for example. That order keeps the store looking tidy and makes batch uploads easier. Files are named with the SKU code, view and color, and delivered in folders separated by use (store, social and print), each with its own dimensions and file size.

What changes the budget

The variables are the number of SKUs and angles, setup complexity, materials, backgrounds, art direction, styling, talent, location, transport, retouching, cutouts and formats. Volume alone doesn't set the rate: a hundred similar objects on a stable set are produced differently from ten unique compositions.

Some decisions change the quote a lot without being obvious at first glance. Cutting out objects with complex edges, such as hair, fuzz or openwork jewelry, takes longer than cutting out a box. Color variants can be photographed one by one or handled in retouching, and each route has different costs and risks. A product that has to be assembled, filled, ironed or held up with invisible supports also adds time per SKU.

How we review quality

We check consistency of framing, apparent size, background, color, reflections, labels, edges and cleanliness. Retouching should remove distractions without changing attributes the buyer needs to recognize. For a collection, quality is also measured by the continuity as you scroll through all the thumbnails, not just by one hero image.

Before approving, it is worth viewing the photos the way the buyer will: in the store grid, on a phone and next to products from other collections. That is where you notice whether one product came out larger than the rest, whether a white looks gray or whether a shadow changes direction. We also compare the color in the photo with the physical product under neutral light, because a color mismatch ends in complaints or returns.

How to compare production companies and proposals

Ask to see complete series and confirm what is included: preparation, art direction, styling, assistance, selection, processing, retouching, cutouts and export. Share an identical list with each supplier and check how many final images each SKU gets. Clarify usage, date, transport, temporary storage and handling of delicate products.

A safe way to test a supplier before a large catalog is to commission a paid sample of three or four difficult SKUs, not the easiest ones. Also ask whether the price is per SKU, per image or per shoot day, what happens if extra products arrive on the day of the shoot, who is responsible for the merchandise while it is at the studio, and whether a photo rejected for a technical error is reshot at no cost.

Common mistakes to avoid

Common mistakes are receiving unidentified products, changing the style after shooting half the collection, confusing the number of shots with the number of files, not testing color in the final channel and asking for cutouts that weren't planned. An approved sample and a signed-off inventory reduce inconsistencies and reshoots.

Some stumbling blocks are very specific: pre-production samples that don't match the product that will be sold, price tags or stickers nobody removed, garments creased in transit and dented packaging that retouching has to hide. It is also common to shoot a collection and discover afterwards that a color variant was missing. Checking the inventory against the list the day before and bringing spare units of fragile products avoids having to rebuild the set.

What should be in writing before we start

Before the shoot, the inventory must be closed: which SKUs are photographed, in which variants and how many views each one gets. The approved reference images are attached and, if there is one, the style sample signed off by whoever makes the decision. The background for each type of image is also set (pure white, brand color or a styled surface), because changing it halfway through the collection means redoing what was already done.

The level of retouching is described with examples, not adjectives. “Clean” can mean removing dust or also rebuilding dented packaging, and the difference in time is large. We agree whether labels, seams and reflections are corrected, whether shadows are natural or created in retouching, and whether color variants are photographed or generated afterwards. Anything left out is named as an exclusion, to avoid misunderstandings at delivery.

Delivery is also specified in writing: pixel dimensions, format, color profile, maximum file size, margin around the product and the file-naming rule, for example code, view and color. We agree how the merchandise arrives and is returned, who receives it, in what condition and in what packaging. If any product is a prototype or an unannounced launch, confidentiality terms are set out as well.