Click here to keep up with the latest marketing trends and resources!

3 Things to Have on Hand for Your Product Photos

3 Things to Have on Hand for Your Product Photos

The Blog

3 Things to Have on Hand for Your Product Photos

Doesn’t it make you feel better when you know you’re prepared for any possible outcome?

N

ot only does this make our lives easier in case unexpected problems come up but it saves us time trying to search for the things we need during the most precious moments in our business.

 

So, if you’re currently taking on the role of the photographer in your business, here are 3 things to have on hand for your product photos. These are the key things we find most important and likely always needed, even if you don’t know it.

Steamer

 

This is a must for all things fabric. You can use a steamer for several different things including a backdrop, clothing products, pillows, basically anything that can wrinkle. Steamers are an essential tool that I have on hand at the studio. It’s also great for any models bringing in clothing that may need to be quickly prepped. A steamer takes up little storage space and can get the job done quicker than ironing would. You can check out the one I use here.

 

Sticky Tack

 

My second go-to at the studio is sticky tack. This is magical and the best thing to have for those round shaped jars, products, and props that tend to run off while we are shooting. It’s a quick, easy, and cheap solution to styling angles, fun layouts, or anything that appears impossible to achieve.

 

If you’re not sure what sticky tack is, it’s a piece of removable, sticky substance that you can attach on your products or props to help keep them in unique poses or on uneven surfaces. The trick is to use just enough to hold your product in place, but not too much where you catch it on camera. Here’s my favorite sticky tack to use!

 

Acrylic Cubes

 

Last and most important for flat lays – Acrylic Cubes! These are magical little pieces that add some extra depth to your flat lay photos. You can use them individually to lift props when styling shots or stack them on top of each other to add some extra height. Acrylic cubes are great for getting creative and prove best for displaying and raising products to the right level. With various sizes, you can easily hide certain parts of your image or use it to outright style your photos. This is the set I use in my studio.

 

Conclusion

 

You never know when you’ll need to add something a little extra to your shot, so having these 3 things nearby can truly help. If you have any questions or simply need ongoing monthly support, I’d love to connect. We can schedule a consultation call to identify the best options for you. You can also find me on Instagram!

 

Share this post:

Recent Posts:

About Crystal

 

Crystal is the Creative Director, Photo Stylist, and Commercial Photographer behind Crystal Clear Creative Studios. From increased sales, visibility, and trends to conversions and full production, Crystal and her team, experts on the subject matter, provide clients with confidence to take your photography and videography needs off your plate. We support you in your growth with the creation and implementation of transformative ideas.

Create Your Ideal Instagram Feed

Blog

Create Your Ideal Instagram Feed

One of the fastest growing social platforms for the creative business owner is Instagram! So here are my tips on how to create your ideal instagram feed. Images are just as important as the content you want them to read. 

So wouldn’t it make sense to have an image drive plan to help deliver your content and marketing? I mean, think about it. The images you show off will either attract or deter potential customers. So what does your feed say about you? Let’s start with a few proven suggestions on how you can improve and grow your instagram feed today.

 

The first and most important part to planning your ideal feed is to create posting or visual categories. These are the things you want to focus on posting consistently that will start to create your visual pattern. You can use them as a continual guide to focus your content and choose images that fit the pattern. It will also help your followers start to recognize your images and posts at a glance.

The ideal number of categories would follow the grid pattern. So focusing on 3, 6, 9 or 12 categories is most ideal with the prime focus being around 6 or 9 to create consistency through lighting, coloring and the types of images without too much variety.

Have you seen my Instagram feed? You will see I run different patterns all the time but maintain consistency in the flow of lighting, coloring choices and topics. Some of my visual categories are things like photos of myself, product or stock, branding projects, kids, family and so forth.

Next step, would be to have a good source of images. Through my Instagram Package we create a setup of unique, styled and fun images to help you show off your product. Everyone oohs and ahhs over a cohesive, pretty and styled Instagram feed, am I right?!! So with this package I help you focus on what you want to post and making sure you have images that will marry together perfectly. If you’re not in a position to hire a photographer you can look to resources that provide a good variety of stock images that you can pull from.

Lastly, make sure you have a tool! Planoly is my tool. It is super cost affective and has a great free planning option, too. So no matter the size of your budget you can use Planoly to get your instagram under control. There are so many scheduling platforms but since I am a visual kind of gal I like Planoly’s grid view. This helps me visually align what I am posting, focus on those categories, plan the posts and automate them so content is constantly provided.

With these steps I am confident you will start to better align your feed visually and attract your idea client with the consistency and style you you desire!

So now that you’ve seen one way that the process can go you can move forward feeling more confident about working in what your posting. Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Let’s chat about the many photography options I have made, just for you! 

Share this post:

About Crystal

 

Crystal is the Creative Director, Photo Stylist, and Commercial Photographer behind Crystal Clear Creative Studios. From increased sales, visibility, and trends to conversions and full production, Crystal and her team, experts on the subject matter, provide clients with confidence to take your photography and videography needs off your plate. We support you in your growth with the creation and implementation of transformative ideas.

[fts_instagram instagram_id=295745005 pics_count=6 type=user width=100% profile_wrap=no super_gallery=yes columns=6 force_columns=yes space_between_photos=0px icon_size=40px hide_date_likes_comments=yes]

Brand Photography – Just 1 Part Of The Big Puzzle

Blog

Brand Photography – Just 1 Part Of The Big Puzzle

Where does photography fit into the branding process? Great question, right? So let’s stop and see how photography fits into the puzzle that is branding your business.

Photography is just a piece of the overall branding puzzle this is why you will meet so many different people who can specialize in many areas that help make up your overall brand for your business. These people can be branding specialists, website designers, graphics designers, brand photographers, the list goes on and on.

 

So let’s start with wrapping our minds around the fact that a brand isn’t an actual thing. You can’t grab it, hold it or use it per say. Having a brand is a combination of your visuals, marketing, values, color or mood, style and so forth.

When you look at your brand to change it, create it or enhance it you may wonder where a Photographer might fit in and when you would need one. Most of the time your branding process will look something like this:

 

  1. First, you need a strong business vision. This for you is probably the first thing you thought of. What you want to do with your business, the kind of impact you’re going to make and how your product will stand out from the others on the market.
  2. Second, you need to develop your brand identity. Your brand identity would be things like your logo, fonts, tagline, shapes, etc. You might work with someone on a mood board to help identify these key things and have them in one nice layout. This layout is valuable because you can share with people like me, the photographer, or your website designer.
  3. Next, you need a good website designer. They’re going to work with you on the client experience and what your site will look like. From this you can also see where images would go, what kind of images might fit best on certain pages and so forth. The website designer will likely will provide you with a mockup site for this part (something you can share with the photographer to help communicate what you need.) While that is going on you can move on to the next step…
  4. The photographer!! You will want to seek out a few people to identify the right photographer to fit your style but this is the fun and important part of the process. You will partner with the brand photographer to create the images – pick a location, style, props, etc. that are going to compliment your brand, your personal style and the design of your website.
  5. Lastly to tie the images and overall design together you may need a graphics designer. Some times your website designer and graphics designer are the same person. If you’re unsure they can help ask! This person will help with the finishing touches on graphics, and placement of your images within your new site, marketing materials, etc.

So now that you’ve seen one way that the process can go you can move forward feeling more confident about working with a brand photographer. If you’re past the branding phase though and still need to figure out if you’re ready to hire a brand photographer, click here, for my tips on how to know when you’re ready to hire a brand photographer.

Share this post:

About Crystal

 

Crystal is the Creative Director, Photo Stylist, and Commercial Photographer behind Crystal Clear Creative Studios. From increased sales, visibility, and trends to conversions and full production, Crystal and her team, experts on the subject matter, provide clients with confidence to take your photography and videography needs off your plate. We support you in your growth with the creation and implementation of transformative ideas.

[fts_instagram instagram_id=295745005 pics_count=6 type=user width=100% profile_wrap=no super_gallery=yes columns=6 force_columns=yes space_between_photos=0px icon_size=40px hide_date_likes_comments=yes]

How to Know When You’re Ready for a Brand Photographer

Blog

How to Know When You’re Ready for a Brand Photographer

Starting a business is stressful, girl! I totally get it. So how and when do know you’re ready to hire a brand photographer? Great question, right?!

This post is important to all business owners so it was a short but special one for me to do. There are SO many tools and outsourcing options, enhancements, marketing tricks and areas you can invest in to enhance your business. Navigating the waters of business ownership is tough. So of course when you’re looking to invest in your next steps, who would turn away a bit of guidance? Am I right?!

 

Having a Brand Photographer can be a key and beneficial part to brand recognition, effective marketing and selling in the visual world that is our social media platforms. So how can you identify when you’re ready to have a Brand Photographer help you?

You know you’re ready for a brand photographer to support your business when you reach a few different points in your business. Here are a few common points that my clients have personally experienced and you may, too.:

  1. You have identified and defined what your brand is, so now it is time to bring it to life.
  2. You have a set of products or services and need a virtual or physical catalog to show them off.
  3. You are starting to become overwhelmed in making, packing and shipping that your marketing is falling to they wayside.
  4. You are leveling up your business, branding and marketing so it is time to step up your photo game!

When you find yourself reaching one of these phases in your business it is time to hire a photographer to help you. Hiring a professional brand photographer is just like enlisting your marketing agency to manage and help with Ads and content or hiring an assistant to help you  keep up with the workload. Still have questions? Let’s chat! I am always happy to do a FREE 30 minute consult to help you with your photography needs.

Through working together we will be able to help you take your product photography to the next level whether we are starting out with catalog images to enhance your online store, styled flat lay images to increase instagram visibility, staged lifestyle environments or getting in action shots with real life models! I’ve got many options to help serve you and be the photographer your business needs.

Share this post:

About Crystal

 

Crystal is the Creative Director, Photo Stylist, and Commercial Photographer behind Crystal Clear Creative Studios. From increased sales, visibility, and trends to conversions and full production, Crystal and her team, experts on the subject matter, provide clients with confidence to take your photography and videography needs off your plate. We support you in your growth with the creation and implementation of transformative ideas.

[fts_instagram instagram_id=295745005 pics_count=6 type=user width=100% profile_wrap=no super_gallery=yes columns=6 force_columns=yes space_between_photos=0px icon_size=40px hide_date_likes_comments=yes]

How to Make Your Photos More Evergreen

The Blog

The Blog

How to Make Your Photos More Evergreen

There is nothing more frustrating than constantly recreating content. ESPECIALLY when you’re the business owner. On this Vlog I talk about how you can make your images more evergreen!

Having a core set of images that are timeless, capture your brand and help you continue to sell are important to your business. 

It all starts with your props. When you’re looking to create a set of images you can use no matter what time of the year it is you want to focus in on just what exactly are you using in your photos. Are they things that you can find everywhere at any time? If not, chances are those props are dating your photos.  

So stop for a moment and create a list. Now before you doubt the process, try it! When you start this list think of the things you use all the time or can find around your home all year. One of the number one things I go to is any type of greenery! Eucalyptus leaves, cactus or any other green plant can be found almost all year long. How about books and magazines? Using the covers can date your image but flipping them open to certain pages or photos that help your storyline can work out great! Of course magazines and books are awesome layering pieces so details are less likely to stick out.

Don’t forget other things that may appear minor like coffee mugs, coffee beans, fun paperclips and other accessories that compliment your product and brand. Start collecting today and stay tuned for more blogs and tutorials to help you improve your stock and product photography.

Share this post:

About Crystal

 

Crystal is the Creative Director, Photo Stylist, and Commercial Photographer behind Crystal Clear Creative Studios. From increased sales, visibility, and trends to conversions and full production, Crystal and her team, experts on the subject matter, provide clients with confidence to take your photography and videography needs off your plate. We support you in your growth with the creation and implementation of transformative ideas.

[fts_instagram instagram_id=295745005 pics_count=6 type=user width=100% profile_wrap=no super_gallery=yes columns=6 force_columns=yes space_between_photos=0px icon_size=40px hide_date_likes_comments=yes]
error: Content is protected !!