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The ecommerce industry is quickly taking over the traditional brick and mortar retail business. The prevalence of online stores and virtual reality business has produced an entirely new field of photography for entrepreneurial photographers to take capitalize on. Product photography jobs are cropping up all over the place, for ecommerce businesses large and small. If you are a photographer, now is the time to start an ecommerce photography business. Find out how to become an ecommerce photographer in the guide below to start offering your services to businesses in need.
Get Inspiration & Ideas
Before opening an ecommerce photographer freelance business, you need to familiarize yourself with the world of product photography. Research examples of product photographs from top ecommerce businesses online. Pay attention to the lighting, color schemes and prop setups of each photograph. Consider the ways in which various types of products are shot differently. Then, practice using those ideas to recreate similar product shots for your new ecommerce photography portfolio. The more inspiration you gain from top ecommerce photography solutions, the more in-demand your business will be in the future.
Invest In Supplies
Next, photographer entrepreneurs should invest in the supplies they need to become a full-fledged ecommerce photographer. Consider what kinds of lighting you need to photograph products for online cataloging. Invest in several monolights, if you have the startup capital for them. If not, speedlites are a better budget lighting solution for photographers with no access to mezzanine funds. But, natural light is always a free alternative if you have no startup capital. Photography businesses should also invest in backdrops and the elements needed to create product flatlays that are appealing to consumers. Photo editing software, like Photoshop, is also a crucial piece of photography technology. As long as you have these supplies and a high quality photographer’s camera, you can start taking steps to open an ecommerce photography business.
Target An Audience
If you want to succeed in the competitive field of ecommerce photography, you need to decide on a specific target audience for your services. Who do you hope to provide ecommerce photographer services to? Would you rather work with large corporations that would provide steady work and less creative freedom? Or, would you rather work with small online boutiques and up-and-coming bloggers? The latter option may provide additional creative freedoms and scheduling flexibility. Or, you may have a network of ecommerce businesses that you are already familiar with and would prefer to work with. Decide what types of business services you will offer and to whom you will offer them. Once you identify a target audience, you can start kicking your ecommerce photography business plan into effect.
Set Pricing
Decide on prices for ecommerce photography services your business will provide. In order to be competitive, you want to keep prices low. However, you do not want them to be so low that they make your photography company look low-quality or unprofessional. Research prices in your local area to gain an idea of the premium rate numbers for individual services. Then, create ecommerce photography packages for small businesses and others for large corporate services. Product photography packages will help your business sell more photographs, and make more money. In addition, all this effort you put into deciding on the right prices for photography services near you will help your business build a solid customer base right from the onset.
Build A Portfolio
Once you start photographing products, start building an ecommerce photography portfolio. In the beginning, you may want to do a couple ecommerce photoshoots for free. This will help you build a photography portfolio quickly. Or if you are not in a position to work for free, you can offer discounts to incentivize customers to pay for your services. Once you build a photography portfolio for product shots, it will be much easier to get clients for business. You will have proof to show potential customers you level of skill and your traditional style of product photography. However you do it, be sure to build up a product shot portfolio to become a successful freelance ecommerce photographer.
Becoming a freelance photographer takes more than just an entrepreneurial spirit. In order to start a freelance ecommerce photography business, you need to follow the steps detailed above. First, start gaining inspiration for product photography ideas. Then, take that knowledge to inform your buying decisions for your photography business. Decide on target audience to offer photography services to, and set pricing that matches market pricing for professional photographers in your area. Once you set prices, you can start building a portfolio to become a successful product photographer in your area. Then, you can experience the professional life you have always desired as a freelance ecommerce photographer.
