How to Prepare Your Products for a Photoshoot
Short answer: send products that are brand new and flawless, straight from the factory: no scratches, no dust, no fingerprints, and packaging that hasn't been creased, bent or scuffed. Send two or three of each item so the photographer can pick the best one and has a spare if something breaks. The camera picks up every mark, and while some can be edited out, damaged products and packaging can turn a one-day shoot into days of expensive editing, or stop the shoot altogether.
This is one of the most common problems I deal with on product photography shoots, so here's what to know.
Why product condition matters so much
A professional camera and studio lighting show everything. A scratch you'd never notice holding a product becomes obvious in a close-up. So do dust specks, lint, fingerprints, scuffs on a lid and dents in a box.
One or two small marks are no problem; that's normal cleanup. But when a product arrives covered in small scratches from being moved around, every one of them has to be removed by hand in every image. Multiply that across angles and products, and editing that should take hours takes days.
Packaging is where most problems happen
Most products are photographed with their box or packaging, and packaging is where I see the most trouble. Clients send boxes that are creased, dented or scuffed from shipping, assuming it can all be edited out.
Some of it can. But packaging is covered in branding: logos, small text, fine print, exact brand colors. There's only so much retouching can do before the lettering starts to look warped, the fonts don't line up and the colors shift slightly from one patch to the next. At that point the edited box looks worse than a damaged one.
It's happened enough times that I've stopped shoots and asked clients to send fresh product. It's simply cheaper for everyone to ship new boxes than to pay an editor to rebuild damaged ones image by image, and the result looks better.
The standard to aim for: packaging that looks like it's just come off the production line, ideally flat-packed or never folded until it reaches the studio.
Send two or three of everything
I ask clients to send two to three of each item. It does two jobs:
I can pick the best one. Even new products vary slightly: a label sits a little straighter, a finish is more even.
There's a backup. Things get damaged in shipping, and things break on set. For more creative, avant-garde shots, say a glass bottle balanced at an impossible angle, the product is held in place with putty or adhesive, moved again and again, and sometimes it doesn't survive. Glass and anything delicate especially.
A spare means a broken bottle is a two-minute swap, not a canceled shot.
How I handle products on set
Once your products arrive, I handle them with gloves, especially anything shiny like sunglasses, glass, polished metal or glossy packaging. Fingerprints show up instantly under studio lighting, and avoiding them is far easier than removing them afterward.
Your product prep checklist
Brand new stock only. No display samples, returns or products that have been handled.
Inspect before shipping. Check every item and box under good light for scratches, dents and marks.
Send two or three of each. More for fragile or glass products.
Protect the packaging. Ship boxes flat or well padded so they arrive uncreased.
Leave protective film on until the photographer removes it, and tell them it's there.
Clothing: send it folded or hung as it arrives from the manufacturer. Tell the photographer if items need steaming.
Include everything that appears in the shot: lids, caps, accessories, inserts, tags.
Label each item to match your shot list, so nothing gets missed.
Ship early. Products should arrive at least five days before the shoot, so there's time to check everything and replace anything that arrives damaged.
Alongside your products, send a clear brief so the photographer knows how each item should be shown: here's how to brief a commercial photographer.
FAQ
Can scratches and dents be edited out of product photos?
Small ones, yes. But many marks, or damage to branded packaging, are slow and expensive to fix and often look unnatural. Sending flawless products is far cheaper.
How many samples should I send for a product shoot?
Two to three of each item, so there's a best one to shoot and a spare if one is damaged.
Should I clean my products before sending them?
Send them clean and new, but don't over-handle them. The photographer will do a final clean with gloves on set.
What happens if products arrive damaged?
Minor marks get cleaned up in editing. If the damage is significant, it's usually better to pause and send replacements than to pay for heavy retouching.
Planning a product shoot?
Send me your product list and I'll tell you exactly how many of each to send and when they need to arrive. Get in touch here.