Preparing for a Product Shoot

One of the very first and sometimes only thing that most of your online Customers will be looking for is whether it looks like quality. Is it the quality that they are looking and if it really is that model, they need but most of all they are trying to determine whether or not they can trust you when shopping online.

What do your product images say about you as a Brand? Are they in line with the high standards that you stand for and do they represent this?

This is where your Product Photography will be the deciding factor, ultimately. And exactly the reason why it especially important for your products to look their best when having them photographed.

We have put together a Quick Guide on how to select and prepare your Products for a Shoot just to help you put your best foot forward.

Wash, Dry & Iron your garments a couple of Days before the shoot

Check each of the potential photoshoot products for holes, poor stitching, bad coloring, spots and such. The piece of clothing is to become a representative of you and will be online for thousands of potential customers to see! Use lint roller for dark garments to rid them of specks and small fibers. This will make the world of difference! Especially to dark items.

The naked eye might be able to say it’s not such a big deal, but trust us when we say, The Lens sees everything, and so will your online customers! Not only will this save a lot of time and money on additional editing, it will also eliminate any unnecessary post-production processing.

Which sizes of items work best for Garment Images?

When selecting your garments, always try to select the same size in every colour or clothing piece, such as Mediums or all Smalls etc. This will not only ensure that the garments all look the same but will make it easier and more efficient to achieve 100% size consistency in terms of the final result.

Think of it this way, if you lay out say a range of shirts in various colours, and you had to lay each one on top of the other, and they are all the same size, they will all look consistent if they are all the same size. If you added and extra-large over a range of mediums, this one shirt will automatically appear bigger than the others, essentially resulting in additional setup and editing to get them all the same size.

When you Multiple items in a series, or multiple colours of a single item

Keep in mind that even though you might have one item in multiple colours, we would still  need to photograph each variant of the series for your product photography and e-commerce store. This will mean that each colour of the series will count towards a product, and that each colour counts for a unique item, so remember to count your stock items to include each unique item and not just a series at a time.

We do offer discounted rates if you are shooting in bulk, and will do our best to ensure that you have the best possible solution for your range.

Which shots will we be taking of your Garments?

When it comes to clothing, each item is unique. We will be taking photos from the top-down at a 90° angle, with multiple views available. We can also take close up shots of the material finish and details of the garment such as buttons, zips etc. In addition to the product photos we also do offer the Lifestyle sessions where we photography your items in an actual lifestyle environment.

You may also opt to go for In Studio sessions with models wearing your clothing together with both the Lifestyle and Product Photos if you would like to create a full look on your e-commerce shop. If you are unsure, please chat to us about your ideas and requirements and we will gladly assist in finding the perfect solution.

Select only the Best Items free from defects  

When choosing which products you will be sending, make sure to choose only the very best looking version of your item. Make sure that the item you send us is free from visible damage, defects and bad coloring. These items have to be perfect!  

While in some cases we can correct some issues in post-production at a minimal fee, this is not always the case, and will save you lots of time and money.

Ensure that the pieces you send to us has no loose threads or skewed stitches for example, and that they have been steamed or ironed prior to. During the session we will also be working with the garments and steaming out the fine creases as we shoot.

Ensure that we can identify your products

You are familiar with which scarf is the Bohemian Rhapsody and which one will be the Serenity scarf but remember that we will most likely be seeing your products for the very first time.  So, it is super important that we need to be able to identify and distinguish each item when we receive them so you will need to label each item prior to sending them to us.

When you Label your items, it is VERY important that you do NOT make use of any sticker labels or anything that will need to be removed from your product of that will leave a mark. Rather individually wrap your item in plastic or paper and attach the clearly marked label to the wrapping or bag.

This way we will be easily be able to know which product is which and keep them clean and perfect, ready to go into production the moment it arrives at our studio. When we start shooting, we do make use of gloves as well as double check each item, to ensure that you receive them back in the condition we received them.

Complete the K360 Check-in Sheet with your Product Details

Once you have your products cleaned, wrapped and labelled, you will need to send us the completed K360 Check In form (which we will send to you with booking). This form will contain all of the information related to the items you will be sending and will include information such as the SKU code, Description, Value and Size etc.

This will help is not only ensure a smooth check in process, but will also ensure that we are able to keep track of all of your products while in our possession, and act as the control sheet we will both be working with.

Make note of special handling Instructions

We understand that some items may have special instructions to assemble or setup for the shoot, so if you do have products like these, please do make us aware of this prior to the session and in the K360 Check in form. This is very important as we will need to handle your product while shooting and it is important that your products are displayed in the way they are made to be used.

Take care of your Products during transport – Safety First

It is super important that you ensure that your products are well wrapped and secured during transport to us. It is also extremely important that you check in with your insurer prior to sending high value items, and to ensure that they are insured when shipping them to us. While we do have insurance for the items while in our possession, we can

unfortunately not insure any products in transit and will need to be taken care of from your side. This will ensure that they are safe and sound throughout the entire process.

Make sure to take care of your Fragile items with Bubble wrap, additional padding and labelling, and when shipping, please make use of boxes to further safeguard your items.

Shipping or Delivering your products to us

You can make use of our click and collect option, where you simply complete the K360 Check in form, and we will then send our Courier to collect the items from you, for an affordable fee. Or you are also welcome to make use of your own Courier, Postnet to Postnet or have them delivered to us for the shoot.

Upon receiving your items, they will be counted, double checked for damages, checked in and then communicated and confirmed as received once done. We will definitely keep you in the loop at all times of the process. Once we are done, products may then again, either be collected by your courier or yourself or you can again make use of our Click and Collect option at a nominal fee.

We look forward to working with you and please do let us know if you have any questions at all and we will gladly assist.

The K360 Team

Reach out to us to chat about your ideas