subject: Why Cutting Corners With Catalogue Photography Doesn't Work [print this page] Catalogue photography is two things: it is more often than not the single most important way in which businesses can achieve healthy sales figures, and for many small and medium businesses it can also be an expensive undertaking. For this reason many small businesses have chosen one or two inadvisable alternatives to using professional catalogue photographers.
One of these alternatives is to use the images supplied by the manufacturers or the warehouse. Increasingly these days warehouses and even manufacturers are providing a catalogue photo for each separate product. Many online retailers choose to use these images, but more often than not it is safer to avoid this option. In many cases the catalogue photographs supplied by warehouses are of reasonably poor quality, often quite small, and are supplied to every single retailer and business selling the product.
This means that for small businesses who choose to carry out their catalogue photography in this way they will be providing customers with exactly the same images they will have seen elsewhere. Products are often not displayed very clearly, with poor lighting and low resolution. If a picture paints a thousand words, then often these warehouse supplied catalogue photos are introducing themselves with the words 'cheap', 'poor quality' and 'cutting corners'. Hardly the message which business would choose to pass on to its potential customers.
Although in a few cases a catalogue photo may be received from a warehouse which is of good quality, it is important to be highly critical of these images, rather than passively accepting them as being recommended.
The second alternative which many small businesses and even medium businesses have been using it is to carry out their catalogue photography in house. Unfortunately today the temptation is very easy to pick up a very affordable digital camera, some photo editing software and a computer. However, simply owning these items does not magically transform you or your staff into professional catalogue photographers.
To achieve a professional standard of catalogue photo takes many years' professional experience, a real understanding of marketing and advertising, a combination of artistic creativity and technical expertise, and a whole bucket of other skills and attributes which cannot be purchased from your local computer store. Often the results of in-house catalogue photography is easily identifiable, and customers will be able to recognize that the images have been achieved by sacrificing quality. Again, it won't take a thousand words for a catalogue photo produced in-house to communicate to potential customers that the business is trying to run on a shoestring, cuts corners were possible, and is uninterested in providing high-quality.
It is essential to understand that although catalogue photography is primarily about selling products to customers, each catalogue photo is also selling your business, demonstrating your attention to detail, your professionalism, and your commitment to providing quality. It is entirely true to say that catalogue photography is either a win-win situation or a lose-lose situation. With high-quality catalogue photography you not only achieve a higher proportion of sales, but you increase the credibility of your business too. Cut corners and your catalogue photos will fail to achieve the level of sales you need, and will certainly harm the reputation of your brand.
But the truth is that cutting corners doesn't save money. In the long run you are likely to lose money because of a lower turnover of sales. There are catalogue photography studios offering excellent value for money, providing the opportunity to have photographs taken of your products that are of an excellent standard, likely to boost the reputation of your brand, and boost sales. Consider it as an investment in your own business, and your sales sheets will start to make a pretty good picture themselves.
