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Photography Process

Soft Focus Photography Studio

How it all works

All shoots are broken down into itemized sections for easy understanding of the processes involved and budget customization. You will see these in the quote and figures are based off the options you selected when filling in the contact form. The figures are however an estimate and can be changed even after the shoot, depending on the amount or size of images you select for final delivery.

The required elements are as follows:

  • Setup time
  • Shooting time
  • Basic editing/sorting time/ admin
  • Cost per image (based on selected images and sizes)

The optional elements are as follows

  • Masking (background removal of products onto pure white background)
  • Advanced editing (architectural images)
  • Additional editing (removal of scratches, dents marks etc)
  • Studio rental
  • Travel time

Lighting & Equipment Setup

Mostly for products and food photography shoots, setting up and breaking down the lighting and other photography gear required on the day.

Shooting Time

This is the time required to shoot, may this be in studio or on location.
The time is an estimate based on how many products/food dishes and architectural rooms and angles you need photographed.

This also includes, the handling of products. Some products like jewellery take longer to shoot than something like shoes, due to their small size and reflective nature.
This is a time estimate number, and I always difficult to judge as each shoot and its products/subject matter are different.

But in most cases (due to experience) I can say how long a shoot will take. If however it goes over, I will contact you to confirm before proceeding, to avoid surprise bills. If it takes less time than initially quoted I will invoice for the time taken, meaning a cheaper invoice than expected :)

Basic editing/sorting time/ admin

Once the shoot is complete, I need to download images to my computer from my camera, to sort and give a basic edit pass. From there I need to convert them into preview versions for upload. After selection I need to sort and upload the final images.

Image selection

Once the shoot and basic edit are done, I will send all images shot, to you in a preview, watermarked version via an online Google Drive link for you to view.
This is very much like normal windows with folders. Here I will include a “SELECTION” folder, where you can drag the ones you like into.

Basic editing/sorting time/ admin

Once the shoot is complete, I need to download images to my computer from my camera, to sort and give a basic edit pass. From there I need to convert them into preview versions for upload. After selection I need to sort and upload the final images.

Image size, angles and costs

The cost per selected image will depend on what image size you require (web or print)
Web sizes is naturally cheaper than print sizes
You may select all images to be in print format or all in web, otherwise a combination of the two. i.e. some images in web and other in print.
This will make a big difference on the final costs.
Fewer angles can also drastically reduce the cost of the final invoice. Here you need to determine of you need them all in print or is web fine for your needs.

Masking

This is the process of cleaning up the product photograph’s backgrounds to make sure they are on perfect white and look great. Some prefer to have their team deal with this step, but most let me send it to my editor to get done.

Advanced editing

Mostly orientated towards my architecture photography, to get the best results and high quality, some extra editing is required. The nature of architecture unfortunately.

Additional editing

Here I can remove blemishes, dust, scratches and everything else that you may not like in some of the photos. Charged hourly.

Studio Rental

I rent a studio on a per job basis, depending if its required. I generally shoot most smaller, tabletop products such as shoes, jewelllery, clothing in my home studio to save you unnecessary fees. But for larger products like furniture or anything involving people a, studio is required.

Travel Time

Unless I am shooting in my home studio, I need to travel to either shoot on location or at the rented studio. This is based off how far it will take me to travel to and back to the destination, factoring traffic as well.