Technical challenges to shoot images that are useful to a wide range of clients.
Create unique and desirable images on a viable profit margin.
Considerations for successful and commercially appealing product photography
1. Composition. Vital to frame your shots so that users can adapt the product
itself to fit their current project. Plenty of space for copy or
enough of the frame to composite on extra elements --- highest no. of sales.
Tightly cropped images are context specific - less adaptable
for widespread commercial application.
2. Unique challenge is the quality and shape of reflections. Suppress
or enhance the reflective surfaces.
If you are commissioned for a pre-specific
purpose, then maintain context should always be your priority.
3. Matching style to end-use will generate repeat custom since you minimise
work on the customer's part. Should be your priority.
4. Ability to work with multiple backgrounds - mostly black
and white seamless backdrops. Often overlooked. Making shots on both is a good
insurance for meeting a client’s brief, but also style lighting so that
backgrounds can be swapped later.
5. Physical insurance if you shoot in your studio. Who is liable if damage
or loss occur? Business policy covers the type and cost of the items in yr
care during the shot.
6. Think whether the product can use your space, equipment and time. Ensure cost
of execution should not outweigh the potential income generated. Becoming
overly ambitious may not make you successful.
FILE TREATMENT.
Consider how you would like your cients to receive image files.
Provide a layered Photoshop file - standout appeal and can demand a higher
price. Make a flatted JPEG or TIFF file and offer a more expensive PSD.
REMEMBER RESOLUTION
Image files must meet the standards required by your client. However,
more pixels are not always better.
Product photography is about detail. Enough resolution. Not all users want
large files. Offer multiple file versions align with client's practices.
Pro case study
Professional product photography specialist
Mark Colliton
Initial enquiries and briefs can be vague in product details and should
list. Request full details plus reference imagery and mood boards for
creative direction is advisable. You can then provide an accurate
estimate, turnaround time and agree payment terms.
Ensure client understands post-production and retouch require both time and
added expenses.
2. How to remain competitive?
Be good and be seen. Get experience, find your niche and work at it. An
attractive and easy-to-use website with good SEO is essential to showcase your
work and encourage prospects to get in touch. Negotiate contracts by
photographic agents in the higher end of industry.
Stay motivated to perform at your best. Take time out to experiment with
different styles and techniques occasionally will do you good.
TOP TIPS
1. A standout website to reflect your ability, showcase
what market you are in for getting jobs
2. Location is important. Proximity to a large city. Enough business
types
3. A stylish studio. Share a studio, rent one. your own.
4. Keep the client in mind. Be easy to work with. It's about the
client, not you. So keep a broader view of where they're coming from.
Have patience on set - keep calm even when lighting is proving tricky.
1. VIDEO 1. A squirrel vomited for 3 days. VIDEO 1.
2. VIDEO 2. Wildlife in Singapore. Very few squirrels are seen in Singapore nowadays due to loss of habitat as the country clears forests for housing development. Singaporean travellers love to take photos of squirrels during their travels overseas (images of squirrels in London, USA, Turkey)
3. VIDEO 3. Dr Sing's rare encounters with 2 wild squirrels in Singapore, during his morning walks.
Unexpected encounter. The squirrel dashed off with the fallen mango up the mango tree.
On another occasion, one was videoed eating rambutans in a tree.
1. Please review, edit, re-write and create a video about the diagnosis and treatment of vomiting in a pet squirrel. SUBTITLES.
-----------------------------------
VIDEO 1
HOOK (Introduces the settings with images from ABOUT MYANMAR and the video footage)
(Show images of Myanmar to introduce the Myanmar setting. See images (ABOUT MYANMAR) below. Then add in the footage of the pet squirrel on the owner's shoulder.
Narrate the following OR your own story according to your time frames:
Myanmar is a big country with over 50 million people. It has vast areas of agricultural land with rice, beans, fruits like oranges and mangoes grown, .(ABOUT MYANMAR IMAGES)
In Yangon, a gentleman (video footage) bought a 4-month-old squirrel as a pet last month. In July 5, 2019, this squirrel had vomited for 3 days. This was not normal. The owner brought it to Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery in Yangon to consult veterinarian Dr Thein Tun Aung (insert his images, see below)..
"What caused him to vomit?" the tattooed gentleman asked.
(Title) A PET SQUIRREL IN MYANMAR VOMITED FOR 3 DAYS
Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery in Myanmar was established more than 10 years ago. It is a busy practice with a heavy caseload. Various veterinary surgeons like Dr May Than Oo (insert image below) had practised there.
Dr May Than Oo in 2016
DR THEIN TUN AUNG's patients are mainly dogs and cats. This pet squirrel was his 2nd squirrel patient. The Sarus crane with an injured foot was another exotic pet.
Dr Thein Tun Aung treated a Sarus crane in 2014
Dr Thein Tun Aung, July 2019
Company car at the mechanic
(BACK TO THE SQUIRREL) The squirrel was still active. Dr Aung took his rectal temperature. It was 99 degrees F. The normal body temperature for a gray squirrel is between 99° and 101° Fahrenheit (F). He had no fever. What was the cause of her persistent vomiting?. Dr Aung had X-rays taken. A foreign body like small stones could be inside the stomach or intestines. 2 X-rays were taken..No radio-dense foreign bodies were seen. There could still be radio-lucent foreign bodies but X-rays would not reveal them..
The X-rays showed a cloudy abdomen masking the liver, kidneys and most intestines. (show and narrare the X-rays of this patient compared to a normal X-ray, see below). This was not good news. What type of cloudy peritoneal fluid was present inside the abdomen? Dr Aung did a paracentesis (define paracentesis, see below). . CAUSES OF VOMITING (see below) Dr Aung injected subcutaneous fluid and antibiotics. The owner would keep the squirrel warm inside a box and continue with oral antibiotics and electrolyes to prevent dehydration for the next 3 days. A review after 3 days was advised.. TREATMENT AND ADVICES AT HOME (see below). CONCLUSION The squirrel had sepsis as the peritoneal fluid was not bloody and cloudy. It should be clear and transparent in normal squirrels. (Insert images of some normal squirrels). He passed away 2 days later.One possible cause of sepsis could be the rupture of the intestines due to sharp twigs penetrating through the intestinal wall.
The owner did not want the post-mortem to check the cause of death. He buried the squirrel.
-------------------------------------------------
ABOUT MYANMAR
The country has developed very fast in the last 3 years, with new investments in industries,
hotels and other areas. The airport in Yangon had new terminals and facilities nowadays. The young generation has benefitted from new investments in education and school.
Retail shops like cafes, restaurants, housing and veterinary clinics for small animals have mushroomed, providing the people more choices of service providers.
New bakery and cafe selling fruits in Yangon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF VOMITING? 1. Foreign bodies inside the stomach or intestines. X-rays were performed. 2. Infections from traumatic injuries inside the abdomen, liver and kidney disorders 3. Poison or toxic chemicals ingested. It was not possible to do toxicology to determine the poison or chemicals.. 4. Anti-flea powder or chemicals applied on the squirrel's body by the owner,. The squirrel groomed itself and was poisoned. .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LABORATORY AIDS TO DIAGNOSIS. 1. RADIOGRAPHY Two X-rays were taken. The abdomen was not swollen. It showed radio-dense fluid indicating peritonitis but no radio-dense foreign bodies. There were gas inside the stomach and intestines. (Narrate slowly, showing the cloudy abdomen...pointer?)
The above X-ray was compared to a normal X-ray of a young squirrel as follows:
Gastric and intestinal contents were clearly visible. Definitely no radio-dense
peritoneal fluid.
2. PARACENTESIS. Under light gaseous anaesthesia, a needle was inserted into the abdomen to draw out peritoneal fluid for examination and bacterial culture and antibiotic sensistivity test.
The normal fluid is clear but this squirrel had reddish-brownish fluid suggestive of an infectious peritonitis. The cause was likely due to a penetrating traumatic wound into the abdomen.
TREATMENT
1. Prevention of further dehydration. Dr Aung pinched the skin between the shoulder blades. The skin stayed pinched and fell slowly showing that the squirrel was severely dehydrated.Oral and subcutaneous electrolytes were given.
2. The owner would keep the squirrel warm inside a box with heated pads.
3. He would feed antibiotics.
4. He would feed an oral diet by hand daily if there was no more vomiting after rehydration. . Squirrels
are omnivores. They like to eat plants (fungi, seeds, nuts and fruits) and meat (eggs, small insects, caterpillars and small animals)
PROGNOSIS.
The owner was informed that the prognosis was poor. The squirrel had an infectious peritonitis. The peritoneal fluid was sucked out slowly.
--------------------------------------- VIDEO Can you "zoom" into the squirrel video to show 70% of the squirrel in the footage, as shown in my image "The squirrel eats a rambutan). Otherwise, the squirrel is seen as a very small dot inside the video viewed on the handphone and viewers would be unhappy. If this cannot be done, let me know. I am sure that it can be done. .
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.
VIDEO 2 SITUATION OF EXOTIC PETS IN SINGAPORE
IN SINGAPORE, most small animal vets will never see a squirrel case as it is not permitted as pets.
This
image was "transformed" and "cropped" by Photoshop to show the squirrel
eating the rambutan. Can you do this in the video? The actual image
and similar one in the video footage as follows cannot be used as it
shows the squirrel as a small dot.
As my zoom lens is 200mm, it is not possible to take close up of the squirrel.
(see if you can use CTRL A and CTRL T (transform) in your video software) to get a close up of the squirrel in the footages.
The
plantain squirrels appears to be the most common of the tree squirrels
spotted in Singapore. The population of all types of squirrels in
Singapore has declined owing to habitat loss.
A plantain squirrel has a black and white stripe below the orange-coloured body.
Show the stripe in image Dr
Sing of Toa Payoh Vets has a rare sighting of this plantain squirrel
one early morning in July 2019 while doing his morning exercise walk.
The squirrel was perched on the fence. He decided fast to grab the
fallen mango on the road. He sprinted the tree to eat it for
breakfast.(Narrate over the 3 images below).
A squirrel in Singapore eats a mango for breakfast
On
another occasion, Dr Sing saw a movement amongst the leaves in a tree.
He videoed a squirrel busy eating rambutans. Do not keep squirrels as
pets as they are decreasing in numbers in many cities due to the loss of
habitat. . .
VIDEO 3
Most
Singaporeans love taking photographs of the squirrel seen when they
travel as they rarely see them in urbanised Singapore. 3 such squirrels
in London, USA and Turkey are shared with viewers.
Hong Kong buses
Photos taken by
mobile phones (London, USA) are not as sharp as the one taken by a DSLR
camera zoom lens (Singapore, Turkey).
A squirrel in Singapore eats a rambutann
Sprinted up the tree in Turkey when he saw stranger (a Singaporean child) approaching him
For many photographers, web presence is a main source of business. So, online marketing place m b done with care, maximising page traffic and reaching the widest possible audience.
Images insufficiently tagged with metadata w. be less visible to search engines while a poorly implemented website design results in a high 'bounce' rate.
1. DESCRIPTION
Image must have a meaningful description with a succinct caption. This will be visible to search engines.
2. THROUGH TRAFFIC
On your personal website, add links to other pages, galleries or images of use to viewers. Add text hyperlinks/
3. RELEVANCE
Ensure that search markers (titles, keywords and captions) are relevant to the content of the page. Keep your images visible by making search engines work for you.
4. MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Images that are popular, best represent the quality of your work or sell well, use multiple online platforms for promotion.
Place same image on your website, social accounts and other galleries like Flickr, 500px etc and link them to drive cross traffic.
5. IMAGE TITLES
Viewer, after seeing the thumbnail image, will look for the title. Title s. b informative and accurate. Titles are recognised in search engines - keep wording concise and incorporate place, name and subject type.
6. KEYWORDS/HASTAGS
Keywords tell search engines that your content is what web surfers are looking for. Use subject type, location, date, your business type and your other linked specialisms as keywords, making sure that they are relevant to the page.
On social platforms like Instagram, use hashtags in place of keywords. Choose words that are popular but unlikely to 'swamp' your image with others.
7. CONCLUSION
Online market place is overcrowded with overlapping content. Tricky to stand out and be noticed. By using a logical and accurate metadata policy, you ensure yr images can be seen by those that matter
and drive the conversion of page views into profit.