Amazon Product Photographer | Kate Benson | How much does Amazon Photography Cost?

If you can tap into the large customer pool Amazon has, your business could become hugely successful. Because there are so many sellers, though, the competition is high. A key role in setting yourself apart from the rest and attracting customers is your Amazon listing product photography. Many e-commerce shoppers are influenced by product photos. When shopping online, customers cannot physically see or touch your products, so your images speak volumes. One thing I love about Amazon is how fast clients can see a return on investment with their product photography. But that can be daunting to figure out how to do successfully and it comes with a lot of questions. This article hopefully will clear up those questions by talking about how much does Amazon photography cost, what the workflow of working with a professional Amazon photographer is like, and what the benefits of that are.

One thing I love about Amazon is how fast clients can see a return on investment with their product photography.

Amazon has strict guidelines for photography. Different products have different requirements that Amazon spells out in their style guides (scroll down to Resources for some of these). A product photographer will be able to go through the guides and make sure your images meet all the requirements. The last thing you want is to invest time and money into getting your product photography on Amazon and have the website reject your images because they don’t meet the strict requirements.

What is it like to work with a product photographer for my Amazon listing?

Different professional product photographers have different workflows, so I can only really speak to how I work. My goal is to make sure the files delivered match the art direction and are on brand while still meeting Amazon’s guidelines. The photography process varies from client to client, because companies of all sizes sell on Amazon and so the needs and team change accordingly. So whether it’s the photographer, the client or a team doing it, bellow are some of the steps that happen.

Art Direction/Mood Boards: I’ve worked with clients who have professional art directors who send me documents of each shot of the product and the corresponding image examples of what I need to match or exceed. However, I also work with clients who have no idea what art direction is and I help them form that document. The art direction has to be within Amazon’s image requirements which means we don’t have as much flexibility with the primary product shot in terms of background, but the styling, lighting, and propping are all flexible and the art direction tells me the client wants. Another term for art direction is mood board so whatever you call it, it the same thing. By being creative you can draw attention to your product in a sea of similar products. Shooting a glass bottle empty for example wouldn’t draw much attention by itself on a page full of similar empty glass bottles, but filled with bright fruit, herbs or liquid the image stands out from the rest. That is how art direction can help.
Shoot Day: The product usually is shipped to me in my South Carolina studio space where I work remotely with clients all the time. When the client can’t be on set for the shoot day, I make sure the client has access to a computer or phone and when I think I have the shot, I send a preview image for the client to review and approve. That way, clients are still able to participate in the photoshoot and adjust the art direction as their products are shot if they want to. It gives clients confidence that they aren’t purchasing images that won’t work. I don’t want clients to feel like they have to blindly trust me so I offer to make the shoots as interactive as possible regardless of where the companies are based out of.
File Delivery: This can vary. Just because we are shooting for Amazon doesn’t mean every client is going to only use the images I take on Amazon so often clients expect a larger file than Amazon would like so they can have in on hand for other purposes. My default is to give a larger file to the clients and let them make it smaller for Amazon but when a client tells me they want it just Amazon size or two versions (large and small for Amazon) I give it to them that way. Clients can get the files the same day I shoot or up to a week after. It depends on how many shots we are taking and how much retouching is needed. For example, if I’m shooting 100+ items, odds are that most of the day is going to be dedicated to the photographing of the products. But if I’m shooting 1 product I’ll usually have time that same day to do any retouching that is needed and send it over right away.

When I work remotely with clients, they ship their products to my South Carolina studio and include a return label. I can then easily send the products back to them once the shoot is complete.

How much does Amazon photography cost?

Amazon photography cost = Photographer and team time + Expenses

In the field of photography, your rate is equal to how much time it will take to shoot your product, plus any other expenses (like props, a stylist, or models). The most basic Amazon photo (one object on a pure white background) will cost significantly less than an image with people in an environment with your product because we have to make sure that everything in that space looks right (the people, the space, the props in that space, etc). So Amazon photography cost is very dependent on the art direction. Amazon photography cost less than $200 to over $600 depending on how you want it to look. The low end of that Amazon photography cost estimate is the product on a white background by itself (e-commerce image) and the higher end of Amazon photography cost includes props, people, locations, etc. Remember to look at your competition and think about how big do you want your business to go? If you want to be the #1 seller of your product, you need to see what the current #1 seller’s photos look like, check out their descriptions, read their reviews, and then do even better on your listing! By hiring a professional product photographer for Amazon, you can get your images to a competitively high standard while following Amazon’s requirements.

Amazon photography could cost less than $200 to over $600

If you have the budget, you should consider getting images with your product in an environment or on model if applicable. These lifestyle shots are more sensory, and can help your customers better understand how to use your product, and what it looks/feels like. Lifestyle images often need to budget for props and talent (I will always use whatever I have on hand to keep costs down if it works for the shoot though). In the example below, I used fresh fruits and veggies for styled images as well as a model using the product on location. We also did some plain white background shots of just the product. This shoot was over $600 because it involved so many components. However, the product shot up to the #1 spot after the Amazon listing was updated.

You can also add lifestyle images to the product description. These photos could help break up larger sections of text, and can enhance your listing through even more additional views and details. Having these types of secondary pictures in the product description is another way to stand apart in the competitive market on Amazon.

How can I minimize my Amazon photography cost when I have a small budget?

It might sound counterintuitive, but the best way to minimize your Amazon photography cost is to tell your product photographer what you’re looking for and what your budget is. For reference, I don’t just take a picture, I care about the why and the what behind each shoot. I want my clients to get images to help their businesses grow, and if I succeed, they’ll come back needing more. If I know your budget ahead of time, I can consult with you to see how we can achieve the images you’re looking for based on that limit.

When the budgets are really tight, it can be worth it to start small and work your way up. Getting a few images that look amazing on your listing will help more than a bunch of images that are just okay. Unflattering pictures of your product can hurt your sales by turning a customer away so I recommend taking the less is more approach in those cases.

Lower the Amazon photography cost by telling your product photographer what you’re looking for and what your budget is.

A large part of the Amazon photography cost is the studio lighting setup and breakdown, as that is a time consuming process. I try and help everyone who reaches out to me. When someone reaches out and the budget is really tight, but they can wait a bit for the images I’ll wait and shoot the project until the next time I have an Amazon client. This move splits the setup and breakdown costs between two clients and saves them both money.

What are some general Amazon image requirements?

According to Amazon’s Product image requirements page (you need to log in to your Amazon account to view it):

Primary product images must be on a pure white background
Images should be between 1,000 and 10,000 pixels on the longest side
Preferred image file format is .JPEG
Products should occupy 85% of the frame on limiting dimension of longest side
Images must not be blurry, pixelated, or have jagged edges

Final Thoughts

Selling on Amazon is a great way to increase your e-commerce revenues. Working with so many different brands and clients for over a decade on Amazon photography has given me a chance to learn about what works and what doesn’t. Clients that hired me attended Amazon selling seminars, beta test their images, etc. and have talked to me about what works, what didn’t, and why. This has put me in a unique position to know a lot about how to optimize images for the best return on investment through Amazon. I hope some of this article has been helpful for you whatever size company you have!

If you need an Amazon photographer and would like more information, or a free quote on your project, feel free to contact me through Kate Benson Photography.

Good luck with your Amazon business!