Photigy Success Story:

How long have you been a photographer?

16 Years.

What did you do before becoming a working photographer?

I worked at an accounting firm.

Tell us about your business: 

Where is it located?

Vancouver BC, Canada

Does your work environment/studio offer any unique capabilities/features that help you accomplish your work or attract particular clients?

I work in-studio for out of town clients or I visit on-site so pieces do not need to leave the premises

Do you work solo or with others as part of a team?

I work solo but have contractors to help with workflow

What types of photography services do you offer?

Jewelry and product e-commerce, on-model, and 360 product video.

What types of products do you primarily shoot?

Jewelry.

Do you have a type of work that provides a consistent source of revenue in between larger, more complex jobs such as packshots or e-commerce/catalog work?

Most of my work is e-commerce /website work so on-model e-commerce, multi-piece banner work, and e-commerce 360.

Do you do your own post-production/retouching or do you outsource it?

I outsource clipping and sometimes retouching but I usually do my own, depending on the busy season.

What helps set you apart from your competition?

I am also a jewelry designer myself so I understand how stones should look, I can easily communicate with my client and I’m somewhat of a perfectionist so I only let work leave that I would be happy to display on my own website. Because of Photigy, I have gained the skills to bring my work to a level that is not commonly found in my geographical market and I work really hard on my local SEO so I can easily be found on Google searches (I have included images of my design work which I also photographed.)

What made you decide to pursue product photography?

I gained more and more experience in the jewelry world, being of personal interest, so I was contacted by a previous client for my first large job and it just grew from there. I would show more and more product work on my Instagram and website and I was done shooting weddings and portraits and this was a natural progression for me.

When you first got started, what did you find to be the most challenging aspect of photographing products?

Learning to properly light difficult stones such as opals and focus stacking properly.

Can you share a time when a job didn’t go as planned and how you overcame the challenges or obstacles that arose?

My first time doing 360° Video Course, I didn’t clean my sensor and there were dust spots on the final video going right through the gem. I wound up giving the client a discount for the inconvenience and did my best to clean up the file frame by frame.

If appropriate, can you share a list of some of the recognizable brands for which you have worked?

All my clients are local businesses. I don’t think anyone would know them.

How did you first learn about Photigy? 

Google.

Did you learn from (Pro Club) workshops, individual courses, or both? Do you have a favorite course or workshop? If so, what made it your favorite?

I learned from both the individual courses and from the Pro Club. Right now, my is the A-Z bundle.

How has your learning experience with Photigy affected your success as a photographer or pursuit of photography?

Learning from the amazing teachers and getting connected to the FB community has been a turning point in my work. Not only did I learn industry standards but also the skills in how to achieve them. Knowing these skills took my work from just someone with a macro lens to knowing how to light gems, how to retouch metal, and the proper ways to focus stack and shoot 360 video. This has made it easy for clients to see the difference and level of our work and choose to book with us.

What advice do you have for people interested in pursuing product photography?

Experiment with all sorts of different types of still-life subjects. Each type presents its own challenges and you may not enjoy a particular field that you thought you would but on the flip side, you may enjoy shooting something that you otherwise would not have thought, simply because the skills and needs involved are so different with different types of objects. And the clientele for different industries is quite different too. Example dealing with jewelers as opposed to shop owners or even artists with glass or stoneware.

What other areas of photography interest you?

I really enjoy travel and landscape photography.