In today’s episode you’ll learn:
- A little bit about Amanda and how she got into product photography
- Why is product photography so important in eCommerce?
- Some effective strategies and tips on how to make your brand images work harder on social media
- Top tips to DIY your product photography
- What is the “Become a Brand Photographer” course about and who it’s for
- How to maximise the power of your brand images for each social media platform
- The reasons why you should invest in professional product photography for your business
- Why investing in marketing is crucial for any eCommerce business
- The importance of having a good mindset around money and investing in your business.
Where to find Amanda, and the books and podcasts she talks about on the show:
Books:
You’re a Bad Ass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero
Secrets of a Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealt by T. Harv Eker
Where to find her
Website – timbremediahouse.com
Course – https://courses.amandacampeanu.com/
Instagram – @amandacampeanu
Transcript
Dahna
Hi, and welcome to the Bright Minds of eCommerce Podcast. I’m Dahna, founder of Bright Red Marketing, your eCommerce advertising specialists. Today, we are here with Amanda, from Timbre Media.
Amanda is a commercial product photographer based in Brisbane. Along with her partner, she created Timbre Media House where they offer both photography and videography specialising in beauty, fitness and lifestyle brands.
She also created a course called “Become a Brand Photographer”, which teaches new photographers how to enter the industry, grow and scale the photography business, shoot, edit, and so much more.
In today’s episode she shares why photography is so important in eCommerce, how to make your images work harder and her top tips for DIY and so much more. So let’s get into it. Welcome to episode 26!
Dahna
Welcome Amanda.
Amanda
Hey Dahna! Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited!
Dahna
I’m so excited to have you! So tell me a little bit about yourself and how you kind of got into product photography.
Amanda
Yeah. Wow. I’m a photographer first and foremost from Brisbane Australia. I do a couple of other little things like do a YouTube channel and run an online course, but essentially the main business is photography and videography for beauty, lifestyle and health brands that I run with my beautiful fiance Alistair who does all the video stuff.
Dahna
Very talented.
Amanda
Yeah. Like, yeah, he’s great. He’s such a nerd. Like he loves learning. So he picked up the video stuff really quickly, which was great.
Dahna
Fantastic.
Amanda
And yeah, I kind of fell into product photography because I got made redundant from a job back in 2017 and I was like, oh, well this is a bit shit. Like, you know, when someone basically takes away your whole income and you kind of feel like you’ve lost control of it, you wanna take control of that back.
So that kind of prompted me to be like, you know what, I’m just starting my own business and take matters into my own hands and try and do this thing. At the time I had like this online finance and career blog. So, like my education background is in finance and at the time I just, I loved learning about money and like just everything, how to save money, how to spend money, how to invest money. And so that was like what the blog was about.
And I would just try and take like flat lays for the blog and for the Instagram. And like, if you’ve seen, like I sometimes share my old work on my Instagram account, they’re absolutely terrible, terrible flat lays.
And I, I just like fell in love with putting things together, like yeah, creating pretty photos and then it just grew into it, grew into this.
Dahna
Amazing. So give us a little bit of a rundown now that you are kind of more experienced, you’re working with some really high end brands. Why is product photography so important, especially in the sort of eCommerce space?
Amanda
Yeah, I think like, because as a consumer and I think about my own consumer behaviour as well, when I’m online shopping, it’s like, you can’t touch it. You can’t smell it. You can’t feel it. The only that you can do is look at it through a photo or a video.
And so firstly like that’s, you know, you’ve just gotta pump out the content. I think as much as you can to get in front of people’s faces. But I also think that having a high quality photo and video, it builds the trust factor with your consumer.
And know that if I look at a brand and I can’t see any kind of signal that they have invested in their content, like if they don’t have any professional content whatsoever, I’m definitely less likely to buy because I think like, oh, this brand, you know, they may not be around for long, or I understand that budget can be really tight when you’re starting out, but I just think to help build that trust, it’s really important to have professional looking content.
Dahna
Yeah, definitely. So when people are planning for product shots, video shoots, those sorts of things, what’s something that you find people often and forget or overlook.
Amanda
Oh, I guess I, I mean we try and prompt our clients, um, with as many questions as possible in the pre-production phase of things so that we can cover as many details as possible. I’m trying to think like what could be thing that people forget, to be honest, I can’t think of anything right now.
No, that’s okay. But maybe like, it could be small details, like even giving enough visual references so that us, as the creator can, visual can try to visualise what the client is seeing. Like, you know, we’re not mind readers, and sometimes there can be, I guess, like we may not be on the same page as the client because they haven’t communicated something or maybe we haven’t asked the right question to prompt a certain detail to come forward.
So it’s, it’s definitely been a learning process over the last, like four years to refine our creative brief. I feel like we’re still refining it as well.
Dahna
I think that’s an ongoing process for every business.
Amanda
Oh gosh. Yeah. Like every project is a learning experience. Yeah. I think it’s just, we just try as much as possible to ensure that we’re on the same page and if details are missed, it just becomes a learning experience at the end of the a day.
Dahna
Yeah. So just kind of making sure that they give you like references of things they want or similar vibes or that sort of thing.
Amanda
Yeah, exactly. And like, for me as a product photographer, it really helps when people send through inspiration photos because I can see what it is that they like about those photos and be like, okay, cool, they like that element, they like that element. So let’s take these elements and create their own branded photo shoot. So I’ll always ask clients to send through as many as they can. Cause it just, it visually helps me to create their own creative plan, I guess.
Dahna
Yeah. Amazing. Obviously it is not cheap to get professional photography done. So do you have any strategies or tips on how to make the images that someone like yourself will capture work harder for you on platforms like Instagram in or if there’s anywhere else that you recommend?
Amanda
Yeah. I mean, when I shoot, I try and do photos that I guess you can crop. So, you know, I might take like a wider photo where you can crop different parts to get different kinds of little scenes. It really depends as well on the styling dose. So if you are shooting like multiple products, maybe you’ve got like, I know five different products in the scene., you can obviously crop into each product to create like five different photos in a way. So I think like cropping is a really great way to repurpose the content on different platforms and also shooting landscape as, so obviously landscape you can use as like a banner on your website and you can then crop it down to either a square or a story size for Instagram.
Dahna
Yeah. Fantastic. I think that’s a really clever way of kind of getting more out of what you’ve paid for and giving it a bit more use in life, which is fantastic.
Amanda
Even like for video as well, like when we’re usually for video, we’re shooting out on location, we shoot a lot. There’s so much content that clients don’t even see. And so often when like say Alistair is going through the footage, you might be like, oh, like, you know, we can create, you know, this other ad down the track for you, or we can create his kind of piece of content.
And so even last year when we did some shoots at the beginning of 2021, we had clients come back for Black Friday to be like, Hey, like, can we use the footage that we shot at the beginning of the year if like a Black Friday ad.
And so all you then have to do is pay for the editing side and you don’t have to redo the whole shoot. So I think for video two, if you can invest in like, you know, a substantial shoot, a couple of hours and get as much footage as possible, you can then revisit numerous edits later down the track when budget allows.
Dahna
Yeah. And so how does the, the end use affect the image or video that is being produced? I suppose. So for instance, is there is a difference in the types of images or video content you would suggest for like Instagram versus website versus, you know, Facebook ads?
Amanda
I do think like for Facebook ads, they definitely have to be like really kind of fast eye catching and engaging. I think there’s a bit of a, probably a formula to use with Facebook ads compared to like just organic social media posts. Cause yeah, when you are, when someone’s gonna be looking at a Facebook ad, you have really only got three seconds to capture their attention so they can keep watching until the end.
And usually you want the ad to be only like 15 to 30 seconds maximum, I think. If you’re selling, say what, like a beauty product or something like that, you want it to be fast engaging as opposed to like slow and I guess depends on the brand, but
Dahna: People wanna, you know, quicken things up when they watch their content
Dahna
You’ve gotta work hard to get ’em to stop that scroll.
Amanda
Yeah, exactly. And so the less time that you can communicate your message the better, because I mean, I have a short attention span. I mean, I really do. Yeah, yeah. Like 10 seconds and I’m done.
Dahna
Yeah, no, that’s fantastic. Now, obviously you mentioned it before that when people are starting out, they don’t always have the budget for, you know, big, huge shoots and things. So for those who are wanting to kind of DIY, do you have any top tips or recommendations?
Amanda
I think the first is to identify like why you’re doing a photo shoot. So what purpose does this content serve your business? And really mapping out the quantity of content that you want to achieve. So it might be like 10 photos. If you wanna play around with video, I know you might wanna get like one good video out from the shoot.
So I think it’s, it’s identifying where this content’s gonna go. Especially if it’s gonna be used in an ad, is it gonna be for a website banner, for Instagram stories or just like organic social media marketing. And then from there you can kind of, I mean, in terms of DIY there’s like, there’s so many photography tips that I guess I could share, but lighting is
Dahna
Share a couple and feel free to plug of course while you’re at it.
Amanda
I mean lighting is definitely first and foremost, I think the most important thing to pay attention to if you don’t have studio lighting, obviously natural light is gonna be the best and cheapest option. So if you want that really hard light, you’d have to shoot on a day when it’s nice and sunny. Otherwise if you’re after no shadows, you want an overcast day or just like some shade.
However, I definitely recommend if you are going to take your own photos, regular basis, having studio lights, it makes such a big difference because you don’t have to firstly rely on the weather and you can also manipulate your lights a lot better than you can natural lights, so you can get all kinds of different results.
And obviously, like I would assume that, you know, people just starting out and DIY and you’d be using probably an iPhone or something like that. So it’s just like paying attention to your composition and also what you think looks good to your eye.
And it just to takes practise. Like you, you’re probably not gonna beat Picasso on your first week of doing product photography. It just takes so much practise to strengthen that creative muscle in order to, yeah, I guess like come to something that you are really proud of and that you’re like, yeah, I really love this photo. I love this styling. And it just comes sound to your imagination and creativity.
Dahna
Fantastic! Is something like, your course good for someone who owns a brand and just wants to learn how to do photography for their own business?
Amanda
I get this question a lot. And I usually say yes and no, which is probably not the most helpful answer, but essentially like the course is it’s completely tailored towards people who wanna be a photographer. I mean, those who own their own product based business and they actually enjoy photography. Then you will benefit from a lot in the course, mainly the editing, the modules about equipment and lighting, camera gear, how to use your camera, things like that, the styling and the behind the scenes.
But there’s also another side to the course where it’s like business education for photographers that probably wouldn’t like it wouldn’t really benefit a product based business owner. So, I guess like the whole point of the course is to help people up level their product photography. That’s definitely a really big focus that the course has. So that’s why I say yes and no. And I basically put it into the hands of the person asking, be like, if you’re happy to pay this and you know that you are not gonna get the full benefit of the course, then that like go for it. But they’ll, they’ll absolutely learn how to take amazing product photos.
Dahna
I think that’s a great answer though, because I mean, what you said is true, like you will learn how to take great product photos, but if you’re not wanting to learn how to be a product photographer, there’s probably half the course that will be irrelevant, but you’ll still learn how to make and take great photos in the process.
Amanda
Exactly. Yeah. And like, that’s why I said before, it’s like, if you’re going to go down that route, it, I think it’s important that you actually identify you enjoy photography because if you don’t, you might try do one photo shoot and then be like, nah, I don’t like this.
And so it’s not then gonna the whole course, isn’t gonna be beneficial at the end of the day, but if you do love the creative part of photography and you are willing to invest in the key, in like even the editing platforms like Photoshop and Lightroom, like photography, like itself, just to do the thing is an investment because the gear it’s not cheap, like, especially when you start buying lights and backdrops and props, you’ve gotta spend a, you know, a few thousand dollars to kind of get yourself with… To get yourself a good setup, I would say you’ve gotta spend a few grand.
Dahna
Yeah, that makes sense. So when is a good time for a business, I suppose, to make the plunge and hire a professional rather than kind of DIYing?
Amanda
I definitely think as soon as they can, even if they’re a startup, like we still work with quite a few startups and we can tell those people who really value photography because they know that it’s gonna help them, I guess, kickstart their brand off the right way.
And it’s like what I was saying before, where, where a consumer looks at a brand, they wanna be able to invest in a brand as well in the long term. And so if you can kick start at your brand with professional photography, you’re going to have an advantage over everybody else who hasn’t invested because your products are gonna look amazing.
And so it’s something I kind of always try to remind people, is that like, if you’ve created this product and you, you know, it’s amazing quality, the photo itself has to represent that kind of quality.
So if you are representing your product with low quality images, maybe it could be really bad lighting, the styling may not, may not make sense for the product or the brand, then it won’t make sense to the customer.
And so if, yeah, if you can kickstart the brand with representing the quality of your product with high quality imagery, it’s gonna speak much more to the customer who wants to buy.
Dahna
Makes total sense. I know a reason that I’ve heard before is to why people don’t invest is because they know they can’t afford it for everything. Is it something where you would say, look just do what you can and then you can kind of DIY the rest, at least you’ve got the good stuff, or is it sort of where you need to have just the professional across the board to make it look good?
Amanda
I think it depends like how well you can DIY it. I mean, I totally understand that. Like, yeah, when you’re starting out budget can, there can be barely any budget at all. But I also think that if you are going to start a product based business, you’ve gotta think about the marketing. It’s all very, like I’ve had a product based business, so I totally know the upfront costs. I know how much of a nightmare, like the shipping costs can be, all that stuff.
So if you’re gonna invest in your inventory, you’ve gotta think beyond that as well. And think about your marketing. You have to invest in your marketing too. It’s so, so important, If you wanna see growth. Because if, you know, if you run your business for months on end, without spending anything on your marketing, how can you expect it to grow and actually make sales?
So I think it’s also knowing that if you want to start a product based business, that there are so many other, I guess, expense invest. I’m gonna say investments that you have to consider on top of your inventory.
Dahna
I mean, I’m a marketer, so I totally agree with you. I’ve seen so many posts lately of people being like, I’ve started a business, I bought all this stock. I made a website, I have no money left. And I’m like, but how are you planning on marketing yet?
Amanda
Exactly.
Dahna
That’s expensive part.
Amanda
Yeah. And people forget about that part. It they’re like, cool. I’m gonna buy all this product, and the packaging looks amazing and here it is. But then how are you meant to sell it if you don’t have any way to reach people? And I think doing it, trying to do it organically on Instagram and just following heaps of people and hoping that like the world will spread, it’s a slow, slow burn.
And so that’s why I think like even influencer marketing is amazing as well to get started, like word of mouth. And that costs money too. Like you’ve gotta pay people to promote the product.
So I think that at least having some form of budget for marketing is so important and there are so many photographers to a different price points. Like you can have professional photographer who obviously their quality may not be as good as somebody else who’s higher, but you can still have professional photography done within your budget as well.
Dahna
Yeah, I think that’s a very good advice. Thanks. Before we wrap up, is there anything you think we’ve missed, we didn’t cover?
Amanda
I feel like that’s probably it. Yeah. I just think like, yeah, with any kind of business, it’s so important to have a good mindset around money and around investing in your business. Like no matter what area of the business that you need to invest in. And yeah, I mean having good content, it absolut will help to sell your product. And if you can invest in like a big shoot and save up for that, do photo and video all in one, you can really optimise your budget.
And often even when, when I’m doing photography on location, I shoot way more than what, like the original all contracts for. So say someone hires us like 10 photos. I might shoot a hundred photos plus. And so there’s all this content that can be purchased at a later date when maybe their business has grown a bit more and they don’t have to reinvest in a whole other big shoot. They can just repurchase photos whenever they need to.
Dahna
Yeah. I really loved your ideas around kind of getting more content out of an existing shoot. And I thought that was really helpful. So thank you for sharing that.
Amanda
Yeah, no worries.
Dahna
Lovely. Well, we’ll just get into the last couple of questions we ask everyone that are a little bit more about your business as a whole. Do you have any strategies or habits you follow each day to help you stay on track in business?
Amanda
I’m such like an, I’m a pretty organised person. So I have my diary that is like my life, my calendar, my diary. And I try to kind of check in with myself every day to see that I’m, you know, achieving it, the things I wanna achieve, I try and really only set myself maybe one big task a day that I wanna get done. Because if, if I set too many things, it just gets overwhelming and I may not accomplish it. So if I can set one productive task that is gonna help me to move my business forward, and if I can do that every single day, then that makes things just a little bit easier, a little bit less stressfu.
But I think just building good habits, surrounding things that make you happy that bring joy to your life, that bring less stress to your life as well is really important. So I’m a big person on like routine and like habit tracking and things like that.
Dahna
I love that. Do you have a favourite business book?
Amanda
I have a few. I couldn’t even pinpoint like my, my favourite one, cuz I think so many that I’ve read offer like different, amazing insights, but I’m really big on money mindset books. And so the, the two that I just, I swear by one is called You’re a Bad Ass at Making Money by Jen Sincero and the other is Secrets of a Millionaire Mind by I think his name is T. Harv Eker. Those two books changed everything about my money mindset. I just could not recommend them enough.
Dahna
Amazing. We will add those in the show notes for everybody. And if people want to find out more about you, how they can work with you. So you’re at work, have a little bit of your course, what’s the best way for people to find you?
Amanda
Yeah. So it’ll be our website, timbremediahouse.com. And you can also find I’m gonna Instagram @amandacampeanu
Dahna
Wonderful! And we will link those and spell those out for people in case they missed it in the show notes for you.
And thank you so much for joining us, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the show.
Amanda
Thank you so much, Dahna!
Dahna
Thank you for listening to the 26th episode of the Bright Minds of eCommerce Podcast. Don’t forget we load all of the links in show notes onto our website. You can find everything at https://brightredmarketing.com.au/episode26. The link will also be in the episode description.
