Photoshopped images can serve as an affordable alternative when there isn’t a budget for an entire set of lifestyle product photos. It takes a lot of research, coordination, time, and additional expenses to shoot complete kitchens with people. This makes sense if you have the time and budget and if you want the most absolute realistic look possible. When this high standard isn’t required, photographing lifestyle product images and photoshopping them into other photographs of your desired environment can be more affordable and faster.
This works great when you want a product placed within a scene. You have heard this referenced as product placement in various movies and TV shows. With each client, I discuss the locations where their potential customers will use their products the most. Then we look through various stock agencies to find an image that matches their needs and lifestyle product photos exactly.
Stock agencies already have millions of images in various sets and locations. Clients look through these images and decide which ones work the best for their product. It is best to do this before the product shoot. I can then photograph the products from the same direction, lighting, and lens choice as the background. This way, I can seamlessly place the products into the chosen environment.
I can use models in these product shoots to interact with the product. I photograph the models with the product in the studio and photoshop them into the selected background. This can be much trickier, though, and takes more planning. Models do add an additional investment. Clients’ friends often stand in, or sometimes the clients themselves. This obviously save even more money.
Photoshop is amazing, and when you work with a skilled editor, it can save you lots of money and still look fabulous. If you want lifestyle product shots, feel free to reach out to me so we can discuss various options that can give you exceptional product photos at a fraction of what it might otherwise cost.