We made the transition from the traditional leather book portfolio to iPad portfolio this year and its made things way easier. When showcasing portfolio work to clients or even showing a friend a cool shot we took down at the beach the iPad is quick, easy, interactive way to share your photography work. Although, the traditional print portfolio still has its advantages. See below for positives and negatives for using iPad portfolio to show your photography work versus print portfolio.

Positives of using iPad portfolio

• Cheap
• Updatable
• Easy to replace
• Portable

Negatives of using iPad portfolio

• Limited in presentation styles
• Hardware can fail
• Similar to viewing website portfolio
• Needs battery life

Positives of using print portfolio

• Real, tangible prints
• Print tear sheets
• Physical book has better feel
• Size

Negatives of using print portfolio

• Hard to replace if lost or stolen
• Expensive (prints, leather book)
• Heavy
• Difficult to update

Although the traditional print portfolio can never be replaced the iPad is an extremely useful tool for showcasing your professional photography work. With the range of Apps available that are customisable to your brand using the iPad as your portfolio can be the fastest most efficient method of showcasing your work.

Anyone who’s ever shopped for clothes online will know how important it is for retail sites to have accurate, detailed product photography. After all, the photography of the product you’re looking to buy is the online equivalent of seeing a product for yourself in a real-life store.

For consumers, high-quality product photography is crucial to their online shopping experience – and for online fashion retailers, having engaging product shots that persuade people to buy your clothing products leads to higher conversion rates and increased profitability.

So what type of product photography should online fashion retailers feature on their website?

For maximum impact, I believe this needs to be a combination of ‘standard’ product shots (flat lay or ghost mannequin, clear, clean and detailed, with high zoom function), and lifestyle shots – showing the product ‘in situ’ on a model.

The importance of featuring the product in a lifestyle context is massive, as this is what enables online shoppers to see how the product appears in real life – how the garment moves, how the fabric hangs etc.

There are also other benefits of incorporating model shots in your online product photography mix. Not only does showing the product on a model enable you to showcase other garments from your collection (further exposure encouraging higher sales), it also gives you the opportunity to demonstrate how your product fits in with current styles and fashions, showing your brand as up-to-date and contemporary.

As online shopping continues to grow in popularity across Australia, consumers expect increasingly higher levels of detail and interaction from online product photography. Aside from model shots, online retailers also have the option of 360 degree product photography, catwalk video clips and moving stills, taking online product photography to exciting new levels.

And if you need some inspiration, check out Switch Studio’s model photography portfolio here: http://www.switchstudio.com.au/portfolio-fashion-photography-models

Welcome back to our blog! So far this month we’ve been having fun shooting some amazing still life photography for a new glassware client and we’re looking forward to producing the product photography for our new cosmetics client Shiseido. You can check out our product and still life photography portfolio @ www.switchstudio.com.au

5 Quick Tips For Taking Better Snaps With Your iPhone!

1. Lighting
Always shoot with light in mind. The word photography means ‘painting with light’, so make lighting your top priority when lining up your shot. Use the iPhone camera’s exposure tool by tapping where you would like the camera to set the correct exposure. For example, if you want the person in the foreground correctly exposed, just tap on them with your finger.

2. Composition
As with lighting, composition can make or break your shot. Switch on the grid in the camera settings and use the ‘rule of thirds’ (splitting the shot into three sections) to make more interesting compositions.

3. Download the Camera+ app
For only 99 cents, this app is a must have for anyone using the iPhone as a camera. With a self timer, composition grid, image stabiliser, burst mode and a range of colour manipulation tools and filters, this app can really add an edge to your standard shots – download it now!

4. Move around
The lens on the iPhone is a fixed focal length lens, so whenever you zoom in with the phone, you are doing so digitally. This means you are losing resolution and image quality. Move your feet and walk in to get up close to the shot you’re after – but remember to keep your hand still…

5. Keep a steady hand
Get your body into a position that is comfortable while keeping the camera as still as possible. Everyone is different, but what works for me is to lock your elbows into the body. A slight twist in the hips and knees slightly bent will help and take the shot with your thumb and not your finger. As an alternative to hand-holding the camera, you may want to purchase a Gorillamobile for the iPhone 4 – it’s a cool little tripod you can take anywhere. Check it out @ http://joby.com/gorillamobile/iphone4/

Ok guys, that’s it for now, but stay tuned for more in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we won’t be working…we’ll be having fun making images

Cheers, Daniel

1. Beware of amatuers 

The professional photography arena is flooded with amateurs who think that just because they own a DSLR and have shot a friend’s wedding, they are a professional photographer. However, these unqualified amateurs can do serious damage to your brand perception and should be avoided at all costs when considering your business’ photography options.

As the quality of your photography is such a central part of your overall brand image, it’s vital not to skimp on photography services when allocating marketing and e-commerce budgets – unless, of course, you want to waste all the work, money and resources used to build your brand equity!

Generally speaking you get what you pay for…. and it will show.

2. Watch out for stock

Budget pressures often lead to designers and marketing agencies turning to stock imagery for their photography. But rather than providing a cost-effective alternative, this results in no differentiation from other brands – just pages of marketing material and websites with a random assortment of stock images with no real substance.

Clearly, this can be very harmful, as one of the simple defining factors in business success is being unique.

So how can you ensure that people remember your brand? See next point…

3. Use a pro – go on, just do it!

Only a professional photographer with experience, creative flair and technical ability can drive your brand ahead of the pack in the current competitive landscape. Whether for product or still life photography, a highly-skilled photographer understands the complexity of brand perception, consumer behaviour and how best to light and compose a shot that positions the product or service in-line with the marketing strategy.

A professional photographer working directly with the client creates a working synergy that no stock image could ever compete with. The spontaneity that occurs during photoshoots is often what achieves that winning campaign shot.

If you’ve got something to say on this topic, we’d like to hear from you – share your comments below…

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Here at Switch Studio, we’re very excited to welcome you to the latest addition to our website…our brand new blog!

Why are we so excited? Because our blog is where we get the chance to share with you all that’s interesting, insightful, relevant and fascinating about the world of photography. From the latest news, innovative products and awesome articles, we’ll be keeping you right up-to-date on all that’s going on in our industry.

But as those of you who’ve worked with us before will know, the Switch Studio team don’t just stand around talking photography all day. That’s why our blog will also feature all manner of other topics – from current business stories to recommended creative suppliers – which all have one thing in common…we’re confident you’ll enjoy them just as much as we do.