Precious Moments Product Shoot
First, thank you so much for the opportunity to work on this estimate. We went through the RFP and put together a plan we think best fits the project while trying to be as budget conscious as we can with such a large project. We purchased a Precious Moments figurine so we could do some testing and so that we can time out how long each part of the project might take so we can give you as accurate a proposal as possible. With 900 SKU, even adding 5 minutes per figurine would add 2 weeks of work, so we wanted to make it as accurate as we could.
Below is our recommended approach for each aspect of the project as well as some very rough examples. We put this together with what we had on hand, but it allowed us to accurately estimate what would go into a project like this. From our end, we’d be able to execute a lot of the project with one photographer. The environmental photographs (whether in person or virtual) would require an additional assistant or two, as well as talent, but it is all outlined below. The only thing not estimated below is the location for where the studio shots will take place. That’s dependent on a few factors and will need to be addressed after further conversation. Our preference would be that it takes place in the Western Suburbs, we have a location in mind we’d like to use, but if it must take place at tms or the client’s office, that would be an option as well although there would be additional costs.
If you like what you see, next steps would be for us to get on a call with everyone involved to go over the project, talk budget, and figure out the needed team. Then we could finalize an estimate and get it over to you. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Here’s our recommended approaches for the project…
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY / 360 SHOTS
This will be the bulk of the photography. We will photograph each SKU on a white sweep, with a white base. We’ll take the needed 72 shots for the 360 degree build for online selling, and you’ll be able to choose any of those 72 for the product shots. This kills 2 birds with one stone as we’re able to set it up and photograph them without the need to go back through and do additional shots as “product shots” thus keeping the overall costs lower. The above images are just a quick example of 12, taken in a lightbox we had on hand. The actual images would have a more even lighting on the backdrop and you would see much less of a seam.
The Estimated cost per SKU (factoring in 900 total) is about $115, or $103,000 total. Here’s a detailed estimate…
IN HOME - VIRTUAL STUDIO
Our suggestion for the “environmental photos” is to do a virtual set, versus in person set. To accomplish this we’d use different texture bases with a TV showing a virtual background (kitchen, bedroom, office, kids bedroom, etc) from stock photography. Above is a very quick environmental photography using a monitor we had laying around, a random table, and some props we found, but it gives a rough idea of what it might look like.
The virtual set allows us to capture more images, quicker. To make it feel more authentic, we’d pair a virtual background with different surfaces under the product, as well as props around the product.
This freedom lowers overall costs as well. In the next section we’ll talk about on location shoots, but it costs roughly half as much to do a virtual set as an in home shoot. For each SKU on a virtual set we’re looking at about $387.50. Here’s a detailed estimate…
IN HOME - ON LOCATION
As we said above, our recommendation is for a virtual set, however if you want to do an in home shoot we can handle that as well. For 100 SKU, we’d recommend a 5 day in home shoot minimum. With an 8 hour shoot day, that allows about 24 minutes per setup. That’s still VERY fast, but we’d add assistants and additional lighting packages to be able to accommodate moving faster through each setup. We would suggest these 100 products all be shot in one go versus breaking them out into smaller groups. That allows everyone to stay focussed and get the images we need done.
Cost wise, it’s about twice as expensive to do on location vs a virtual set. Each SKU would cost approximately $667.50 as there are significantly more hard costs associated with location rentals and such. Here’s a breakdown of the estimate for that…
3D MODELS
I know 3D models are something the client was interested in, so we put together an estimate for that as well. There are still some unknowns in here, but we wanted to get it over to you so we’d have to finalize any estimate when we know what the client wants to do. Creating 3D models essentially means we have to photograph each product twice (more like 3 times) to get the 150-200 images we need to create the model. We did a bunch of testing and settled on Polycam as being a great resource for this, as you can see in the model above which is straight out of camera/software without any cleanup. That said, the models would all need cleaning up and after consulting with a 3D artist we’ve used in the past, that will take a few hours per model. They’d clean up edges, take care of any texture inconsistences, and add bottoms to the models.
Timing wise, this will approximately triple or quadruple the length of the project. In addition to having to shoot everything twice, there’s additional time needed to create the 3D model and then have that model cleaned up. The approximate price per SKU would be an additional $325.84 or $293,250 to do them all. That cost is when they’re added prior to project start. If the client wants to add them after we’ve started photographing, costs would increase.
Here’s the detailed estimate…
So what now?
So, that’s a pretty detailed look through all the approaches and rough estimated costs. These estimates are not final. We’d need to have a call with the client to go over everything, finalize with outside vendors, etc. This is a very complex project where every small change adds a lot of time and costs. For example, if it takes 10 minutes to unpack a product, clean it up so it’s ready to be shot, and repack it after… that’s 19, 8 hour days just to do that. Our estimates are pretty accurate, but with a project like this, we need to confirm everything with the client prior to finalizing.
Also, I know the estimates were a little spread out and had a lot of detail so here’s a quick breakdown…
Photographing 900 products [white sweep for product photography & 360 images] - $103,000
Photographing 100 products [virtual set] - $38,750
Photographing 100 products [in home] - $66,750
3D Models of 900 products - $450 discounted to $293,250
We’d love to work with you on this, it seems like a very fun project. Let me know what you think of the estimate and if it’s in line with what you were anticipating. Also, let me know if you think something needs to be added or removed. We’re happy to update the estimates as needed so they properly represent the project.