How to get into brand photography — Niclas Glud Photography

As with most people, the entire covid 19 situation hit me hard. Having just returned from a huge six months trip, I was determined to make the most of the situation. Without any new trips on the horizon, and the travel industry taking a huge knock, I started looking for other opportunities. This is when my interest for brand photography was sparked. The thing is, brands want to portrait their products in the best way possible, I was sure that I could help with that.

On May 16 2020, I took my first ever photo of a product. As I had never photographed any products before, I first needed to build up a portfolio of products. That day I took, and edited nine photos of my old watches, and just like that I had a portfolio of product photography to show.

The thing with product photography is that you need to look for elements that enhance your product. Elements that work well together with your product in regard to colors and elements that will make your product stand out. You will also look to create different photos. You need to be able to showcase your skills, both regarding lifestyle photos, close ups and more creative styles.

As I had absolutely no knowledge about photographing products, I spent a few hours on YouTube, as well as looking through various Instagram profiles. I did this in order to gain knowledge, and inspiration about the subject.
With my newly gained knowledge I went out, took a few photos, and just like that, I got started in product photography. It sounds simple, and that’s because it was.
I will show you some similar photos to what I created that day.

In this photo, I simply wanted to create a lifestyle photo that showed the potential client that I’m able to do a wide variety of photos. Furthermore, the watch really blends in well with the outfit.

I really like this one. It is so simple, but really portraits the watch in a good way.

These three photos were probably taken within 15 minutes of each other. That's how little time it took me to get started. I walked around my house, found this green plant, placed it on a dark surface, placed the watch on top of it, and simply took the photo. That's it. I then got dressed, and modeled for the photo of the lifestyle photo. It would be easier to take the photo of a friend or have a friend take the photo for you, however that was the opportunity that I had. For the last photo, I took an empty bottle of wine, broke it into pieces, made the setup look visually pleasing, and then took the photo. 15 minutes is all it took. If you have done your research right, and know what you want, you can take 9 different photos within an hour. Then all that is left to do is the edit.

As I had created my 9 different photos I created a portfolio containing only these photos.

So, what was my next step? I went onto Instagram, found 10 different watchmakers and contacted all 10 of them. Why not more? Obviously you can contact more. However I wanted to take it slowly, and didn’t want to overwhelm myself. However fueled by the power of the compound effect I also contacted 10 brands the next day. And the next day. And the day after that. I did this for a month.

You need to realize that not every brand will answer. And even though you get an answer, they might not be able to work with you. There are probably thousands of other photographers doing the same thing that you do. However if you are consistent enough, and your photos are good enough - You will get a collaboration.

On the second day, I already secured my first collaboration, and received a beautiful watch. I didn’t get any money for my service, but I got to keep the watch. If I wanted to, I could have used my own photos of the watch for advertisement, and could have easily sold it online, but I chose to keep it. Besides that, I got to expand my portfolio and got some experience.

Two days later again I got a new collaboration, and received another stunning watch. Again, no payment, but I could keep the watch, and could sell it if I wanted to. Meaning that in just four days I had received two watches with a value of 389 euros.

I started contacting a wider variety of brands, and quickly noticed that as I didn’t have any photos of this kind of products, closing a deal got more difficult.

Within that first month, I closed 5 different deals with brands. In that time frame I received two watches, five pieces of jewelry and a cap, three leather wallets and a key holder as well as a hammock. Combined, this added up to around 1000 euros in value. All that came from spending a single day building my portfolio, and from contacting 10 different brands per day, for 30 days. Some of those I still work with. Besides, I declined three different brands that wanted to work with me, because they demanded too much, from what they offered. Had I said yes the total value would probably have been closer to 1500 euros.
Imagine if I had contacted 20 companies everyday for 30 days. There is no saying how many more deals I would have been able to secure.

I know of other photographers who have managed to secure even more brand deals in that same time frame. Check out @Sammvandenheuvel on Instagram. He started with product photography a few weeks before I did, and he has been able to close some amazing deals. He has a really creative mind, and creates some stunning photos.

I’m not giving this information to brag in any way. I’m simply doing it in order to show you that you can do exactly the same thing. And you can start doing it today. The only thing holding you back, is yourself.

When closing a deal you will be given a set up photos that you need to deliver, within a certain time frame. Personally I always deliver a bit more than agreed, and I want to finish my work a few days before the photos are expected. That way, the brand will feel like they got more value than expected, and will be more likely to work with you again in the future, if your work is good enough.

So how do you get started? First create your media kit, and put together a good pitch.

You need your camera, and you need a few different products that you already own. Products related to the kind of brands you want to work with. Then I would suggest you find inspiration on Instagram. Figure out which brands you want to contact, and look at the photos they have. You will want to create something similar to this style. I would also suggest you check out a few YouTube tutorials about product photography. Check out Peter McKinnon, he has some great videos.

Then you need time, patience and consistency. Don’t expect work to arrive within the first few days. I got lucky in that regard. If you are consistent enough, the compound effect will do its work. Also, I need to stress again, that your photos HAVE to be good enough, otherwise you won’t get the deals. Compare the photos you take, to the pages you want to be featured on. Are your photos as good or better? If yes, start contacting. If you don’t think so, chances are, that the brand will think the same way, and then you shouldn’t contact them.

This is really all you need!

I would love it if you let me know about the deals you are closing and the brands you get to collaborate with. That is all I want from my services. That you take something away, that you can elaborate on, and use to improve and do what you love.

I can’t wait to see what you create!

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