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Episode Summary
As farmers living in the digital age, most of us are bound to have some sort of online presence, especially if we’re selling what we grow online. And one key element that can boost our marketing and make our product listings a lot more attractive are photos.
In this episode of Carrot Cashflow, we’re talking to longtime professional commercial photographer John Spaulding to walk us through what it means to take photos as a medium to tell the stories we want to tell, as well as some considerations when we’re thinking about hiring a professional photographer.
Today’s Guest: John Spaulding
John Spaulding worked as a photo staff before becoming a full-time freelance photographer and photo editor in 2004. Considering himself an assistant storyteller, John flies all over North America to translate his clients’ vision and passion into photographs.
Relevant Links
John Spaulding Photography – Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
In this episode of Carrot Cashflow
- Diego introduces the episode’s guest, John Spaulding (00:46)
- Ready Farmer One: The Farmers’ Guide to Create, Design, and Market an Online Farm Store by Diego Footer & Nina Galle (01:42)
- What makes a photographer a professional photographer? (03:51)
- What makes a photo a good photo? (05:15)
- Starting with why you’re taking a photo (06:34)
- Some core ideas around photography (08:28)
- Have we become so inundated with photos that we can’t tell good photos from great photos? (11:17)
- Taking photos that rise above the noise using the tool available to us (15:56)
- Framing and spacing out the product (19:21)
- Always leave extra space (20:00)
- Use as simple a background as possible (20:23)
- What’s so special about your product? (21:10)
- John Spaulding’s thoughts on stock images and catalogue images (22:21)
- When it’s worth to take the time to show off a product (23:35)
- Advice on getting the best lighting (24:48)
- Go explore and play around with photos in different lighting (28:27)
- The difference in photo quality between an amateur and a professional photographer (30:38)
- Finding the right photographer for your specific needs (34:28)
- Asking the right questions to find the photographer that gets the job done (39:41)
- Understanding your brand identity and the audience you’re trying to reach (45:14)
- Find a photographer who asks the right questions (47:18)
- What to expect when budgeting for a professional photographer (48:26)
- How many photos to expect in a photoshoot (55:11)
- The backend work after a photoshoot day (57:52)
- Syncing in what you want and what you’re willing to spend (58:41)
- Approaching the question of budget (01:01:20)
- A good average budget for a small business product photoshoot (01:05:42)
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