My 360 into Product Photography

My two longest careers have literally come full circle. Though always a photographer, it required a great deal of retail money to afford it as a career. After 20 yrs of savings (and management experience) I opened my first studio Prints Charming Photography in 1996. Combined these experiences led me to the best two years in over two decades!

As a retail manager I made several lateral moves to climb the ladders in unique departments. One store in particular I was tasked with recovering five years of red ink, and helped it become profitable within my first five months. That inner city market was Portland's 6th & Alder Fred Meyer.

Of the 14 stores I served for them, this was one of my longesst and enjoyable locations. I enjoyed being downtown, I loved the versitility and it was where I experienced my BRIGHTEST, light-bulb moment in my retail career.

“If I can do this well at something that I don’t really enjoy, how would I do at something I’m passionate about?” Turned out that my methodical, systems-junky ways worked in every Fred Meyer division I applied them to, so why not Photography?

That question became my call to action. I enrolled in a 12 week program with a career counselor, took some basic accounting classes at a local community college, cashed in my 401k and JUMPED!

Retail taught me some great survival skills with comparative sales reports, profit & loss statements and more than a "101 in Marketing." It was 20 years of trial and error in multiple divisions. The constant flux of seasonal sales varied between divisions and store locations, but increased my accuracy perspective on where the paint-by-numbers model for operations expenses would and wouldn’t work.

I merely had to rationalize ideas to my boss, arming them with logic-based rationale to take to their boss, so that my labor investment would be justified. When it wasn't, I gave my time to prove theories profitable, (actually to maintain the trust given me - Thank you John Brown and Darrell Webb - my regional supervisor and VP of merchandising that accepted my wild proposals) Costly on time, but my goal was to afford more time NOT working, by landing a higher paying position. (so it seemed from a lower wrung of the ladder).

When I made that move to independence, those lessons carried the wait of supporting a spouse and one, then two, then three kids - all while relying on my skills at forecasting trends. Having Fred's checkbook in my back pocket had lower risks than my studio investment decisions.

Before I elaborate on my recent WIN with 360 product photography, I have to share why this addition meant so much to me. When we fail, we learn. Sounds simple until you realize the greatest lesson is how heavy the weight of a costly failure is.

Mine happened between 2007 & 2012, all while I was transitioning from married to single, back to married with five kids (two new boys to care for.)

Coincidentally (if you believe in that) one of my first big product photography jobs was for a Fred Meyer's new beta site for e-Commerce, testing in Alaska before trying on the 110+ stores at the time. At the time I was also alpha/beta testing for an eCommerce company that had been incorporated into Adobe Bridge (Photoshop’s browser.) so I knew the language, platform and goals of my former employer-turned-client. (Thank you Mike Connors for your trust and friendship through it all. Mike even helped me to sponsor my now-Americanized kiwi, Cathy)

Fred's "In-house" photo studio - Photo Group, had an umbrella contract that did not cover e-commerce, so the RFP was an exciting option, 10 years after leaving the company as an employee.

My bid was chosen, causing me to spend 14+ hrs in a meat cooler in Vancouver WA. Meat cutters and merchandisers prepared every cut of meat for a postmortem portrait. That was a success. I made more money that day than any wedding I'd ever shot and they proposed evern more.

Fred Meyer had thousands of private label products. They asked me to submit a bid to shoot them for the site that was still a year from development (so they thought.) Vendors would, and still do provide their own stills, but this one job could practically pay off everything I own, and then some...

It was sounding serious so I found a larger home for our newly-grown family of seven. I converted the three-car garage into a sparkly, massive camera room - ready for pallets to wheel in off of the Fred Meyer trucks in my long driveway.

Man makes plan, God laughs!

In a complete 180, the recession of 2008 caused the eCommerce department to cut serious corners. My competitor gave them a comprehensive gear list so they could train and hire to do it in-house.

That gear sat collecting dust, and it would be several years before they actually launched a shopping site. We live ... we learn. And learn, I did!..

Thank you Tony Iyke - (Designs by THOR - The House of Rose) for giving us a whirl for a Bespoke fashion presentation!

I managed to dig out from that experience, rebuilt my business and before the pandemic hit, shifted the better portion of my business to commercial services. (Marketing photography and headshots) In an unconscious way, I knew I was still packing a bit of resentment about product photography in general and did nothing to promote it. Word of mouth was bringing me just enough for my liking.

After the pandemic hit, online retail exploded. More of us became MUCH more comfortable about having things delivered to us, than us burning gas and masks to buy them in person.

I researched 360 Spin Photography and calculated a much lower risk than my prior experience in 2008. Having a "Matrix-like" view on a standing object felt less and less like a fad and more like a necessity.

The ability to see your future purchase from 24-72 unique viewpoints in a single screen got me excited about the prospects again. I invested about $10k in new equipment and have now shot items as small as commemorative coins, to as large as an adult-size e-Bike. (the coin was actually more difficult, so I won't be pricing by size).

One of my local clients produces a line of flooring found at Costco, but wanted to sell via Lowes. Lowes raised the bar on vendor expectations to "360 Spins Required."

Not only does this tool increase trust, it decreases returns because buyers become more certain BEFORE you box, ship and send. Now enabled on Costco, Amazon and Walmart, 360 spin photography has become my educational offset for my earlier education in Product Photography. - I further mitigated risk by renewing my lease for another 5+ years. : ^)

Check it out, give them a spin. Related blog post HERE.

The floor panel above, you may recognize from Costco by our clients at Well Made Floors.

Notice how the ability to spin it into the light reveals the texture, while the face-on image still shows the REAL color. Fewer returns (for the wrong color or sheen) means more returns of product. Investing more in marketing INCREASES your overall margin. : ^)