✦ Task type · Creator work
Product photos in real rooms, with the rights sorted first
Studio photography shows the product. In-use photography shows the life it belongs to, which is why it converts better and why it carries obligations studio work does not.
In-use photography is cheap to commission and easy to get subtly wrong, because the failures are technical and only appear at the point of use: too small once cropped, wrong ratio, a brand visible in the background, a face with no release.
What to put in the public brief
- The setting you need, described generally
- How many final images
- Whether people may appear, and whether a release is required
- The licence you are buying
- Whether they supply the product or you ship it
Keep the brand and product identity private if pre-launch.
What to put in the private instructions
Describe the setting, not the styling
"A kitchen counter in daylight, ordinary and lived-in" gets something usable. A styled description gets a bad imitation of a stock photo.
Ask for space around the subject
So one shot crops to square, portrait and wide. State the ratios you will need, because they cannot be added later.
Say what must not be in frame
Other brands, labels, screens showing content, and anything that dates the image. Also faces, unless you have handled the release.
Ask for one wide and one close of the same set-up
Two useful images from one arrangement is the cheapest thing in this brief.
Proof worth requiring
Ask for
Original files at full resolution, unedited, transferred without messaging-app compression, plus a signed release for any recognisable person.
Do not ask for
Filters, presets or retouching. You can always process a clean original; you cannot remove a preset that has been baked in.
When this task type is the wrong tool
If you need consistency across a large catalogue, a studio does that better and cheaper at volume. This is for range and realism, not uniformity.
If motion matters — showing how something works rather than where it lives — a product demo is the right brief and stills will frustrate you.
Common questions
What resolution should I ask for?
Native camera resolution, unedited, and no messaging apps in the delivery path. A modern phone is more than adequate; what ruins these is compression somewhere between the camera and you, which is invisible until you crop.
What aspect ratios do I need?
Name them, and ask for the shot framed with space around the subject so you can crop to all of them. Asking for a square and later needing a wide banner means paying twice for the same room.
Do I need a release for people in the photo?
Yes for anyone recognisable, and it must be obtained by the person taking the photo at the time. Retrofitting consent is not possible, so say in the brief either that no recognisable faces are permitted, or that a signed release is part of the deliverable.
What reward is fair?
Twenty to fifty dollars for a small set from one setting. You are buying a set-up rather than a shutter press, and the second and third images from the same session cost far less than the first.
Thinking of taking this task?
The same job, from the other side. Rewards are set by the poster, so treat these as the range this task type usually sits in rather than a promise.
- Usually pays
- $20 to $50 for a small set
- You need
- A phone camera and a suitable setting
- Proof expected
- Original files at full resolution, unedited
Send originals without messaging-app compression, and no filters or presets. A release is needed for anyone recognisable in the frame.
Create a worker accountBrief product photos
Set the reward, the number of images and the settings you need. Workers reserve a spot; your product details stay private until they do.
Post this task