Product Package Photography

How is a product package photo made? Let’s peel back the curtain, using a real life example, from ideation to final photo.

I’ve worked with the company Eat G.A.N.G.S.T.E.R. for several years, and together, we’ve created eight different product photos. The most recent was for their allergy-friendly vegan flatbread mix.

Ideation

The co-founders entertained several ideas, but landed on bread art. They wanted something beautiful and comforting. They texted me the following sketch:

Ok, we now have the basic idea, but…

The challenges

There were some challenges to overcome. First, the toppings could not involve any meat or cheese because the product is vegan. Second, there could be no nightshades in the toppings, since the product is allergy-friendly. For the uninitiated, nightshades are in the family of fruits and vegetables that includes tomatoes, all peppers, tomatillos, and eggplant – basically anything colorful! Lastly, I had never made bread art before…

Now, I LOVE a culinary challenge. I came up with this drawing, and texted back:

I selected shallots, green onion ends and stems, capers, Kalamata olives, arugula, yellow squash, carrots, cilantro stems and thyme.

They were pleased but really wanted some sort of purple onion. I texted back the detail of the slice:

The piece would be too small to hold a red onion, but a shallot… That’s doable! The flower blossom would be sliced shallot. 

Once I got approval, it was time to start bringing this design to life. I got to work in the kitchen. When the flatbread was ready to go in the oven, I texted this photo to make sure we were good to go:

Approved! Next came the actual photography and editing. I texted over a shot of my screen for approval once the image was edited :

Yay! The image is approved. Now, it goes on to the graphic designer, who arranges the image, text and graphics into a product design.

The final product package photo

And here it is! The final package design!

As a photographer, I am grateful that technology allows me to collaborate as a team with people in three different states. I’m also grateful to be working with a company that collaborates so well. An arrangement like this – swapping texts and sketches – only works when the parties have trust and respect for each other.

Is your brand ready for some photography? Contact me here.