The Power of Collaboration
Why a Strong Creative Team is Crucial for Success
The key to a successful product photography shoot requires the collaboration and effort of many different individuals who come together in various roles that ensure each product photography shoot is successful.
These roles include product stylists, art directors, photographers, and retouchers. Without each of these individuals playing their part, it can cause the end result to suffer. So, today, I’m sharing why I believe team collaboration is so important, and how it can set you up for success and help others on their journey to an efficient product photo shoot.
Photography by: Alex Kapustin Styling: Dana Kapustin shot at: RIG STUDIO LA
1. First thing to consider is the importance of each person’s unique role and understanding first and foremost that everyone brings unique experiences, expertise and skills to set. It’s why they’re hired for that specific role. But that doesn’t mean that each role can’t learn from one another.
2. Which brings me to the impact of Team Collaboration: great teams know that collaboration allows each member to contribute their expertise to the shoot in a specific way, resulting in a more well-rounded and effective final product. It also leads to better problem-solving which can lead to more creative solutions and better outcomes in the end. I know, I’ve seen this firsthand for myself on-set. There’s an energy when we all work together for a unified idea and concept.
4. Consistency: It’s important to be consistent when it comes to who you choose to collaborate with and how. This is NOT to say don’t work or collaborate with new individuals, there’s an entire post I could write about, that just focuses on working with new creatives, but there’s a certain special synergy that happens when you get to work with the same individuals on-set, on a regular basis. Consistent collaboration ensures that everyone is working towards the same vision and goals, resulting in a more consistent final product/image.
5. Efficiency: Working as a team allows for the workload to be divided and delegated, resulting in a more efficient workflow and faster turnaround times. We use this strategy on-set all the time. Divide and conquer, especially if we know someone might be quicker at rigging a product, or setting up a background/surface, vs. swatching product. It’s how and why, I believe, we’re so effective at delivering multiple high-end images for a client with vast concept swings in any given single shoot.
Photography by: Alex Kapustin Styling By: Dana Kapustin Shot at: Rig Studio LA Assistans: Kevin R. Kearney T.
It’s funny these days so many people pride themselves on being able to wear many different hats. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for that, as we all know the saying, two heads are better than one. However, as creatives, I think it’s also imperative to never underestimate the importance of working as a team; by doing so, product stylists, art directors, photographers, and other team members can create stunning product photography that effectively communicates a brand's message and showcases their products in the best possible light and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters in the end.