{"id":3553,"date":"2019-08-27T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pathedits.com\/blog\/getting-product-photos-on-the-cheap-how-cranium-care-outsourced-everything\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T06:20:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T05:20:51","slug":"getting-product-photos-on-the-cheap-how-cranium-care-outsourced-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pathedits.com\/blogs\/tips\/getting-product-photos-on-the-cheap-how-cranium-care-outsourced-everything","title":{"rendered":"Getting Product Photos on the Cheap: How Cranium Care Outsourced Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It all started as Melissa Stern and Adam Fitting’s idea to change the stigma around baldness. Since then, Comprehensive Cranium Care<\/a> has been featured in Men\u2019s Health<\/em> and SELF<\/em>. The #OwnYourDome movement can be seen all over social media. And they\u2019re still early in their trajectory \u2014 add this to your list of ecommerce brands to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how did the bald \u201chair\u201d care brand launch, and where do they get such great product photos? We asked, and this is what they shared with us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launching with a remote team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like many ecommerce businesses, the Cranium Care crew launch crew was lean but mighty, comprised of a group of remote contractors (plus Melissa and Adam) located all over the world. \u201cWe were living in Shanghai at the time,\u201d says Melissa. \u201cIt was a lot of late-night phone calls and trying to figure out times where we could get everybody on the phone together in different time zones. That was a little bit crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To put the team together, Melissa and Adam turned to their existing networks and connections. \u201cEveryone on that team is someone we kind of have a personal relationship with,\u201d Melissa says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She went to college with their copywriter, their art director is a close friend of the couple, and they pulled in a product photographer<\/a> also located in Shanghai at the time. \u201cThey’re all people that we know personally and pulled together,\u201d she says. \u201cThat helped a lot in terms of bringing everyone together and creating a sense of community and ownership over the projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Black\n\n\n\n

To keep the team on track, regular communication was key. \u201cWe had weekly calls with everybody on the team as much as possible, so everybody stayed on the same page and up-to-date, and we could share ideas and all of that,\u201d says Melissa. \u201cThen I would get on calls individually with people as needed in between.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each person had a clearly defined role, too. \u201cNone of them are full-time employees, but we\u2019ve worked very closely together \u2014 especially at the start to get everything in place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting product photos on a budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With a lean team and budget, Melissa, Adam and co. have to get creative but intentional in developing product photography<\/a>. \u201cA lot of our money is going towards product development and launching a couple of new products that we have in the works,\u201d says Melissa. Because of that, they need to be budget-conscious while also getting images that will contribute to their bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Cranium\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to balance [business development] with the fact that it\u2019s really important to us that we keep our branding really solid, and so we will find the money if we have to in order to use somebody who we are confident gets what we’re going for,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find that balance, Cranium Care uses a mix of 3D renders and lifestyle product photography. \u201cWe outsource the renders,\u201d says Melissa. \u201cFor lifestyle photos, we\u2019ve worked with a professional photographer and also use in-house photos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s mostly renders on our website,\u201d says Melissa. A 3D render is a digital graphic made on a computer that is made to look lifelike and replicate a product photography. They\u2019re cost-effective because you can easily outsource it and you don\u2019t need to find budget to coordinate an entire photoshoot \u2014 two main reasons Cranium Care uses them on their site and social media. \u201cHaving the renders done is probably less expensive than doing a custom photo shoot, and then all the work that needs to be done to touch them up after,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was intent on getting renders done,\u201d Adam says. \u201cI knew we would do product photography, but I wanted that to be situational. I thought renders would be a lot more versatile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Cranium\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get a really nice photograph without a professional setup,\u201d says Melissa. \u201cThe renders are just flawless. They\u2019re so easy to work with for other things<\/a>, so they\u2019re super multi-purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melissa says renders have been invaluable for repurposing for various uses. It\u2019s easy to swap out backgrounds<\/a> and give the shot an entirely new aesthetic. \u201cSomeone who\u2019s good with Photoshop can take those and put them in any context, so they\u2019ve been a really great resource,\u201d she says. \u201cThey have paid for themselves easily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Comprehensive Cranium Care\u00ae (@cranium.care)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n