The Real Cost of Product Photography: What We Learned When We Did the Math
We decided to break down the actual time and money involved in getting product images, something every CPG brand needs but rarely talks about openly.
Using a vitamin supplement as our example, we compared the traditional photo shoot route with newer 3D rendering options to see what the real differences look like.
Why Getting Product Photos Is More Complicated Than It Should Be
Picture this scenario (which probably sounds familiar): You're launching a new vitamin line, and you need product photos. Something that should be simple enough isn’t quite so easy when looked at with a fine-toothed comb.
First, you need physical samples from manufacturing, which involves a week of waiting and a few hundred dollars. Then you're booking studio time around everyone else's schedule, coordinating with photographers, and hoping nothing goes wrong.
If your packaging design changes even slightly after the shoot, you're basically starting over.
Image Delays Can Impact Everything Else
Here's what we learned about the domino effect of photography delays: this “simple” process can have the power to derail your entire strategy.
Missing seasonal windows costs real money. Having inconsistent images across Amazon, your website, and retail partners makes your brand look less professional than it is.
Perhaps most frustrating is losing the ability to be agile. When you can't quickly test different visual approaches or respond to market feedback because you're locked into expensive, time-consuming photo processes, you're essentially handicapping your marketing efforts.
The Numbers: Traditional vs. Digital (Using Real Examples)
We decided to track every cost and hour involved in both approaches for creating images of a standard vitamin bottle. Here's what we found:
Traditional Photography Route:
Getting physical samples made and shipped: 5-7 days, $200-400
Studio rental and photographer: $800-1,200 per session
Editing and post-production: 3-5 days, $300-500
Total timeline: 10-14 days
Total cost: $1,300-2,100
3D Rendering Route (via platforms like Packely):
Upload your packaging artwork and a few reference photos: 30 minutes
Receive photorealistic renders: 48 hours
Images ready for all your channels: Immediate
Total timeline: 2 days
Total cost: $400-600
The difference was more dramatic than we expected: about 70% less expensive and 80% faster.
What This Actually Means for Your Day-to-Day Work
Beyond the obvious time and cost savings, the digital approach changed how teams could actually work. No more waiting for samples to arrive, and no more rescheduling launches because the photographer had a conflict.
When packaging designs need tweaks (which happens more often than anyone likes to admit), new images can be ready in the same 48-hour window instead of starting the whole process over.
The quality question came up frequently in our research. The 3D renders we examined were genuinely difficult to distinguish from traditional photography, without any concerns about looking "digital" or artificial.
So, Now What?
This breakdown isn't meant to suggest that 3D rendering is right for every situation or every brand. Traditional photography will always have its place, especially for lifestyle shots, or brands where the physical texture and materiality of products are central parts of the story.
But for straightforward product shots, which are the bread and butter images you need for basic marketing materials, the economics have shifted dramatically.
The question isn't whether digital alternatives can match traditional quality anymore (they can), but whether the time and cost savings make sense for your specific situation.
If you're launching frequently, managing multiple SKUs, or finding that image creation is consistently slowing down your go-to-market timeline, it's certainly worth running your own numbers on both approaches.
