John Early

John Early Productions | Lake Forest, California, USA

info[at]johnearly.com | +1 (949) 770-0770

Q&A with John

How did you get into taking pictures for a living?

I first became interested in photography when my parents entrusted me with the family SLR on a family vacation when I was 11. I fell in love with photography, especially landscape. In high school, even though I was on track to be an engineer like my dad, my interest in photography grew more and more until much to my parent’s dismay I decided to go to photo school and make it my career.

Tell me about your 360º photography studio setup! For starters, what kind of camera do you shoot with?

My crew and I shoot with many different cameras, depending upon what the job calls for, but we primarily shoot Canon HDLSRs for ease of use and fantastic image quality. Our studio is conveniently located in a business park in Lake Forest, CA and has approx. 1200 square feet of shooting area, as well as about 700 square feet of office/client area.

What type of products are you particularly good at creating 360º views of? Do you have a specialty?

We’ve shot 360s of items as small as jewelry all the way up to automobiles. Our heritage and most experience is shooting 360 degree views of cars. We feel if we can shoot 360s of reflective sheet metal (cars), we can shoot 360s of just about anything.

Describe your ideal client for shooting a 360º view.

Our heritage is shooting with top ad agencies and national brands and clients and we’ve done that for nearly 20 years. That said, we love to work with small to medium size companies, often client direct, with decent budgets where the folks involved tend to be more directly connected to their products and motivated to collaborate with us and ensure their success. We love working hard to make our clients succeed and look good!

For 360º photography, do you prefer shooting in high volume or low volume?

Our emphasis has always been on quality and consistency. So we prefer shooting low to medium volume so we can have time to craft your 360 and lighting to make it the best it can be.

What kind of things do you do for fun? You know, outside of work?

Outside of work I like to spend my time having fun with my kids, or one of my two passions mountain biking and craft beer homebrewing and tasting.

Who are some clients you’ve done work with in the past?

Clients include: Acura, Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, Proctor & Gamble, Line6, Corio, HyperIce, Revel Water, Toyo Tires The Brüery and Cismontane Brewing.

How does your pricing work for 360º product photography?

This is the #1 question we get and our answer is always the same, “We quote each project on an individual basis based on the specific needs and requirements of each project.” There are so many variables that affect a shoot, depending on the project complexity, number of shots and turnaround time required, etc that we don’t quote hourly or daily rates. That said I’d say we average about $150-$250 hour for most 360 non-automotive shoots. We understand that every client’s budget is different, so we strive to find a win-win solution for every job.

What’s a memorable project you’ve worked on in the past?

We once shot a Toyota Truck in the studio that had to be filled with water, so a waterfall would be coming out the opened drivers door and emptying into a “lake” that the truck was sitting in. That was quite a memorable shoot!

What’s the best way for someone to get in touch with you?

Email is probably the best way to initially reach out to me. Then we can continue the discussion via email or phone, whatever is best for you. Or if you’d prefer you can call us at the studio and if we’re not there, you can leave a message and we will be paged.

Contact John