Los Angeles Product Photographer for Beauty, Skincare and Fragrance Brands

I'm Courtney Dailey, a Los Angeles product photographer and director. I shoot still life, e-commerce and campaign imagery for beauty, skincare and fragrance brands and the agencies behind them, for clients including Sephora, Kate Somerville and K18.

Beauty product photography is commercial still photography of cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and haircare products, made for brand and agency teams that need polished, campaign-ready imagery for e-commerce, retail, and advertising. It covers packaging, texture, and styled sets that show a formula, a finish, and a brand voice in a single frame. On this site you will find services for skincare, fragrance, and haircare, along with related work as a beauty product photographer and cosmetics photographer based in Los Angeles. If you are comparing a full campaign against a product-focused shoot, start with campaign vs. product photography, and see Photography Beauty for the wider portfolio.

What does a brand send to plan a product shoot?

The most useful starting point is a short brief: the products, the placements the imagery needs to fill, any mood board or references, and your deadlines. Send physical product samples, packaging specs or dielines, and any shot list you already have. If you do not have a shot list yet, one is built with you before the shoot as part of planning a beauty shoot, covering every SKU, angle, and crop the launch needs. Unfamiliar terms in a brief or estimate are defined in the beauty photography glossary.

What is delivered, and in which formats?

Shoot days run 8 to 10 hours and typically yield 10 to 15 styled product images per day, depending on styling and set complexity. After you make selections, retouched images are delivered within 7 to 10 calendar days. Deliverables include high-resolution retouched files ready for e-commerce, social, and advertising use, plus crops and aspect ratios for each placement, from square PDP frames to wide site banners. Licensing covers worldwide digital use in perpetuity, with print use negotiated separately. Formats can include aesthetic still life sets, texture and swatch imagery, and hero shots built for the top of a product page or ad, so one production fills every slot a launch needs.

How are stills and motion planned together?

Stills and motion are planned on one coordinated shot list so video and photography capture the same sets, lighting, and props in a single production. This is the efficient way to cover a launch, because the same styling serves both the campaign imagery and the product pages. For larger assortments, the plan follows the same sequencing used when coordinating photography across a multi-SKU beauty launch, so every product is covered without duplicate setups. The same approach applies to luxury skincare, where finish and detail matter most.

How much lead time does a product shoot need?

Plan on 3 to 4 weeks of lead time before the shoot date. That window allows proper planning and prop allocation, so sets, surfaces, and supporting elements are chosen for the products rather than improvised on the day. Rush timing can sometimes be accommodated, but the strongest product work comes from a brief that arrives with room to plan.

How much does product photographer in Los Angeles cost ?

Most beauty product shoots are quoted per project, based on the number of products, the number of final images and whether motion is included. Pricing starts at a $6,500 shoot-day rate. Typical team projects, which include production support, styling coordination, and motion planning, range from $10,000 to $30,000, excluding on-screen talent. Estimates are based on the shot list, the number of products, and the deliverables, so the brief you send shapes the quote you receive. You can send a brief at any stage, even a rough one, and the scope and estimate are refined together before anything is booked.

Where should a brand go next?

Browse the home page for recent work and service details, or send a brief to start a quote. A rough brief is enough to begin, and the shot list, scope, and estimate come together from there.