WHO IS FRIENDLY SHOES AND WHY GET PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY
When Friendly Shoes needed Product Photography for their latest launch, they knew that they could rely on Bauman Photographers and their product photography to actively show off how their shoes are accessible for anyone, including those with motility issues, while also being fashionable for the discerning customer.
Friendly Shoes is a company that aims to bridge the oft-neglected gap between accessibility and style in footwear, while also creating shoes that make their customers feel AND look good. Started by an occupational therapist who describes himself as a shoe lover, Joseph DiFrancisco (MS OT/L) sought to find ways to make his clients and others feel like they had more options than were available to them and that matched their own style. Many with motility issues struggle with putting their shoes on, whether it be tying laces or pulling them on, and Friendly Shoes seeks to eliminate that problem by offering a patented easy zipper system and patented insoles to help their customers have an easy time getting their shoes on and off.
Over the past few years since its founding, the company has expanded to various countries and does most of its business online, so Friendly Shoes needed product photography that both reflected the utility of their products and their style. Since shopping for kids can be difficult and the children who would be purchasing this line of product would be unable to look in the store and pick out or try on their shoes, they wanted to make sure that the photographer could capture the vivid colors and patterns that would catch the customer’s eye.
CHOOSING RELIABLE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY: CHOOSING BAUMAN PHOTOGRAPHERS
For product photography, Bauman Photographers offers a variety of options for our clients; for this customer, we did custom retouching on each shoe and clipping paths so the shoe could be transferred seamlessly to a crisp, white background for their online store. In order to give the most natural appearance, we made sure to add natural shadowing to give the shoes depth. As Friendly Shoes’ requests for product photography would be displayed online, or in any magazines that they would sell in, we wanted to highlight the various accessible factors that they offered, including showing how the shoe looks when opened. In order to capture this and make it appear most realistic, we took a photo of the shoe clamped open, and then a photo of the shoe naturally. By compositing the second shoe onto the clamped shoe, we would be able to display the accessibility of the product without needing a model. We made sure to edit the shoes so they would both pop against a webpage or physical page with no dust and spots, and so the ideal customer– a parent and child– would be sure to notice the brightly colored and patterned shoes, and be drawn towards the product.
We’re so thrilled that we got a chance to work with such an amazing and inclusive company such as Friendly Shoes, especially one that offers products that cater to children and allow them to get the same fun shoes as their friends at school! Whether you’re a child or adult, if you want shoes that are both accessible and fashionable streetwear, we recommend you look into purchasing a pair of Friendly Shoes!
