3D product rendering pack shots and hero stills without a photo shoot

Buyers often compare 3D rendering with product photography. Each suits different jobs. A render is the better choice when the product does not exist yet, when there are many colours, sizes or label versions to show, when the surface is glass, chrome or gloss plastic, or when you want a cutaway or an angle a camera cannot reach. A render can also be changed later without a reshoot.

A photograph is the better choice when the product is finished and in your hands, there are only a few items, and a plain background is all you need. It is also better for things that are hard to model truthfully: food, garments worn by a person, and handmade pieces where each one differs. We do not run photo shoots. If a photograph will serve you better, we say so. Our guide to AI vs CGI goes further into the choice of method.

Product CAD, the 3D design file your factory works from, is the most accurate starting point. Without it, we model from a sample or from photographs with measurements.

• Product CAD from your design or factory team, if it exists
• Or a product sample sent to the studio
• Or clear photographs from every side, with dimensions
• Label and packaging artwork, as the original files from your designer
• Colour references for each variant
• The list of images: angles, backgrounds, sizes and where each will be used
• Reference images for the look of the hero stills

3D product rendering is quoted per image, with the 3D model counted once. The cost of the model depends on how complex the product is. A bottle with a label is simple. A keyboard or a trolley bag with many parts takes longer. After that, a plain pack shot costs less than a hero still, because a hero still needs a set, props and its own lighting.

Extra colours and angles of the same product add little, because the model already exists. Send the product list and the number of images, and the quote states the images, the rounds of changes, the delivery size and the schedule. When you compare two quotations, check whether the model is charged separately and whether each variant is counted as a full image. The CGI ad cost guide explains the units for stills and for film.

AI image tools can put a product in a scene in seconds, but they redraw the product every time. The logo, the proportions and the label text drift from one image to the next. So the product itself is always modelled in 3D. For a pack that will be manufactured, realistic 3D product rendering has to start from an accurate model.

Where a lifestyle scene around the product helps, we direct that scene with AI and keep the modelled product in it.