During last week's New England Mail Order Association's spring conference, the session "A Collaborative View of Location Photography" - hosted by Paul Howell, principal of photography and images services studio Howell Ltd., and senior graphic designer for the Maine-based bedding mailer Cuddledown, Eric Graffam - discussed the benefits and setbacks of compositing photography, Multichannel Merchant writes.

Though it may be difficult to find and buy stock images that work, composting photos in a studio is cheaper and quicker than shooting on location. Also, studio photo shoots provide greater flexibility with scenery and more control over lighting.

According to Graffam, while Cuddledown does not know the exact total savings it gets from shooting catalog photos in a studio rather than on location, photography costs were reduced by half, and the number of reshoots dropped as well. Compositing the photos also allows the company to use backgrounds that fit all its styles.