Today we’d like to introduce you to Tong Jiao.
Tong, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was working for a home furnishing company in New York. The company was planning to convert more sale online to instead of traditional retails and wholesales. Product photographs became a major factor before starting to sell online.
The company had changed 4 photographers before I joined the company, and no one can make a productive workflow for product photographs. The company has a big volume product waiting to be shot. After I joined, I started to repurchase right photography equipment, build new workflow, photo management and build new studios. The new product photography department can produce thousands of photos every year to the company and the company online sales boosted significantly.
In 2013, my family moved to Boston, and I started my product photography business. I wish my product photography workflow can help more business owners to increase their sales.
Has it been a smooth road?
It was a very bumpy road 🙂
I was living in New York about 10 years, because of the family reason, I moved to Boston in 2013. Boston was a totally new place and I lost all connections. Starting a new business without any connection is very difficult especially b2b type business.
I have strong confidence of my product photography workflow and believe it will benefit more business owners. The reality was I need to keep survive, otherwise, I can’t get more chance to promote my product photography. I started to shoot real estate properties and event for a while. In that moment, I can build my studio and get more connections. It was bumpy but worth it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Pencil One is a full-service commercial photography studio committed to making your products look great. We have in-house experts for every stage of product photography: styling, setup, lighting, shooting, editing, retouching, and formatting. We know that you need your product photos to look great and you need them fast. Our systematic product photography workflow is a revolution. We are able to shoot beautiful product photos at the cost low and faster turnaround.
Now, you can find our photos on over 30 e-commerce platforms and media. All Flash-Sales sites accept our photos such as Costco, Bed Bath& Beyond, Wayfair, Target, Home Depot, Martha Stewart, New York Times, ELLE and etc.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Boston is a great place to start a business. There are 2 reasons.
1. There are plenty great colleges in this city. We can find plenty talents and with passion.
2. There are plenty great companies in this city. We can do business with them and learn how to run a business successfully.
If Boston has a better commute system, I am sure it will help all business owners!
Contact Info:
- Address: 275 Centre St. Unit 17, Holbrook, MA 02343
- Website: www.pencilone.com
- Phone: 781-561-9787
- Email: tong.j@pencilone.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pencilone_product_photography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pencilone/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pencilone1
Image Credit:
PENCIL ONE Inc.
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