In today’s digital age, you can get anything with just a click of a finger.
To make that happen a lot of skills are required. One of those skills is photography.
As people are leaning toward more creative professions, photography as a career has become more popular than ever.
There are many sub-categories in photography.
Commercial Photography is considered one of them.
so before we begin, let’s understand the basic meaning of commercial photography….
What is Commercial Photography?
Commercial Photography can be hard to define but can be roughly defined as a genre where you photograph a particular product, or someone supplying or receiving a service in a way that makes people want to buy it.
Commercial photography is considered a marketing tool that can enhance your selling potential.
It can showcase the best features of the product or services.
Photo by Mahbod Akhzami on Unsplash
Commercial photography further includes product photography, lifestyle photography, and even fashion photography.
However, depending on the client and the product or service being sold, it can also include architectural photography, food photography, and event photography.
These photographs can be used in countless ways.
They can be used on websites, on Instagram pages, on a billboard, in catalogs, in newspapers, and in many more ways.
now you know something about commercial photography, let me share some important tips.
which you must need to know as a photographer to earn some money using commercial photography..
Commercial Photography | Tips & Ways To Earn Some Real Money
As this genre of photography has a growing demand you can certainly think about expanding your resume and adding commercial photography.
Listed below are some tips that can help you do better at commercial photography.
1. Licenses
Licenses are a vital part of Commercial Photography.
These licenses help you know what rights are you giving away exactly when you sign a contract.
You need to know about all these licenses to be in the business of Commercial Photography.
Some of these licenses include usage, copyright, creative commons, approved uses, and many more.
These licenses can help you avoid any problems in the future.
These rights and licenses can tell you for how much time someone has the copyright,
who can use the picture, who does the picture belong to, etc.
2. Importance Of Lighting
To capture the pictures of the product more efficiently you need the appropriate lighting to give the product required attention.
Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash
It is the key to creating a successful and eye-catching image.
You can manipulate light to fall on a particular area of interest on the subject.
You can use various tools like a reflector or a diffuser to shape sunlight or bounce a flashlight with an area you’d prefer to highlight.
Understanding light in photography | Natural Vs Artificial Lights
You can also use a spotlight to have more control over the direction that the light will fall and how broad the light spans.
Using a diffuser can reduce glare and harshen the shadows and it can also diminish blemishes on your subject.
t can give artificial light softer and more natural-looking results.
3. Some Needed Equipment
To click successful pictures of the product you will need the right equipment.
The Camera is of course the most vital piece of equipment.
You should carefully choose a camera which you feel will work best for you.
Another important piece of equipment is a tripod.
No matter how steady you may feel that you can keep your hands steady while taking a shot, it will never be able to deliver the same stillness that a tripod can offer.
You can also use other pieces of equipment that you feel can benefit the quality of your pictures.
4. Use an Editing software
Once you are done with photography you can start editing the photographs.
No matter how satisfied you are with the original pictures, they will always need a little enhancement and retouching.
You can use software like Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom, or even a combination of them to retouch and manage the pictures.
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In today’s time, it is essential to have some high-level photo editing skills which can make your photographs stand out among others.
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You will also need a photo-editing that is suitable for both editing and developing photographs.
This will also help you save some time in the post-production process.
5. Transportation
Transportation can give you a safe place to store all your expensive equipment.
It can also give you a sense of professionalism that your clients expect from you.
Using transportation will also make it more convenient for you to travel to your shoots whether it be outdoors or indoors.
There are many transporting pieces of equipment out there in the market.
Some of this equipment includes backpacks, rolling cases, straps, holsters, hand trucks, and many more.
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6. Build your portfolio website
A portfolio website is an important part of commercial photography.
The portfolio website is essentially the face of your brand.
checkout my site
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You can put all the important information on your website for your customers to contact in case of an inquiry.
Your website can act as a digital brochure, sharing up-to-date information about your offerings, as well as a direct sales tool.
You can upload your pictures for the customers to see and decide about giving you the job.
Spend time selecting the pictures for your website. It is not important to show as much work as possible but to show your best work.
7. Understand the Product
The product is the main part of Commercial Photography.
It is necessary to understand the product if you want to be successful at Commercial Photography.
When you get to know your product better you can get a clear vision of what their goal is for their commercial images.
While talking to the client about the product you can also ask about the expectations.
This way you will be able to observe what the client expects from you and what kind of service the client will be needed.
This also includes the number of photos you will be delivered, the purpose of those pictures, the deadline for delivery, and the budget.
Asking the client questions will give you much-needed clarity on the product as well as the job.
This will make sure that you can go into the assignment with confidence and clarity.
Make Money Using Commercial Photography
A couple of my friends are really making some serious money by just doing commercial photography.
so if you’ve enough knowledge and understand about commercial photography then you can make money too.
my personal favorite method is to create a beautiful portfolio very first ( no matter on Instagram or your personal website).
and choose the product or topic you want to capture.
for the very first time, capture some outstanding images by yourself and post them online on social media platforms.
you can even tag the official account handler or mail them with your posts & at the end ask them to share some more products with you.
so using this way you can easily create some really good brand just using your social media platform or website.
If you’re starting all this stuff as a beginner then for now there’s no need for a portfolio, because quality content is a top priority here.
so if you’ve enough content then create your personal portfolio & do some marketing and that’s it.
you can even sell your photos on some stock photography websites.
if you’re getting some real audience then a youtube channel is also a good option.
where you can teach other users like how to do product photography and some behind-the-scenes footage…
i personally like these straightforward ways to make some money using Commercial Photography.
if you know some easier ways then please comment below, I’m pretty excited to try them out 🙂
Conclusion
One of the best parts about working as a photographer is you have a wide choice of fields you can try out depending on your skills, interests, and personality.
Commercial Photography is one of the popular and well-compensated types of photography you can pursue.
This type of photography also requires a lot of research and sufficient knowledge about the subject.
The knowledge and information can help you come up with more concepts for the photographs.
While taking the pictures you should create the best possible photos for your clients.
You should also ask the clients questions about where do they need to use the picture,
what is the goal. Being very clear on the goals of your client will help guide how you go about your shoot.
Before signing the contract you should first read it properly.
You should know what rights to your pictures are you getting and which of them are you losing.
This is to make sure you don’t have any problems later.
You should know about photo editing software and apps to make your work easier in the post-production process.
Editing today is a necessity as it can enhance the pictures and highlight the product in the pictures.
Some tips to improve commercial photography are also mentioned in the above article.
Have a good day 🙂
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