Commercial Photographer?
As a commercial photographer a question that comes up for me often is:
“What makes a Photographer commercial?”
A lot of people assume that if you are paid for taking photos then you are a “Commercial Photographer”. This is not entirely correct. If you take photos for a friend’s party or event and they pay you to do so, then this is generally recognised as “Commissioned” photography.
A commercial photographer will usually be given a brief and direction to take photos that will be used in a range of scenarios to produce money directly or indirectly for a company, business or individual. For example:
• Print ads in newspapers, billboards and in magazines
• Promotional Posters for products or companies
• Packaging, including labels, boxes, bags
• Product catalogues
• Business signage
• Website banners and graphics
• Company blogs
• Digital catalogues and services
• Business collateral
• Trade show stands
• Annual reports
• Social Media promotion and digital ads; etc.
“Is an Industrial Photographer a Commercial Photographer?”
Most of the time the answer is yes, an Industrial Photographer will usually be working for a company or business that has provided a brief to take images of an industrial setting or product. These images are usually destined for use in promotional pieces such as many of the instances outlined above like billboards, annual reports or print ads for example.
There are instances where an industrial photographer will be called upon to document a scenario that may not be destined for commercial use or gain. An example of this may be rehabilitation of mined land for archival or reference use internally or for proof of works to say Government representatives.
In this instance it is not considered “commercial” but commissioned photography. This doesn’t mean that the photographer isn’t a commercial industrial photographer but simply means in this instance it was not for commercial use.
A good example of a photographer that is not a commercial photographer is a Wedding” photographer. Although a wedding photographer is paid for their service, the images are not usually destined for commercial gain by the wedding couple.
What about holiday snaps?
If you take a bunch of photos on your holidays for personal use and later down the track somebody sees your amazing images and offers to purchase them, does this make you a commercial photographer? Technically speaking if the purchase is for financial gain such as use in a print ad promoting the business, then the image has been sold for commercial use. It doesn’t then mean you are now a “Commercial Photographer” per se.
Keep in mind there is a lot more to setting yourself up as a professional photographer including a business registration and name and all the rest of the tax setup and requirements asked of Government to operate as a commercially viable business. On top of those technicalities there is the training and understanding of briefs and what is required to create imagery that is of professional quality. Much of this comes from training but a majority comes from experience.
This is where I impress on businesses to do the research and due diligence when looking to engage a professional photographer regardless of their speciality and find the person who has the experience and ability to deliver quality imagery according to the brief.
If you would like to engage a professional photographer in Brisbane or for that matter anywhere in Australia, let’s have a chat and see if we are a good fit. You can contact me here or call, Dave Wicks on 0414 464 571.
Pop on over to have a look at my portfolio while you are here.
Dave::
“The Industrial Photographer”
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