Commercial

If there was one thing I wanted to know when I first became interested in shooting editorials, it was "How do I do this?" That seems like a broad question, and it is, but it goes to show what a mysterious subject this was for me. I wanted to know how to get started, and what steps I should take. In this article, I would like to pull back the curtain a bit for people who are interested in getting into editorial work and share what steps I go through to conceptualize, build a team, schedule, and shoot a fashion editorial.

As a professional wedding photographer, I spend a lot of time with people in front of my camera. But because I grew up racing motocross and driving fast cars, I have always been intrigued by automotive photography. So when I was asked by a friend of mine if I wanted to help shoot a 80s-styled cafe racer motorcycle, I jumped at the opportunity. Add to this that the shoot was going to be inside of an arcade filled with old-school machines, and this shoot sounded like one amazing time.

As part of a commitment to expand my portfolio in 2017 with work that showcase a broader understanding of concept and light, I decided to plan a shoot centered around a vintage travel theme. After weeks of planning the style, location, and overall shots I wanted to take away, I finally had the opportunity to execute the shoot yesterday and I’d like to share the results as inspiration for any interested readers.

I am always on the hunt for new stock images to incorporate into my photography and find that stock enhances my photography business in several ways. Stock provides me with the ability to incorporate different locations and textures into my images that I am not able to easily shoot. As a result, I have not only seen improvements in my own work, I have also gained an eye for spotting opportunities to take extra images to sell.

Mannequin poses in fashion e-commerce photography is now a thing of the past. Fact. Fashion website brands are now dominated by a hybrid style of photography that mixes editorial influences whilst satisfying the desire of the customer to view garments before purchase. We go behind-the-scenes with British fashion photographer Luke Ayling as he shoots 40 looks for The Sports Edit in one day.

Have you thought about trying your hand at product photography? Most of us see it in some form or fashion everyday. Some people might not give it much thought when they look at the products in the photo. A great photo will help tell the story of the product, so where would you start if you wanted to try it yourself?

There's something that isn't really talked about among the freelance photographers that I know, or at least not something that I hear about often. It's a small truth that nags at us all the time until we really, really get to where we want to be in our career, and sometimes even after that. And sometimes it involves bread.

Meeting face-to-face with a potential client is the best way to introduce them to your work. Here are just a few helpful tips to help you turn that handshake into a profitable relationship.

Have you been booked or plan on shooting a large group for their company team photo? Not sure what you need to do or even how to start? Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens is back with another video with some of his tips on how he shoots his corporate group portrait photos.

One of Billboard magazine’s latest covers – featuring former Fifth Harmony babe Camila Cabello – was recently shot quite infamously using the portrait mode on an iPhone 7. The spread itself was shot using both the iPhone and a DSLR. What does all of this mean for our ever-changing industry? Should we be worried? I chatted to commercial photographer Jay Mawson, who has shot campaigns for Nike and Adidas, to gather his perspective on all of this.

There are many instances where I’m working on site and I need to adjust camera position while on a tripod. From interiors and architecture, food and product photography, often a tripod alone can’t provide the convenience or flexibility I need to get a job done quickly. In other situations where space is limited, my gear needs to occupy as small of a footprint as possible while shooting tethered. That’s where the Tether Tools T Setup and Tether Table Aero Traveler comes in.

We live in a world constantly fascinated by technology. We want the TV with the greatest definition. We want the tablet with the shiniest screen. And, as photographers, we always want the most expensive gear and the most elaborate new toys. But the more you grow as an artist, you'll quickly realize it's the man that makes the equipment, not the equipment that makes the man (or woman).

Splash photography is an art unto itself, and this is no exception. Shooting an ad campaign for Peet's Coffee, Commercial Photographer Bill Cahill walks us through his process on the "hottest set" he's ever been on.

Once again, Vanity Fair teamed up with Mark Seliger to produce iconic photographs of Hollywood stars in a custom-built portrait studio at the 2017 Oscars. The portraits are definitely great, but we as photographers always seek to find the secrets of the masters, such as lighting, camera settings, posing, post-processing, etc. Seliger did the job in four steps. If you follow these steps, it will guarantee you a similar career.

A little over a year ago I had the opportunity to do my very first celebrity photo shoot with Grammy Award-winner Fatman Scoop at my studio in New Jersey. He had posted on Instagram that he was looking for photographers and videographers to collaborate with. Thinking I had nothing to lose I submitted a brief email expressing my interest and directing him to my website to review my work and to reply back if he liked my work. To my surprise, I received a response a couple of days later asking to schedule a date to shoot!

We at Fstoppers have always been big fans of the incredible photographers and retouchers who form Retouching Academy. The talent and educational knowledge of Julia Kuzmenko McKim has been shown in our 2015 Fstoppers workshop, through many posts on Fstoppers and Retouching Academy, and is condensed in her Studio Beauty photography tutorial. Now, another instructor at Retouching Academy is stepping up to bring more invaluable information to the community. Michael Woloszynowicz presents the newest tutorials from RA with an in depth look at the process of Dodge and Burn as well as Color Grading.

I started my journey in photography back in 2011. Since then, there are only a handful of photographers that I have really paid attention to in terms of actively keeping up with their work. One of those photographers is Commercial Photographer Dave Hill. His work has taken a more drastic turn in just a few years than any photographer that I’ve followed. That’s one of many reasons that I reached out to Hill to chat about his work and photography.

Following recent reports of their severe financial difficulties — and with them, the cancelation of a new line of premium compact cameras — Nikon announced to Japanese press new plans moving forward.

I've been shooting corporate jobs since about 2010. At first, it was a little rocky. I didn't really know what I was doing, I hadn't shot enough with other photographers to learn the ropes, and I was just a self-taught photographer trying to make ends meet. Fast forward to 2017, and I'm shooting high-profile executives at Fortune 500 companies, and am expected to do it quickly. I'm shooting luncheons where half of the attendees flew in from another hemisphere on their private jets, and am expected to do it quietly. And well. So, here are a few quick tips for people who are just starting out in the freelance corporate photography world.

A while back, while on a shoot for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art here in Northwest Arkansas, I was asked to get a shot of the museum’s executive chef and the Director of Culinary for their members magazine. Time was short, the kitchen was starting to prep for dinner service, and every second I was there I was inconveniencing someone. I had to get in and out quickly and create a dynamic image in the process. Here’s how it happened.

Shooting a beauty video is not quite the same as shooting beauty portraits. While in still photography there is a single frame, in video you can use the power of the moving image to tell a superior story. Here are three cool techniques that help to create this beauty video clip all in camera.

Does the world of advertising suffer from a lack of diversity? One photographer certainly thinks so, and to highlight the issue, has faithfully recreated some of the best known advertising campaigns of recent years to imagine what they would look like with a black model instead of the white models predominately used within the industry. Entitled "Black Mirror," the project is the work of Los Angeles-based photographer Raffael Dickreuter and his girlfriend, model Deddeh Howard. Dickreuter believes it was being part of an interracial couple which first opened his eyes to the lack of diversity in the photography of many of the world’s leading brands.

Nikon has teamed up with sports photographer Tom Miles and world champion martial artist Tom "Fire Kid" Duquesnoy for its new #MomentOfImpact campaign – which largely involves epic action photos of the latter smashing watermelons, cakes, and pumpkins. Check out the intense photo series here, and learn more about how it was lit and executed.

Earlier in the year, I reported on a photography service that was offering tourists the chance to summon a professional photographer through an app — essentially the photo-equivalent of Uber. Reaction to the concept was mixed, although there's clearly potential in the idea, as 500px has just taken things up a notch with "500px for Business," their newly-announced series of photography on-demand services.

The New York Times published a video about photographer Philip Toledano's fear of growing old. Philip decided to grow old as many times as possible. Joshua Seftel produced the short film by following Phillip's process of "seeing" himself ageing, and even dying.

I never really used to take photos on my phone; in fact, I used to be really against it because I never thought the camera was good enough to capture what I wanted. Of course, it's great to always have a camera on you so you can take a photo, which makes the smartphone one of the best tools around. With today's technology, these cameras just keep getting better, and I am finally beginning to use my phone's camera just to work on my composition and angles when I see something of interest.

Do you ever have trouble talking with your subjects during a shoot? Not sure what to say to them to get that perfect facial expression? No need to worry, Peter Hurley is here with "Hurleyisms."

While there are many insurance companies that are out there for photographers and drone pilots, Verifly is the first drone liability insurance company that protects pilots and allows them to pay on demand. I recently interviewed Verifly CEO Jay Bregman to find out more about his new company and what they are doing to help drone pilots all around the country. One of the first things you will see about Verifly is that they cover up to $1,000,000 in liability within a flight radius of a quarter of a mile with any drone under 15 pounds. All operators have to do is select their area, after which they are instantly approved and provided with on-the-spot insurance to fly and proof of coverage to show to anyone who needs to see it.

If you’re interested in shooting production sets, like with fashion photography, you’re going to need to build a team beyond yourself. The truth of the matter is that your success will depend on who you know and what they can do for you. As blatant as that sounds, it’s the nitty-gritty truth about building a team.

Having a recognizable style helps you get hired for the right job. So how do you develop your style? The truth is that it’s not that difficult, but it does require consistency and patience. In this post, we’ll be looking at some practical ways to develop your style.

As an aspiring photographer, it eventually becomes obvious that likes on Facebook or comments such as “Beautiful work Kiddo!” from your mother aren’t exactly providing an objective evaluation of your talent. Constructive feedback from others in your field is something that everyone can benefit from at times, even as a professional. The problem is, most of us don’t take criticism very well especially when it comes to something we’ve poured our heart into and may actually love on a personal level.

As a music video filmmaker, the juggling of tight budgets is a regular occurrence. Emerging artists often survive on a shoestring, so commissioning a music video director for their latest release is often their largest cost in their marketing campaign. Once a concept is decided, it then becomes my job to provide high production value for my client. Using one of my latest projects, "Youth Club - Sorry," as an example, here are the four secrets that will help create compelling music videos.

If you take a look back at Ikea's marketing catalog used to showcase their new products and looks for the season, there was a time where they decided to use images displaying only the products and Ikea-styled sets with no human intervention or interaction. At one stage these images were computer generated and rendered to make a simulated environment look as perfect and clinical as possible.

When you think of photographing jets above rising cityscapes, some of you may think initially of a "Mission Impossible" type of situation: a daring photographer in a flight suit and goggles strapped to the back of a military-looking plane with the cargo ramp down, snapping off shots as they fly through the air. Sure, it's been done, maybe not to that extreme, but you get the gist. However, Dallas-based Automotive Photographer Pepper Yandell shows you his trick to getting those picture-perfect photos, and it's much less dangerous and extreme than what you may have first thought.

Fstoppers has worked hard to bring you valuable educational content from incredible photographers like Peter Hurley, Mike Kelley, Dylan Patrick, Elia Locardi, and Joey Wright. Now we're asking for your help! We at Fstoppers are preparing to create our next premium photography tutorial which will probably cost around $300. We would like to know from the Fstoppers community which genres we should focus on and who it should be with. Would you take a quick one minute survey to help us out?

I haven't been writing very much lately, but when Swedish Commercial Photographer Erik Johansson hit me with an email about his recent creation, I had to stop and take notice. And I'm not the only one. For the third chapter of their miniseries, "Human Made Stories," Volvo (in partnership with Sky Atlantic) spent three days this summer documenting Erik's process as he breathed life into his latest piece, "Wake Up." Volvo's miniseries features defiant pioneers who inspire, do things differently, challenge conventions, and blaze their own trail. Yup, that sounds like Erik to me.

When I first started photography at 15 years old, I didn’t know anything about organizing a team. I would bribe my younger sister into being my model for the afternoon, pulling clothing from her wardrobe and doing the makeup (really badly) myself. I was worlds away from the average fashion photography set, which typically involves a team of agency represented models, a professional make up artist, hair stylist, set designer, wardrobe stylist, and assistants. This is how I conducted my photoshoots for years, and after a while I realized that I needed to expand.

Four years ago we filmed Where Art Meets Architecture: How To Photograph Real Estate, Architecture and Interiors Tutorial, and it has been the most successful tutorial Fstoppers has ever produced. We've teamed up with Mike Kelley again to produce Where Art Meets Architecture 2: How To Photograph Luxury Homes and Advanced Photoshop Techniques, and it's available now.

When shooting catalog images of product it is very important to have consistency throughout the project. Oftentimes a single product might have several versions and each has to be shot separately. Since we want to ensure a consistent look for our clients we have to make sure the product lines up perfectly from shot to shot across all versions. Here is how I personally tackle that for tabletop images.

How do you commemorate the opening of the third tallest building in the United States and the tallest residential building in the world? With an epic photo shoot, of course. Model and Dancer VikTory took to the sky to pose for this amazing set of photos that duly capture the scope of the building.

It's about time for a new approach. There are a few online stores and stock libraries where you can get templates, videos, and music that help you save time when creating professional videos. Some of them can get really tricky when dealing with prices and licensing.

As most of us know, those who would like to fly for commercial use (any flying where the pilot will be paid) must now pass a test from the FAA and score 70% or over to fly legally. Now, I am a few days into studying for the test and realize that there is really a decent amount to know.

Style is one of the most important aspects of fashion photography. Having a consistent portfolio of images that reflects who you are and your creative vision is really important when it comes to clients viewing your work. Many fashion photographers, including myself, have struggled with making their work stand out from the crowd. Here are a few tips from what I have learned about finding your style and visual voice as a photographer.

Photographers Kristina Sherk and Chris Crumley have been a dynamic pair for years with their underwater photography. Crumley's shots of Sherk's mermaid modeling have gone viral around the world. However, Sherk decided to take on a new endeavor and create her own underwater art.

Whether you’re selling a product, an idea, or simply reminding a generation that your brand is still relevant, it’s no secret that great advertising sells. Though traditional media channel consumption and distribution have changed over the years, one thing remains consistent: great concept plus production value equals great advertising.

When the top of the line car manufacturers look for people to call on in order to craft their new marketing materials for the newest and most technologically advanced cars off their assembly floor, they reach out to people like Richard Thompson, and that's exactly what Pagani Automobili did, for their newest and most advanced automobile yet.

Despite being one of the best jobs in the world, photography and retouching are both technical processes in which you usually deal with some problems and find solutions afterwards. Every shoot is a different problem to be solved, and mostly, this is the fun part of this job. But sometimes, you have to be prepared when dealing with large amounts of photos with a tight deadline. So, here are some tips for fast-paced workflows for a commercial photo shoot.

There are certain images that have become so ingrained in our psyches, they are almost dismissed outright. If you've ever been in a bookstore, browsing the photography section, you've seen the docile faces of the Weimaraners of William Wegman. The images are always clean, crisp, and have become immensely popular in the last 20 years, gracing coffee tables and calendars alike. The temptation to dismiss them as commercial drivel is strong. But that would be a mistake!

If you are a member of the United States and you own a drone, you know that some rules were made. Thankfully these rules didn’t kill us, they didn’t stop us from flying for commercial use, but they did give us a reasonable way to deal with drones in all kinds of different situations.