What sets a “commercial photographer” apart from other photographers?

Quality.

While my aim is to make every final photograph look simple, natural, and effortless — that’s rarely the fact.

A well executed photograph involves balancing many factors such as composition, lighting, styling, blending and retouching, it’s a lot of problem solving that comes with experience.

In addition, commercial photography involves collaboration with clients, art directors, marketing teams, and other professionals to bring their vision to life.

Yes.

While we always encourage your involvement, we are professionals and with a well thought out and detailed plan we can be left to do what we always do best.

Note: Even when a project is left to our team to make key art direction decisions, we may still request your feedback.

Typically, no.

ALL clients get a lifetime unlimited license to use the photos; ownership of the photos is based on client needs and budget.

Ultimately, it depends on the contract and agreement we make for your specific project.

More likely, you (the client) will have the rights to use the photos for your intended purposes, but we (the photographer) retain ownership and have the right to use them in our portfolio or for marketing purposes.

Experience.

Commercial photography, as with any specialty, requires its own unique set of skills, abilities and experience. From balancing light to working with perspective it takes years of training and practice to perfect all the nuances of commercial photography.

One of the key differences between a commercial photographer and other photographers, such as a real estate photographer, is their ability to capture images that effectively convey a message or tell a story that also matches the voice and tone of an existing brand.

Yes and yes.

I am licensed with the FAA, follow all airspace regulations, and carry full liability coverage for all commercial drone flights.

I also have experience with traditional helicopter-aerial projects for more specialized imagery or if we need to shoot from higher altitudes that are unavailable to drone based services.

2-4 weeks, ideally.

Commercial photography shoots can often take weeks of planning and preparation with very tight running schedules and deadlines. By providing as much advance notice as possible, we are better able to schedule and prepare for your shoot in a professional and reliable way.

Yes.

Smaller businesses pay less. Larger businesses pay more.

The scope of use is a major contributing factor in how creative work is priced; a small startup will have less reach than a global corporation and thus pays less to license the same work.

I price projects based on the creative and production needs, in combination with the specific use of the imagery. In other words, while a small business may not have the marketing or advertising budget to book models, props, and large scale venues, the deliverables I provide will still match the technical quality and expertise of a large big-budget corporate production.

If you have concerns about budgeting, contact me and we'll discuss possibilities.

One step at a time.

I have a simple 4 stage process, starting right here, based on the details you provide. (1) I’ll create an estimate tailored to your specific needs. (2) We schedule a pre-production meeting and arrange a location scout. (3) Take great photos, shoot awesome videos, and have some fun. Lastly, (4) Select final images/videos, retouch until perfect, and format for your specific use.

This entire process can often be achieved in as little as a fews days upon request but generally are delivered within 2 weeks, depending on the size and scope of the project. However, the only way to ensure a project is completed within a deadline and budget is to assess a full scope of work in as much detail as possible.

Visit my contact page to request a detailed estimate.

Yes, you're the producer, I'm the director.

You (or your coordinator) can be involved in each stage of the process, from pre-production to the photoshoot and into post-production. During the actual shooting/filming, media can be shown on a monitor in real time so we all know we’re going in the right direction.

For those who prefer a more hands-off approach, we can schedule virtual a conference call over Zoom or Google Meet to review art direction, creative, model usage, etc.

We make photos and videos.

We create photography and media of architecture spaces, food and beverage, product and retail, lifestyle and editorial and skilled drone/aerial coverage.