What does commercial photography mainly include?

Commercial photography, as its name implies, refers to photography activities for commercial purposes. In a broad sense, it includes the production of all images used to sell goods, write events or introduce books, while in a narrow sense, commercial photography usually refers to advertising photography, not only because advertising photography plays an important role in it, but also because of its natural and strong commercial color.

At present, the common commercial photography has been divided into fine categories, such as full-time car photographers, people photographers, digital product photographers, cosmetics photographers and so on. , is an indispensable part of the fashion field.

Commercial photography, also known as commissioned photography, was despised in early years. However, as the backbone of applied photography, it has always inspired pioneers to make unremitting efforts to develop new technologies and broaden the artistic field.

In modern times, the cooperation between commercial photography and commercial photo library is a common mode. The photo library will entrust photographers to create photos of a certain theme or commercial photographers to upload their own photos on their own initiative and entrust the photo library to act as an agent. With the advent of the photography era, the role of commercial photography has become more and more prominent, and many commercial photography photo agencies have appeared in China, such as Oriental IC, IC Creative, and 8-unit photography network.

The scope of commercial photography is very wide, even in various industries, among which the most obvious are product photography, advertising photography, portrait photography, studio photography and other photography works with commercial value that need to be purchased, including aviation and space. Moreover, many freelance photographers sell photos as commodities, and many photo agencies sell the photos they buy to people in need.

Now that we know the scope of commercial photography, we should understand the differences between them and master their characteristics.

The photographic characteristics of products are mainly manifested in the photography with products as the main genre. Their photos are used in advertisements, commodities, catalogues, product brochures, pamphlets and similar publications. They are also used for packaging and decoration of posters and exhibition brochures, as well as packaging bags and boxes. The photos introducing the product must be clear and straightforward, and the color, shape, material and structure of the product should be reproduced. Photos used for promotion usually beautify products and give people a hint that they can provide tangible and intangible benefits, which are generally expressed by images.

Most products are photographed in the studio, because the lighting conditions in the studio are completely controllable, and some photos showing products are taken on the spot, for example, large products are not easy to move because they need a certain environment. Generally speaking, most of them are done indoors. Photographers of product photography always make a good design in advance, and then complete it according to the artistic guidance of design. Sometimes this design may be a sketch, or a wonderful picture, and then a comprehensive explanation draft. It should be said that product photography is only a kind of still life photography of the product itself. Product photography may use a variety of light sources, and the effect can be continuously tested. As for the quality of shooting, success or failure depends entirely on the photographer's level.

Advertising photography is a kind of photography aimed at conveying information, which is mainly used for commercial purposes. Together with the slogan of the theme manuscript, it constitutes the whole publicity advertisement. Advertising photography mainly developed in the 20th century. Black-and-white photos began to appear in advertisements in the early 20th century and were widely used in the 1920s. The characteristics of advertising photography are: showing products at a glance and promoting products with products. Advertising photography mainly lies in design style and ingenious creativity, and can achieve high-quality results by various means, that is, meet the needs of employers and customers. Because of the wide range and variety of advertisements, photographers often have expertise in certain aspects, such as taking photos of food, fashion and cars, and taking photos of mood and plot. It is often a combination of photographers and art directors to study the shooting plan. At present, most advertising photos are in color, and the shooting and application of color photos depend on the quality of photographers.

Portrait photography, portrait photography is one of the oldest photographic art forms. No matter what kind of portrait, from its form of expression, there are nothing more than two kinds: one is creative portrait photography, which focuses on posing, emphasizes freehand brushwork, deliberately uses light, and uses artificial light for lighting; The other kind is documentary portrait photography, which mostly captures or grabs photos in life, emphasizes realism, and the technique is natural and simple, and the picture content is more specific, using natural light or live light to shoot.

After the invention of photo studio photography and photography, photo studio appeared as a commercial operation of photography, mainly portrait photography. In order to meet the needs of social development, the modern studio industry has launched various forms of commercial projects, such as wedding photography, figure art photography, children art photography and so on. But in general, it is inseparable from beautifying people's photography.

Others sell pictures as commodities. Generally, we buy pictures that can be used as commodities first, and then sell them to people who need them purposefully. This is generally operated by photo agencies, and most of them are purchased from freelance photographers.

With the development of modern science and technology, especially the appearance of digital cameras and the rapid development of computers in recent years, it is possible to digitize portrait photography. Digital technology has been applied to commercial photography, which has achieved unprecedented results and brought people new feelings.