What is the difference between retail and commercial photography?

The quality of most commercial jobs is very high. The images have been retouched to perfection and you can select an incredible photo, called a “hero photo”, from an entire day of shooting to be used in an advertisement. Retail photography refers to photography created for the sole purpose of personal use. You'll see these types of photographs filling the walls and frames of people's homes, invitations or personal social media accounts.

These are usually professional photographs of your family, children and pets; portraits. These types of images are authorized for personal use, not for the cover article that appears in a magazine (editorial) or in an advertisement (commercial). commercial photography provides a worthy frame for images. This feature ensures that viewers don't stray from the focused product.

As a result, style, background and lighting have a neutral effect. Advertising photography, on the other hand, uses elegant, bold and ingenious framing techniques. He is a commercial photographer %26 Digital Artist specializing in product photography %26 Architectural Photography, based in the South Bend, Indiana area. This type of commercial photography is based on editorial photographs from restaurants or food magazines to make food look delicious and authentic.

The difference is that an editorial photographer's clients are usually magazines, media and other publications with the ultimate goal of telling a story. I would say that the retail segment arguably has a lower barrier to entry, so the quality of work and experience of a person running a photography business can vary dramatically. Unlike commercial and editorial photography companies that work in B2B, photographers who work in the retail segment work in a B2C (business-to-consumer) way. Whether the photograph is commissioned by a small company or a large global corporation, commercial images are ultimately created with the intention of making the end user of the images earn more money; that is, to obtain a return on investment for the use of photographs.

A commercial photographer cannot use dazzling light in the session because it can overwhelm the product. Commercial photographer clients can range from working with advertising agencies to product manufacturers, architectural firms and companies that sell services such as insurance or food delivery. I would say that the cross between segments is more common between commercial and publishing than between retail trade. But then again, understand that when I photograph people, I do it for commercial, editorial purposes, or simply for my own portfolio.

Commercial and publishing are similar in many ways, while retail is a completely different business model and target audience. As stated above, most photography companies focus only on one of three business segments or models: commercial, publishing or retail. Commercial photography is a type of photography that focuses on the particular product you're selling. Most, if not all, commercial photographers prefer indoor sessions to have more control over lighting settings and backgrounds.

A professional commercial photographer captures photos of models, buildings, artifacts, landscapes, and products. This category of commercial photography focuses on the architectural design or attractiveness of a retail store.

Laurie Cullins
Laurie Cullins

Hardcore internet guru. Typical web maven. Passionate food trailblazer. Wannabe web fan. Avid beer guru.