There is a common myth about commercial photography: it is a genre like landscape, macro, and product. However, this could not be further from the truth. As someone who thinks like that, I’ve spent way too much time creating “commercial” work. What I should do instead is this.
By “this” I mean create personal work, work that speaks to you and works that you like. Maybe it’s scary to put yourself out there. I know this myself because I’ve spent my time doing what I think the client will enjoy. However, by doing this, I am simply copying other photographers and not myself. As a creator, you must eventually find your own true voice. Your voice is almost impossible to find if you try to suppress it and speak in a language that is not your mother tongue. In other words, in your job search, don’t forget who you are. Speaking from personal experience, I have earned more jobs by creating what is authentic to me than by copying others.
Commercial work: What is it?
The term “commercial” refers to an image concept used to promote a product or service. The images are created for commercial use only. Now, the party that decides which images will work for product sales is not the photographer; it was someone from the company. Simply assuming that a high-key photo with a white background is considered commercial is false.
The world of advertising changes with each campaign. The whole purpose of advertising is to sell a product in a unique and creative way. Imagine how much creativity it takes for one person to sell the same item from season to season. Giving a definition of what commercial photography is and isn’t will eventually make all commercial work boring. Ads are there to seduce you. Every new commercial campaign aims to show something new, even if it’s the same Whopper. It should look fresh and interesting.
Perhaps an example of commercial work is Balenciaga’s controversial as well as disappointing advertising campaign. Photographer Gabriele Galimberti, who was hired to do the shoot, was hired because of his famous flat style. For an audience advertising campaign, this is the perfect photographer. It’s unlikely they’ll hire someone else to copy Gabriele Galimberti for the campaign. While you don’t want to get caught up in the controversy surrounding Balenciaga, you should pay attention to the fact that the best advertising campaigns hire their employees based on their personal interests. In other words, the best campaigns hire photographers not because of their technical ability, but because of their view of the world.
Naturally, this took years to develop. See how you can progress and create an authentic work. Get ready for it to take at least a few years. However, the truth is that your portfolio is a constantly evolving organism and it never fully grows.
develop taste
One of the best ways to develop your personal interest is to stop looking at photography. Completely. Think of it like a bubble: each photographer looks at another, they copy, get inspired, and in the end, their work has the same result. This is counterproductive. Instead, you can try to bring something new by looking at mediums outside of photography. Visit your local gallery, go out for coffee with an artist, or look for something other than photography. For example, while I know what other photographers do, I’m not interested in breaking down their work by elements and trying to see what they’re doing. 
Instead, I’m interested in how artists working in different mediums see the world. For example, a fashion designer looks at a photo in a completely different way. The same can be said about painting. While a painter might look at how colors interact with each other, a photographer would look at facial expressions or lighting. Being a photographer sensitive not only to photography but also to art will do wonders in terms of how quickly your interests develop and how quickly you can create work that is both authentic to you, commercially viable.
Commercially viable but not commercial
Perhaps the reason people confuse advertising as a genre of photography and commercially viable work is because so many presenters on YouTube create what appears to be “advertising” but is in fact true. , has nothing to do with real advertising. Don’t get me wrong, I love to watch such videos and see the technique used and the final shot, but when it comes to a workable end result like an advertisement, that usually doesn’t happen.
For example, if you want to see an example of an ad for Twix, check out their website, don’t search YouTube. There will definitely be a recent ad created by their team. Then study this ad and find out what the project team is all about. Having done that, jot down the personal work the photographers have done. It’s more likely that their personal work resonated with the direction the client wanted to go, so that person was hired.
There is such a thing as commercially viable personal work. It represents work that can be used commercially. Getting to the basics, commercially viable simply means there’s a market for images. Pay attention to the person you’re trying to impress: is it your local camera club or the buyer of the artwork? There’s something that only other bands know. They write complex music that impresses musicians and no one else. Without going into musical analysis, I suspect that Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” is particularly famous for being a complex piece of music. However, it was a very commercially successful song. On the other hand, there is no recipe for a commercially successful song or photograph. Technically simple creations easily outperform complex photographs, but also vice versa. There is no such thing as a “commercial” lighting setup. If so, Elizaveta Porodina, like most photographers, will lose their jobs. Forget the boundaries of “commercial” settings and create work that is authentic to you.
Stop thinking
I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t write an article saying there is no such thing as commercial. Any image that is commercially viable can be commercial. Instead of focusing on creating a portfolio like you’ve done advertising before, focus on creating a portfolio that makes sense to you. Create a portfolio that is personal and speaks to who you are. For example, if you visit my website, you are more likely to see work from personal footage than from commercial works.
