Introduction

Commercial Photography
Commercial photography is a photography that is used to help sell, advertise or
market a product, services or persons. All those photographs that you see in magazines,
online publications, billboard, CD covers or posters are under commercial photography.
Commercial photography also extends to the real estate business. For an example,
when you sell your home you want the photos to represent the romance of living there. You
are trying to convince buyers that your home is their dream home, so the photographer will
set the scene and take the photos to best enhance the features of the place.
All of these photographs are taken by commercial photographer who is helping
people promote and sell their business. They help market businesses. Commercial
photographers take photographs that will help people reach whatever goal that it is that
businesses and companies envision. In commercial photography, the product must be king.
It must appeal to potential buyers and the expert photographer knows how to do exactly that.

There are 9 techniques of commercial photography can be used to develop the

products and services of your business. Retailers, whether catalogue or on-line, must
understand the importance of uploading attractive photographs of their products and
services to promote their business.
An attractive quality image always catches the attention of the customer's eye and convinces
him to buy your product. The influence a good quality image of a product has on the
customer cannot be undervalued and must be recognized.
Techniques that will help to make your product or service prominent and different from all
other products in the market and are as follows:

There is false concept that a professional commercial photography costs too high.
But it is suggested that you must consult multiple local professional commercial
photographers and get quotations from them for your work.

Do your research and outline the products you want to photograph and decide its
layout and background.

If there is a definite budget to get the work done within, you must mention this to your
commercial photographer right away. So that he will keep the budget in his mind and
will work within your definite budget and will direct you to the best possible method.

You must outline your targeted market and your product detail and price. This will
facilitate the commercial photographers in designing the catalogs or the website.

Product photography can be regarded in two different ways. First way is to capture
the individual image on a grey, black or a white background that focuses on the
product only and prominent its features without unnecessary details. The second way
to capture a shot is by placing a product in a specific environment or location that
boosts the product's purposes.

Take cuttings, which attracted you, out of the magazines, particularly of your rivals in
market. It will help you in deciding your course.

If your business has an existing catalogue then your commercial photographer must
examine that, before he can decide the look and the way in which he can work on
portraying the requirements of your brand.

Set up a sensible proportion of a budget for this purpose as the commercial

photography will influence the way your customers thinks and will convince him to
buy your product.

In business, understanding the importance of the correct shot means that you have
understood the crux of the marketing strategy in the business and this will lead to
increased turnover and brand development.

The Practice of Studio Photography

There are two important reasons to use artificial lighting in studio photography. First,
increasing the level of light lets you use smaller apertures for greater depth of field, and
faster shutter speeds to reduce blur from camera or subject movement. Second, you can
better control the illumination of the subject, placing highlights and shadows to reduce or
emphasize modeling.
In the studio, you usually use more than one light to illuminate a portrait or product.
The goal is often to create light that looks like that found outdoors. The lights can be hot
lights, strobes, or slave flash units-or even fill cards. Sometimes you can get away with only
one or two lights but the use of main, fill, background and rim lights is a classic studio
lighting setup for portraits and other subjects.

The main light is positioned somewhat to one side of the subject and somewhat
above it.
A fill light is placed opposite the main light, but more nearly at the subject's level. It's
usually farther from the subject than the main light so it doesn't illuminate the subject
with the same intensity.
A background light is used to control the lighting on the background behind the
main subject.
A rim light is placed quite high and behind the subject and pointing toward the
camera so it highlights edges and separates the subject from the background.

For most purposes you can get by with just the main light and a fill light. In fact, you can
often get along with just the main light by replacing the fill light with reflectors to bounce light
into the shadows. The way you position a light relative to the subject is very important. As
you move a light farther away from the subject you reduce the light falling on it. Because
there is less light you may have to use a larger aperture which gives less depth of field.
Moving a light back hardens its light, while moving it closer softens it. This is because the
size of the light relative to the subject determines if the light is hard or soft. Think of using the
cameras built in flash to photograph a flower. The image will have well exposed areas but
also dark detail less shadows. This is hard light because the flash is so small. Now imagine
photographing the flower in a light tent. The light source is now the entire tent, huge
compared to the subject. The light is much more even and the shadows dramatically
diminished. You can have one light illuminate the subject with more intensity than another
light. The difference between the two lights is called the lighting ratio.

a) Lighting
For good portraits or product shots, you need to improve on the camera's built in flash.
Direct on-camera flash doesn't give a picture the feeling of texture and depth that you can
get from side-lighting or softer light. If you use an external flash, you can position the flash to
illuminate the subject from an angle for a better lighting effect.
1. Light tents bathe a subject in soft, even lighting and
are particularly useful for complex subjects such as
bouquets, highly reflective subjects such as jewelry,
and translucent subjects such as glassware. A
subject placed in the light tent is surrounded by a
translucent material which is lit from the outside. If
the subject is small enough, you can use a plastic
gallon milk bottle with the bottom cut out and the
top enlarged for the camera lens. When positioned
over the subject and illuminated by a pair of
floodlights, the light inside the bottle is diffused by
the translucent sides of the bottle. The result is a
very even lighting of the subject.

2. Studio lights are usually just reflectors mounted on adjustable

stands. Keep in mind that the color of the light you use to
illuminate an object may affect the colors in the final image.
For best results you need bulbs that are daylight balanced.
The best of these are fluorescent because they don't give off
any heat.

3. Reflectors. When the light illuminating a small subject casts hard, dark shadows, you
can lighten them by arranging reflectors around the
subject to bounce part of the light back onto the
shadowed areas. You can use almost any relatively
large, flat reflective object, including cardboard, cloth, or
aluminum foil (crumpling the foil to wrinkle it, then
opening it out again works best). Position the reflector so
that it points toward the shadowed side of the subject.
As you adjust the angle of the reflector, you will be able
to observe its effects on the shadows. Use a neutraltoned reflector so the color of the reflector doesn't add a
color cast to the image.
4. Light panels are an ideal source of light. When you place an object on the illuminated
panel and shoot from above, the area surrounding the object is captured as pure

white. If you cut a hole in a sheet of background paper and

arrange it as a sweep, a glass placed on the hole appears to
glow from within as light streams through the hole and through
the glass. Finally, by tipping a panel on its side, it can be used
as a background or used like any other light source.

5. Flash. There is definitely a role for on-camera flash in studio

photography. It doesn't hurt to see what results you get
from the built-in flash. A special kind of flash is the ring
flash. These units fit around the lens and fire a circle of
light on the subject. They are ideal for shadow less closeup photography such as that used in medical, dental, and
nature photography. Because ring flash is so flat (shadow
less), most units allow you to fire just one side or adjust
the output of each side independently so the flash casts
shadows that show surface modeling in the subject.

b) Backgrounds
Often in product photography, a clean white background looks best since it creates a
focus on the object itself. The Infinity Curve enables photographers to shoot products
against an endless white background that reveals no horizon in the back, only a clean and
pleasant view. To create this type of background, place a piece of white paper or fabric and
bend it to create a curve. Your product will be the center of the photo and the only item to
capture the viewers attention.
The safest background to use is a sheet of neutral gray poster board that can be
formed into a sweep, a curved "L" shape that gives a nice smooth gradation of light behind
the subject. It's safe, because it reduces potential exposure problems and most things show
well against it. Finally, there are colored backgrounds, but these should be selected to
support and not clash with the colors in the subject. The texture of the background is also a
consideration. For example, black velvet has no reflections at all while black poster board
might show them.
There are times when you don't want a background in a photo. This silhouettes the
subject against a pure white background. You'll often see this technique used in catalog
photos but it's also a great way to make it easy to select an object in a photo-editing program
so you can cut it out and paste it into another image. To get this effect you need to
overexpose the background. In some cases this is as easy as pointing lights at it. In the case
of small objects, a light panel makes it very easy.

c) Focus and Exposure

The exposure procedure for close-up and tabletop photography isn't a lot different
from normal photography but you have the opportunity to control lighting. The biggest

difficulty may arise from automatic exposure. Many close up photographs are of small
objects that don't entirely fill the viewfinder frame. Automatic exposure systems can be
fooled if the brightness of the small object is different from the brightness of the larger
background. The meter averages all of the light reflecting from the scene and may select an
exposure that makes the main subject too light or too dark. To correct this, you can use
exposure compensation to lighten or darken the main subject.
Macro lenses are useful when you want to get close to small subjects so they fill the
frame. Just keep in mind that in close-ups, depth of field gets very shallow.

d) Lens choice
Your choice of lens has a big impact on your portrait photos. A wide-angle (around
18mm) lens captures a wider angle of view, so more of your subject's surroundings will be in
shot. A telephoto (over 70mm) lens captures a narrower angle of view, and less of your
subject's surroundings will appear in frame.
Focal length also affects depth of field (DoF). A wide-angle lens will capture more
depth of field compared to a telephoto lens. This is why telephoto lenses are favoured over
wide-angle lenses for portraits, as it further knocks backgrounds out of focus to make people
more prominent in the scene.

e) Aperture
When shooting portraits, it's best to set a wide aperture (around f/3.5-f/5.6) to capture
a shallow depth of field - so the background behind your subject is nicely blurred, making
them stand out better.
Shoot in Av (Aperture Priority) mode to control depth of field, in this mode your DSLR will helpfully set the shutter speed for a good exposure. Specialist portrait lenses tend
to have even wider maximum apertures (from f/1.4 to f/2.8) in order to blur backgrounds
further.

f) Shutter speed settings

When setting your shutter speed, remember to factor in your lens's focal length,
otherwise camera-shake (and blurred results) will become an issue. As a general rule, make
sure your shutter speed is higher than your effective focal length.
For example, at 200mm use a 1/250sec shutter speed or faster. This also means you
can get away with slower shutter speeds when using a wide-angle lens - such as 1/20sec
with an 18mm focal length.

g) Editing Is Important

Taking a shot is often just the beginning, next comes the editing and the touch ups.
As you prepare images for your site, make sure they are approximately the same size.
Choose 1-3 different sizes from large to medium and small. Edit your photos to fit one of the
pre-selected sizes so that you wont have too much variation.
You dont have to be a web designer or even computer savvy for this one, just upload
your pictures into any photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, and get to business.
Things like cropping and color correction can make a world of difference in a photo.

Tips and Tricks

When taking close-ups you can use spot metering to meter just a small part of the
image so the background doesn't influence the exposure.

When using flash for close-up images the flash may not fully illuminate the subject or
be blocked by the lens. Be sure to take a test shot.

To control exposure, use a neutral density filter, flash exposure compensation or flash
exposure lock.

If you don't get the colors you want, try different white balance settings. White
balance can compensate for most lighting but when there is more than one light
source, you may get color casts in your image. You'll have to experiment with this
aspect, perhaps manually setting your own white balance if your camera has this
feature. In other cases, you may find that you like the artificial colors or you may be
able to adjust them in your photo-editing program.

If youd like to take a picture of something very small, and even the macro feature is
not enough, use an extension tube it gives a focus for the tiny details. The
extension tube is typically a tool used by photography pros but as you advance with
your photo shoots you may find yourself developing an appetite for advanced tools
and other photo instruments.

1. Portrait Photography
Portrait Photography is one of most common forms of photography. Portrait photography,
which is also called, more often than not, portraiture, is the art of capturing a subject (in

this case, a person or a group of people) in which the face, facial features as well as
facial expressions are made predominant. What portrait photographers or portraiture
photographers aim is to focus on the persons face. They aim to give emphasis on the
face of the person because this will also be the focus or the emphasis of the photograph.
This does not mean, however, that the persons body or even the background will no
longer be included. Under portrait photography, these can still be included in the photo
by the portrait photographer but again, the focus or the emphasis should be on the
persons face, facial expression and even distinct facial features.
There are essentially some approaches when it comes to portrait photography or
portraiture:

Traditional portrait - Traditional or Classical

portraiture would refer to an image where face is
the predominant element. The purpose of the
photograph is to depict visual representation of
that person. Subject is expected to be looking
directly at the camera. With what is described as
head-shot, two thirds or full body framing can be
used

Environmental portrait - The term Environmental Portrait refers to an image

where the subject is photographed in persons natural environment. For example,
a worker photographed at the construction zone, teacher in the classroom,
sculptor in a sculpture studio and so on. Surroundings are used to compliment
the subject and to emphasize his character. Subject and setting are chosen by
the photographer.

Candid portrait - A candid portrait is taken without a subject expecting or

acknowledging the photographer. This style used in photo journalism, travel
photography, street photography and event photography. As opposed to an
environmental portrait this image is captured at the moment rather than set up.

Lifestyle portrait - The term Lifestyle Portrait refers to portraits where emphasis
is given to suggest the style of living of the individuals depicted. Technically it is
a combination of environmental portrait and candid portrait. More weight is given
to communicate the feeling of life experience of the subject. Style has numerous
implications in commercial and fine art photography. Editorial, fashion,
pharmaceutical, and food industries often use lifestyle images to evoke emotions
in viewers by depiction of desired life styles. It is common to see this style used in
wedding and family portrait photography as well.

2. Product Photography
Product photography is defined as the way to shoot a montage of items by a specialized
photo professional. The light and exposure technique first to shoot and then to edit is

gaining ground. At the moment few online firms are providing this exclusive service to a
select group of clients. It is a still life shooting that brings to life the products. The items
to be shot can be small as soap bars or they can be as big as the new model of the
latest racing motorbike company. The studio, the backdrop, the technicians and
equipment are all involved in the creation.

The Practice of Commercial Photography

Commercial photography involves taking pictures for commercial use: for example in
adverts, merchandising, and product placement. Event, industrial, fashion, architectural,
sports, still life, journalist and advertising photography are under the commercial
category. Commercial photography shots should generally look a great deal more styled and
polished than amateur or casual shots. If you are trying to break into the world of commercial
photography, there are a number of things that you can do to improve your skills and
accuracy. Taking the time to learn new ways to shoot commercial photographs is an
investment in your future as a commercial photographer. There are some tips help to
improve the commercial photography.

a) Look to the Light

The correct kind of lighting is vital to commercial photography. Lighting can make a
product look wonderful, or it can create hideous shadows and reflections that turn
your commercial shoot into a nightmare. Commercial photography professionals
utilize specialist lighting to get the best out of a shot, bringing the product into the
foreground and giving it a crystal-clear focus. Use strobe lighting to give a product
depth when shooting long-range photographs, as these can give a flat product a
dramatic three-dimensional effect, and use lighting boxes below the product for
closer work.
You can also change the shutter in your camera to give your product maximum light,
if it needs it. You could also try shooting some pictures in black and white, as that
creates deeper light and shadows for your product.

b) Get in the Mood

The best commercial photography professionals use more than a white background
to give the product an attractive quality. Sometimes, the minimalist method of
shooting is not the best. Creating the right kind of atmosphere for a product is part of
your role as a commercial photographer.
First, get your lighting right: home lighting is not always right for a shoot, so bring in
dramatic or colored lights for a better mood. Then, set the 'stage' for your product.
Imagine a story where the product is being used: for example it would make no
sense to shoot a chainsaw in the living room (unless you were using it as part of a
complicated editorial shoot), so put things in their rightful place.
Illustrate the product by putting in flower arrangements, or other ornaments relevant
to the product. If you are looking to take a refreshing and original shot of a product,
try putting it in with items which are slightly incongruous, but not unattractive or with a
negative impact upon the product itself: for example, if you are photographing a
round object, surround it with square or triangular objects for contrast.

c) Use Different Angles

In commercial photography, it is fairly rare for a product to be photographed straighton. Instead, try photographing the product from different angles. For a refreshing take
upon a kettle, for example, go in very close, and then take a picture with the kettle in
only 50 percent of the shot. Try photographing flat objects from the side, or tall
objects from below. When you change the eye line of a product, you change the
appearance of the product, making things which are everyday seem new and
exciting.
You could also do this on commercial fashion shoots: a background can become
something to play with, rather than just a set-piece. Toy with your products, and you
will get better photographs.

1. Event Photography

Most photographers start their photographic journey taking photos at special events.
Whether its a football game, a family wedding, or a rock concert, capturing the raw,
spontaneous moments of these events is something all photographers aim to do. Shooting
events is best done with a DSLR of some sort because you can shoot in aperture and
manual modes.

2. Industrial Photography
It can be challenging for photographers to capture industrial photography. Many of these
photographs are of very large objects which can be difficult to frame. It can also be very
difficult to make these photos look interesting and attractive for people looking at them.

3. Fashion Photography
Fashion photography as a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other
fashion items. It is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as
Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Allure. Over time, fashion photography has developed its own
aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by exotic locations and story lines
or could be having great models with different vehicles or animals just to be an eye catching
effect.

4. Architectural Photography
Architecture photography is defined as a specialized photography of structures and it
involves special lenses and techniques that portray the subjects in their natural view without
any photographic editing. This photography is chiefly concerned with the accurate portrayal
of the structure than the artistic merit.

5. Sport Photography
Sports photography is one of the most exciting and challenging types of photography.
Capturing the action at its peak is your ultimate goal; this requires planning and skill. The
further away you are from the event, the harder it becomes to capture the event in a
pleasing manner. Sports are an event where crowd control is important, not only for the
crowd's safety, but for the players also.

6. Still Life Photography

Still Life images can be just about anything that doesnt move. The definition of a still life
subject is an inanimate object but other subjects are loosely termed as still life as well.
These include flowers, food, etc. They are life forms but they dont move.
Because the subjects are smaller, lighting coverage is less and alternatively less power is
needed. Rather than the need of a massive amount of studio equipment, still life setups can
be lit with just daylight from a large window and/or the use of one or two flash guns with the
aid of a few large white cards to utilise as reflectors.

7. Journalism Photography
Photojournalism is a branch of journalism characterized by the use of images to tell a story.
The images in a piece may be accompanied by explanatory text or shown independently,
with the images themselves narrating the events they depict.
People have been using images to depict events for centuries, from rock paintings to
engravings in major newspapers. The first big event to be captured in photography was the
Crimean War, establishing the groundwork for the professional field. Initially, photographs

were often used to accompany text stories to provide some variation and visual interest, but
over time, images began to be used more exclusively to narrate stories in the media.

8. Advertising Photography
Advertising photography is the type of photography used to take photographs of products or
services for sale. The photographer usually is the person that comes up with the ideas for
the photography shoot and the artistic components used in taking the photographs. This type
of photography is geared towards someone that is artistic and towards the type of person
that likes to create something new to attract attention and get profitable results.

The Practice of Nature Photography

Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to
displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of
natural scenes and textures. Nature photography is the joy of viewing a beautiful flower
through the viewfinder, the inspiration of a majestic scene coming into focus, the emotional
connection made when the eyes of the subject make contact with mine through a telephoto
lens.
A snapshot shows the world what your camera sees, but a thoughtfully composed
photograph shows the world what you see. While composition can be complex, several basic
strategies arise when making pictures of natural subjects. Here are five such techniques for
powerful image-making.

a) Lead the eye in.

One of the most effective ways to create a powerful composition is to use visual
elements to lead the viewers eye into the scene. Leading elements can be just about
anythinglines, curves, or a progression of shapes. Leading lines that stretch from
foreground to background are especially powerful, propelling the viewer into the
scene. In the image at left, I used an outgoing wave to act as a leading line. Other
shapes placed in the foreground can do the same: a curving river can compel the eye
to meander throughout the frame, whereas a triangle-shaped rock can point into the
composition. Multiple elements can more subtly encourage the viewer to explore the
photographa near-to-far, bottom-to-top visual progression is often particularly
effective.

b) Find a good foreground.

Foregrounds add depth, and the best add punch, too. Providing a point of reference,
they can simplify chaotic scenes. At this placid pool of water during a fiery sunrise, I
backed up to incorporate the curving shoreline. Its shape frames the reflection of the
mountains, enhancing the composition and adding depth to the image.

c) Engage the eye with repeating patterns.

People are naturally attracted to patterns, part of our ability and biological need to
organize our chaotic world. When the eye explores one, it tends to want to visit each
and every repeated element; accordingly, the savvy photographer can use repeating
shapes and colors to encourage the viewer to visit multiple parts of the composition.
Visual repetition gets the viewers eye moving, engaging interest and creating
compositional energy.
On the flip side, repetition can also help create harmony and balance, adding
structure to a composition, as well as to create order in an otherwise chaotic scene.
You can also create effective images by making the pattern itself the entire focus of
the composition, as I did with the quirky shapes and patches of color in the little pond
seen here. The less dynamic shapes of the lily pads floating in the water fade to the

background, providing general structure and order for an otherwise energetic, chaotic
collection of visual elements.

d) Emphasize your subject.

Use visual elements to direct your viewers attention to whats important. Framing is
one effective tool for simplifying and focusing interest. Examples include arcing tree
branches, barn windows, and natural arches, but frames can also be made by
arranging multiple visual elements around a subject. Sometimes it works best if there
is an element of contrast between the frame and the subjectsilhouetted trees
around a sunlit mountain peak, for example.
Another way to draw attention to your primary subject is through the use of light:
spotlighting, or a dose of brightness behind your subject, can focus the viewer. For
this image, I selected a position that framed the monkey with a pattern of out-of-focus
leaves lit by the setting sun. A hint of that light on the monkey also helps focus
viewers attention.

e) Create visual energy.

Look for ways to convey a sense of energy. Use lines or shapes that tilt or point in
opposite directions; think of a line of trees whose branches reach at differing angles
into a cloud-filled sky. But be careful - Too much energy going one way and not
enough going the other can look unbalanceda classic example is an animal
running out of the edge of the frame rather than into it. Long exposures of moving
elements can also convey a sense of energy; motion blur creates compositional lines
and shapes, adding further interest. Here, the streaking clouds form staggered,
diagonal lines, which add energy to the frame.

Examples of fauna and flora photography:

Panoramic Photography is capturing images on a wider format, so as to include much

more than what eyes can see naturally from a point. To capture a panoramic image, one
needs a wider aspect ratio so that there is a view which is unobstructed of a vaster area.
It is a special technique that stitches multiple images from the same camera together to
form a single, wide photograph (vertical or horizontal).

Landscape Photography is a section or portion of scenery as seen from a single

viewpoint. Scenery is the subject of a landscape image. Typically, people and animals
are not shown in a landscape, unless they are relatively small in the image and have
been included in the composition to show scale.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, commercial photography is very important either in field of business or

photography nowadays. Shooting of people, event, landscape, animals, place or things also
included in commercial photography. There are namely portrait, product, event, fashion,
architectural, sports, still life, and nature photography. However, to shoot the best
commercial photography, we need to know all the basic and suitable techniques. We must
follow all of these techniques and rules to get a photograph we have expected.

KEMENTERIAN PENGAJIAN TINGGI MALAYSIA

POLITEKNIK IBRAHIM SULTAN
KM10 JALAN KONG KONG
81700 PASIR GUDANG, JOHOR

JABATAN REKABENTUK DAN KOMUNIKASI VISUAL

VG 601 PHOTOGRAPHY 2

TITLE

RESEARCH
Technique & practice of commercial
photography

PREPARED BY
CHAN PEI JUN ( 09DRG11F1028)
PROGRAMME
DRG 6B

PREPARED FOR
EN MOHD RIZUAN BIN KHALID