subject: What Is An Advertising Photographer [print this page] You've seen Sunday advertisements, the advertisements in your magazines, and photographs that tell a story. An advertising photographer is responsible for providing photos for numerous publications as well as magazines. They usually produce photos that tell a story while selling a product or service. Advertising photographers can also be responsible for a wide array of advertorial photos, you'll see these beside advertisements and pictures of products. They'll typically be wrapped by an informative article.
A day in the life of an advertising photographer consists of taking pictures on location or possibly in the studio. They'll receive images that need to be converted into campaigns, and advertising photographers have the ability to take an image and make it speakmany times without any text! Advertising photographers work with advertising agencies and corporate design teams to make their images come to life.
Most advertising photographers started their career in another focus area of commercial photography such as wedding photography or portrait photography. After building a large enough portfolio, these photographers typically seek larger high paying projects. Product shots and fashion are an easy conversion if the experience is there. On the "high end," the usual bridge to the advertising realm is fashion due to the heavy relationship between fashion magazines and the advertisement needed to sell clothing. As for the low end, some photographers have simply graduated from photography school and have entered the workforce working directly or "in house" for the marketing department of an organization.
In the last ten years, the advent of digital cameras and large stock photography bases found online has certainly placed a dent on the pay scale. Yet, advertising photographer's salaries range from $80k a year to well in the millions due to the limitless amount of work a talented photographer is sought for.