By John Siskin
Most, not all, but most of the people I interact with here at BetterPhoto either are professionals or want to be. I think that this is a great thing, because people who want to do a thing professionally are often committed to doing it very well. One other thing I notice is that most people have just a few models of how to be a professional photographer, and that disappoints me. Most of my students want to shoot family portraits, senior portraits and/or weddings. There is nothing at all wrong with this, but there are many other ways of creating a business.
What I do is often called assignment photography, or commercial photography. I really like working this way for a couple of reasons. First in a recent week I did four different jobs, and the jobs required me to use different skills, really a challenge.
 Up In The Air! © John H. Siskin All rights reserved |
On Monday I shot three construction projects for a client. These images will be used on a website and to show the quality of work to new clients. I shoot for this account very regularly.
 Drummer Boy © John H. Siskin All rights reserved |
On Tuesday I was shooting for a new client that makes drums for children. I did a couple of product shots, but most of the day I shot kids playing with drums. Loud, but a lot of fun.
 Crane © John H. Siskin All rights reserved |
On Thursday I shot for another new account. They make products to dye concrete. I was shooting a new casino outside of San Diego. I was able to show that their products can support tremendous weight.
 Wolf Gordon Showroom © John H. Siskin All rights reserved |
Friday I shot a showroom in the Pacific Design center. I used about 6 lights in this shot, so it was a little tricky to get right.
An advantage of this kind of photography: you have businesses as clients. Businesses will often work with you multiple times in a year. Businesses are ready for above board pricing; you don’t need to offer a cheap sitting so you can sell an expensive print.
I really like having a busy week!
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