How To Become a High End Commercial Photographer 

This is a fantastic channel. As honest and informative as I've seen. Keep up the great work, very much appreciate your content.

Thank you for addressing these topics, and more importantly, for genuinely sharing your knowledge and trying to help others!

I can’t remember the last time I saw a video that got right to the point and answer the questions we look for on RU-vid. So thank you so much por that! It was really lightning for me.

I recently subscribed to your channel, and have been finding all your content super relevant and helpful. Thanks for sharing Scott! 🙏👏

This man is a got dang philosopher within himself! Love this man's videos a ton. he brings the truth out that NO OTHER youtube "picture taker" says(no shade to others I do watch and know). My interpretation is; You as a photographer needs to understand the actual art of photography. Just because you think it looks good does not magically mean it's worthy nationwide. You can shoot with your $250,00 hasslblad 500mp camera all you want but does it matter of the quality and dynamics? No, what matters is what your photos tell the viewer. What matters is the CLIENT you are working with of if they understand what you are doing and why. What does your photos explain to them? Sharpness and Dynamics does not justify that you will get the job vs the other who shot with a 6mp Nikon. Until you understand the true art and it's elements of what makes a photo good despite what your photog buddies say ... nobody cares. Open your mind and get off that one track and learn how to photograph and not just take good pictures.

You can find me on instagram at instagram.com/scottchoucino/ and I have also re opened my food photography background shop at www.tinhousebackgrounds.com

Honestly, saw a photographer the other day that does the pics and adds lens flare and presets on top, et voila makes waaay more money...

Very humble! And great video!

Mate this is great and so refreshing!

Thanks for sharing your insight. It’s reassuring to hear your thoughts and that much of your thinking and experience lines up with my plans. ‘Rona has forced my hand a bit earlier than planned but heres hoping it all works out as it should 👌🏻

Youre the best

Message i get from your videos is you have to put in the work pay your dues. As you Brits would say spot on

One, have a steady job that will pay for your gear and keep it. Plan, plan and plan way ahead before making your move. Learn a marketable skill/trade to fall back on. The great killer of photographers is not knowing how to do anything else when customers aren't coming to the door. Thanks to Covid, it's worse. Two, become technically proficient with it. Three, learn from the masters and practice, practice and practice. Four, learn the art of business, go to webinars/seminars, etc. The business is the most important element. Five, subscribe to Sal Cincotta's Behind the Shutter magazine, you will find no better publication anywhere. I mean anywhere! The leaders of the industry are given a platform to share what they've learned. It applies to any form of photography. The business of photography at it's best! Thank you Sal. No one in my area wants to come to a studio anymore. Most go to a 5-million+ city up north the last six-seven years for their photographic needs. I live in a 1 million+ population city. Outfitted with a huge military base is the bomb. Only a handful of working studios remain. Three won't be returning. My solution, I've outfitted a pair of non-assuming location trucks that allow me to take the studio to clients' homes or out in the middle of the Desert. It's taken me three years to build them. From the 30K generator/inverter to the Elinchrom lighting, Matthews grip, piece by piece. All funded by 34 years of overtime. I've got a few upcoming shoots in late September. Everything is paid for. I've retired from my job with a high five-figure retirement income. Even if I don't make money during this Covid period I get to play with it and it won't cost me a dime. I've always been a photographer for over 5 decades. I spent my career planning the move, learning and practicing along they way. Being a Veteran, I aim to continue that and the Biker market. The money ain't super-great ,but I'm very comfortable in that segment. Plan ahead and have something to fall back on is my best advice. Good luck!

at 7.13, your cat was trying to impress you. Love that cat.

Great tips; Thanks. Also, it is DEAD silent in that studio. How do you go about finding a team of collaborators like makeup artists and stylists?

Thanks for the great advice. I'm pretty new to photgraphy but taking it seriously and reading a lot. I like the : u are not here too impress, u only want to impress your clients. Very easy to lose sight off when u post things on instagram and focus to much on getting likes as a measure of succes.

I have a similar question, but what is the real difference between commercial and advertising photography. Should you put on the website projects that were photographed for ad campaign etc. under advertising or commercial portfolio or how to choose one?

Hey I want to start product photography but my issue is I don’t have any work from clients to show them what I can do. I was thinking of taking photos of products around my house but I don’t know if it’s legal to do that because I never really work with the company.

Thanks for the info!

Very informative, helpful, and epic beard!

Could you recommend/namedrop/mention any food photographers you know of who you aspire to or consider to be at the top of the game?

Love it. These are very helpful and necessary information. If I can ask how you manage to find great food stylist to work with?

The networking part is always challenging. I don't really think there is a right way to tackle this. I mean, there isn't that typical bar or pub all the art directors or such hang out at. And if there was, just popping in there and just standing next to that a group of people intruducing yourself with "hey lads, I want to be a high end commercial photographer, anyone looking for one? Let's be friends!" is a bit ... weird. There are of course networking events but then that's basically just a form of sending your portfolio to agencies - it's more or less applying for jobs. I guess the best way to get a network is to do small scale jobs in the industry, be it internships or assisting jobs. That at least gives you some people that are actually working on the stuff you want to do. Won't make big or even any money but at least you got the contacts out of it. Or work at a bar. At the end of the day you got to work your way up. There's no way contacts just hand you over the big campaign work when you have almost zero experience on even remotely similar levels.

By “test shooting,” do you mean doing a free photo shoot on your own-no client paid you-to create work samples? Then you send it to prospective clients, or post it on social media and tag the company? For example, you set up a nice photo of the new drink from Coca Cola, looming over the other food and side dishes on a table. Then post it on Instagram and tag Coca Cola, or better, a specific Coca Cola ad executive in charge of hiring photographers. I’m into copywriting, and top copywriters have recommended writing ads on spec and sending them to prospective clients. It’s interesting how much overlap there is between your advice and what I hear from successful copywriters. It’s all freelancing. Love your videos and I like how you explain the business and promoting yourself side of photography, not just the technical stuff, although I like that too.

Waiting

Question: At this position in your career, do you do onsite restaurant shoots? And if yes, how much gear do you pack? ___

Ah cats - always "helping". Love this content, but love Moggy more! :-D

The “networking” people part of it. 🤮 why does being inclined to excel creative professions make most of us so bad at the relationship building aspect of it? I imagine with covid there are no charity dinners or whatever it is art buyers do to socialize and pat themselves on the back, but even without a pandemic m, I always found it so difficult to be “in the know” about whose who and where do they hangout.

How did you get international clients