A New Camera Won’t Get You Hired: What Commercial Photography Really Takes
By Robert Gallagher | Photography by Gallagher Spend ten minutes looking for advice about becoming a commercial photographer and you will probably meet a very confident person standing in front of a shelf full of camera equipment. There will be a glowing light behind the shelf. There may be a thumbnail of somebody pointing at a lens with the expression usually reserved for discovering buried treasure. Before long, somebody will tell you which camera you absolutely need, which lens changed everything, and which course will teach you the secrets. Some of those people are good photographers and generous teachers. I have learned things from photographers online myself. But I have also spent decades making photographs for clients, and I see a huge piece missing from much of the conversation. A lot of advice teaches you how to shop for the job. Far less shows you what to do when someone actually hires you. Commercial photography is not simply the ability to make a pretty image. It is t...
