Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Looking At A Career As A Commercial Photographer In Seattle

By Gracie Kelly


Although jobs for a commercial photographer in Seattle are highly competitive, once a person gets established in this industry, he or she can look forward to a lucrative career. The work focuses on taking pictures for catalogues, books, magazines, and advertisements. Subject matter can be anything from merchandise and fashion models, to landscapes, buildings, and cars.

Because the photographic techniques of commercial and industrial photography are similar, it is not unusual for photographers to focus on both these fields. Industrial photography involves taking pictures of anything that relates to an industrial company. This could include machines, equipment, employees, and products. No matter what branch of photography you choose to specialize in, the primary objective is to capture high quality visual images.

Many professionals are self-employed and have good knowledge of the latest technology in their industry. In addition to a variety of cameras, they use many other accessories and attachments. These include flash guns, different formats of film, many types of lenses, filters, tripods, and lights.

The most important skills for this career are creativity and technical knowledge. The ability to take pictures in natural light, as well as studio lighting, is essential. Although much of the work is done with automatic cameras, a commercial photographer often finds it preferable to use a camera that is manually operated. This provides a lot more freedom to manipulate speed, focus, and aperture settings.

In addition to digital cameras, modern photographers still use traditional film-print cameras. Depending on the type of job, they may send the film to be processed and printed at a professional laboratory. In the case of black and white images, this is usually done by themselves in their own darkrooms.

Technological advances in this industry have facilitated many new avenues for photographers. Today, they can scan negatives for conversion to digital formats. This enables the photographer to manipulate and edit the images using computer software programs. To do well in any area of photography, some form of training is essential. It's all very well having a good eye and natural flair, but a lot of technical know-how is required.

To launch his or her career, a commercial photographer in Seattle makes a portfolio of his or her work for submission to agencies. Most operate on a freelance basis and, if their work is good, they will be in great demand. A freelancer should have other skills besides the ability to take pictures. These include the ability to write contracts, keep financial records, knowing how to copyright their work, and how to submit bids.

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