Yeah. I always shoot wider so they can crop in how they need. Better to have the “bleed” on the edges than have to create more background it in the computer.

Cat knows when to stop.

Very true as designer, having a simple and straightforward photo helps a whole lot! Especially when it is to be composed into another concept entirely and the pictures are building blocks.

Hello, I've been inspired by your videos and sampled some ideas from your past work. I'm a designer and sometime (where applicable) I take photos. If you don't mind, I'd love to help make thumbnails for your videos. As Designer, i've seen a problem i can solve and that portion could get some help.

"can I get the raws?" Chefs don't serve raw food photographers without payouts don't deliver raw photos.

Would you please mention how such large-scale gear is rented? I understand that you can rent gear from a rental house, but there are some nitty-gritty things that I am thinking of. If you rent $20,000 worth of lighting gear (which looking at Broncolor retail prices would take no time at all), how much of a deposit are you expected to put down? I have a spot where I rent lenses, and they put the replacement cost of the lens on my credit card as a hold. So, if I want to rent a Sony 400 mm lens, they hold $1500 on my card. Do rental houses generally put big holds on your card, or do they have a different means, such as a deposit? Also, how does rental gear typically get delivered to you? How far in advance do you typically make a reservation? What do you do if crucial gear isn’t available to rent? How is the gear delivered? Are you picking it up and getting it out in your vehicle directly from the rental house, or does it get shipped in?

Hi Scott! I often find people struggling with the spelling, as well as correctly or even incorrectly pronouncing my last name. Do you think it would be less professional if I use my first name and another word for the domain name and then in the about section have my full name there? I think if someone have to type my full name down to get to the website, there is a good chance they will make a mistake and get an error page instead of a website. For the context, I am based in London. Thanks.

Anyway, in 3 years time AI will do all your product shots...LOL (just a provoking thought...)

I make more "equipment mistakes" with a complex, Japanese, 1000-function camera than I do with an RZ67. So I'm much _less_ likely to have an issue on assignment with the RZ than with the Nikon Z9. Yes, there are some things I can't shoot with the RZ. But what I do shoot, mostly portraits, the Z9 only costs more. I'm far less concerned with the camera than I am with the lighting. That's where my $$ are going these days.

I’m a beginner shooting with an R6 Mark II and I’m having a lot of trouble shooting different dishes on a table while having all the items in focus. I keep getting some bokeh somewhere. I tried though till F11, haven’t tried F16 since I thought it would make no difference if at F11 didn’t work. Might that be the issue and also, what kind of auto-focus should I use? 😅

wise words wise man

Awesome advice, thanks!

I shoot editorial for a music magazine, I always leave space around the image, 90% or more of my shots are in portrait format, if the picture becomes part of the lead story, then it can end up on a front cover at A4. Space gives the layout team room to add Title, banners, QR codes etc. Key message is know your audience.

Awesome video Scott which makes complete sense, after hearing it. Thanks for sharing.

I find your insights into the world of commercial photography so interesting. As someone who has an interest in the artistic side of product photography its actually really refreshing to hear the honesty of what earning from product photography actually entails from a business POV

Gotta leave space for the copy/text!

Here’s a quick heads up for you if you didn’t go to Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara California never have anything touching when you’re shooting product !

Why have I watched this for the third time? I doesn't give me a fix... Probably my memory is going to dogs.

Even in my early photography days trying out for journalism (1980s!) the publishing/printing staff were adamant that they wanted "breathing space" around the subjects - so my stuff got published even though others guys probably had "better" shots but they cropped too closely to fit editorial preferences.

Love the insight, very interesting.

If an assistant doesn't know how to use a GoDox flash you should send the assistant home. You always come across as such a snob. Need to remove your videos from constantly showing in my feed.

Why angle it down - it’s a non directional point light source! Sorry Scott - I couldn’t resist this ! 😈

I'm a graphic designer first and commercial photographer second. Over 90% of the photography, especially food and product, is clip pathed so it can be placed wherever over any background the design requires. It's always been that way.

Not me feeling like I'm taking up valuable time at the quick watch look

very useful

Great explanation.

This is exactly why 6x6 square format was so popular for commercial stuff back in the day. Place the subject centrally giving the art design people plenty of crop-ability to play with, any which way they chose. landscape, portrait or whatever. While at the same time maintaining good resolution.

Seeing the photograph as part of the bigger picture is both a nice funny wordplay and humble.

Yeah, as a commercial photogpraher I often get the client to approve the compos early on becuase they know what they are going to do with them - text, web, ad, billboard etc - in the old days we had to wait an hour before each shot as the 5x4 Tranny wen through the E6 dip and dunk - now it's real time via an iPpad or hot link to their desk straight from the Hass 907CFV100c times may have changed but the brief has not- get the shot!!!

Great info, as always, Scott!

Interesting perspective as always!

Yes this video is helpful, I guessed things were this way, but it’s nice to have it cleared up. Essentially you’re shooting stock images for a graphic designer to use in the ad, right?

John Ritter‘s eyes

I came to this realization either by accident or subconciously. Id take a photo that happened to have space around the subject in some weird way and then plug in a fake advertisment.

On a more serious note, very interesting insight.

I compose for brutal right eye astigmatism. Not sure how that’d work out in post.

Pre-sales for the BIG marketing and business workshop are now live!!!!! tinhouse-studio.com/product/pre-order-commercial-photography-business-and-marketing-in-2024/

All this is simply and only anedoctical and very, very personal. Depending on what you shoot, you customer type, your social environment, you have completely different pictures. The price/value ratio of hardware has so improved in recent years that the big numbers are not in the gear anymore. When I was young a decent camera body, a good lens and a usable light could send you to the bank for a loan: now you can buy perfectly workable gear for few hundred dollars, then shoot a couple of GOOD boudoir gigs and you have paid them with the interests - the costs of renting "branded" gear for one day in Italy is almost the same as BUYING Godox lights. This is not to say that top brands are the same as Godox, but the difference becomes really visible if you use studio lights to open coconuts. On the other side if you have snobbish customers that google the prices of your gear before looking at your images for God's sake go buy Hasselblads and Profoto and pass the cost on them...😄

"GODOX Is REFUSED By Pro". Who ever said this? May be Godox is not used by rental services, but not all photographers rent their lights. It is true that some photographers (who can pass the costs to the customers) like to look cool by sporting unnecessary Hasselblads and notoriously costly lights, but serious pros prefer to worry more about their images than about the price tag.

This was the best high quality and honest straight forward conversation about modern photography as a commercial digital photographer and studio. I absolutely loved it. You both know what you are talking about. I used to do commercial photography in the mid 1980s and 1990s in the film era. I used to shoot on large format Sinar cameras and Hasselblad film camera. It was before the digital era. Kind regards from Copenhagen, Denmark (I'm 58 years of age). Good luck with your channel.

There will always be a market for genuine 'real' photographs. Not every industry appreciates highly manipulated images. While AI can be beneficial for tasks like adjusting white balance and reducing noise, using it to create a fake portrait for a client's next potential acting role isn't going to happen.

I've been craving more information on technical cameras and this really scratched my itch! Thank you for the demo. This is truly a dream setup for me

Enjoy the long format videos. As a former IT professional and sysadmin, I'd only ever install odd number backups.

So, you have gone mirrorless. My cameras that cost me $1,999 each can do 187 megapixels raw files...

I can buy an EOS R5 new in Perth Western Australia tomorrow for $AU 6,088. I bought two Lumix S1Rs about three years ago for $1,999 each, used, Add a couple of CF Express cards, SD cards, an EF-L adaptor. In my mind there remains no better camera for the photography I do. Except, probably, the Leica SL3. I don't see why it wouldn't suit you. When I chanced from Canon to Lumix S, I saw no reason to remain with Canon. My first Canon was the EOS 630, and it won over Nikon on price.

Unconvinced. I am autistic, a consequence for me is that I am unable to run a business of any kind regardless of my skills. And my skills in ADP were fine and my photography skills are fine.