When I introduce myself as a commercial photographer, the most asked question is not the one you might expect. It is without fail, 'what does a commercial photographer do?’

I have always found this a strange question, as to me commercial suggests anything to do with businesses. I get asked this question more than any other, so I thought I would explain what I do.

The short answer is, I provide professional images for businesses. These can be of you and your staff, events (social or news), property, processes, products, or anything else that you require to promote your business. To explain this further, I have broken it down into sections and included a few images to illustrate.

people

Comedian Al Murray outside in the sun dressed in a blue polo shirt with the Union Jack flying on a flag pole in the background

BROADCHALKE, SALISBURY, WILTSHIRE, UK, 29th June, 2024, The Grand Tour and former Top Gear presenter, television personality James May standing in front of a vintage Chevrolet in the sunshine while visiting the Chalke History Festival to give his ta

Gyles Brandreth pictured standing in the garden at Arundells, Salisbury.

When you think of images of you and your staff, I am sure the first thing that comes to mind is the traditional business shot on a white background. This is still the most popular for websites etc., but as you can see there is so much more that can be done to make your business stand out from similar companies.

When you book us to shoot your business portraits, we work with you to design a look that enhances your business profile.

products

Professional images of your product are a must for everyone looking to impress the more discerning client. Designed to ensure your product stands out, every detail is considered before the first image is captured.

Working with your website or catalogue/brochure designer we create the lighting and background to enhance the design.

property

Drone photography of St Nicholas Hospital, Salisbury showing its proximity to Salisbury Cathedral

Aerial drone photograph of the 13th century parish church of St Peter’s, East Tytherley, Hampshire. Showing front elevation view and roof line with partial view of the graveyard. Surrounded by rural landscape of fields.

Property photography is something that all businesses should consider. Shops, hotels, developers, builders, bed and breakfast establishments, public buildings, and even service companies should have professional images.

When shooting property the weather has a big part to play, as does the orientation of your property, time of year and exterior lighting. We work with you to get the look you desire. All of these components are analysed to ensure the perfect image is delivered.

events

Our event coverage is second to none, and is available for everything from a staff party to an annual awards event.

The images can be used for post event publicity, as well as event promotion the following year. Bespoke backgrounds, greenscreen technology and onsite printing and/or framing are just some of services we can offer, alongside our general event coverage. An online password protected gallery is also available if required.

We have regularly covered events for the society pages of local magazines such as Salisbury Life and Wiltshire Living. Inviting the local media to your event is a great way to gain valuable free publicity for your company.

FOOD

One of our favourite subjects to photograph (and taste obviously) is food. Our mouthwatering food photography will have people queuing to try it.

You take special care to produce your amazing plates, so why would you want them looking anything less than their best! Whatever image is required, we will ensure your food looks fantastic.

Promotion (PR)

Sharon Clarke, Elise Dedman, Lisa Evans (Branch Manager), Harriet Baldwin

PR images are the backbone of any marketing campaign or promotion. Required for your website, blog, press releases, and anywhere you want to profile or publicise your company. You can be assured we will deliver tailored images for you to use without fuss.

You now have an insight into the services we can offer your business. If you would like us to give you a no obligation image healthcheck, or discuss how we can help you promote your business, please email john@johnrosephotography.com

It is said that people buy your 'why' not your ‘what’ or ‘how’. Now if you haven't heard this before you're probably thinking “what the hell is he on about, surely they buy what you sell?”. I used to think that too, until I watched this video.

I've watched this a few times now and to be honest, I just couldn’t find my WHY. I came up with things like:

I love doing what I do
To make money
People say I'm good at it
I like people's reaction when they see their images
Now these are all good reasons for doing it, but why would anyone care about any of them; apart from, I'm good at it I guess, but they don't know that until after I've done it.

Over the last few months it has been playing on my mind that I didn't know WHY I'm a photographer. I've attended quite a few seminars and this 'WHY' seemed to keep coming up, but I didn't know WHY. I spoke to trainers and mentors about it, and they all said that although my reasons above were good ones, none of them are going to compel clients to want to engage me.

I looked at each of the genres of photography that I undertake and listed why I thought I did them, and each time I came up with the same answers. Then one day while watching training videos (I watch lots of videos by top photographers trying to improve my techniques), I realised what my WHY was.

I want to create! Now I know that's sounds obvious for someone who's in a creative business, but I want to help businesses 'Develop their image' (my new tag line by the way). That is my WHY! I want to create images for businesses that help them engage with clients. I want to show their clients how good they are, I want to work with forward thinking businesses that value the time, effort and passion I put into every image I create.

People have always described me as a commercial photographer. I don't know why as I used to do more social photography than anything, but I now know why. I think they have been seeing my WHY when I couldn't. They have seen my passion for commercial photography and helping businesses, when I couldn't. You see I thought I was a social photographer, and don't get me wrong I love doing weddings and portraits, and I give the same care and attention to their shoots as I do to all my clients, but my passion really is commercial. OK I'm starting to ramble a bit now, but that is because every time I start to talk about finally finding my WHY I get so very excited.

Since finding my WHY and starting to relax with it, I have found a new lease of life. I will still continue to do weddings and portraits if asked, but I will limit those to couples I connect with, and who really do want ME to do it. I have limited my wedding commitments to a maximum of 10 full day weddings over the last couple of years and will reduce this further over the next couple of years to 5, but I can assure anyone engaging me to shoot their wedding that it will be an amazing experience for us all.

So to the future. I have already explained WHY but not what it means for John Rose Photography.

Well, I have already created a new commercial website, johnrose.photography which showcases some of the commercial photography I have been doing. In the next few months I will be moving premises. It's still at old Sarum and has free parking but I will now have a unit to myself. This will give me much more room as I will have the whole of the ground floor as studio space, which in turn will allow me to be more creative with how and what I shoot. It also has direct ground floor studio access which will allow for larger projects.

So the future for John Rose Photography is in the commercial world, with an occasional dip into the wedding and portrait markets. We will still shoot charity and commercial events but these will, in the main, be all inclusive pre-paid events with the images being supplied to the event organiser, or printed for guests on the night.

Our current school photography will be separated to become its own entity, although in the early days it is quite possible I will be doing a lot of the photography. As this part of the business grows I will bring in other photographers who have been trained by me to undertake the work in the same manner I always have.

Thank you for reading my ramble. Please do leave a comment, I am very interested to know what you feel about the proposed changes. If you have a question please post it in the comments and I will answer. If you would like to talk to me about how I can help you and your business create your message in images, please do get in touch.

What does a commercial photographer do?