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Which of these images was made using CGI and which is a photograph? Can you tell the difference?

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One of the above images was created using a camera and modern commercial lighting with familiar retouching techniques using software such as Photoshop. The other image was rendered using CGI using software such as Blender. They are both top-notch product images, but can you tell which is which?

I won’t tell you the answer just yet (sorry, I know you’re just dying to find out!), however, the use of CGI in product photography is becoming ever more prevalent as technology improves, making the 3D rendering more photo-realistic, faster and subsequently cheaper than traditional commercial photography.

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Popular gym-wear brand slammed for lack of diversity in leaked image from photo shoot

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Active-wear brand Gymshark has provoked anger after a behind-the-scenes image from a recent photoshoot was leaked on Facebook. The image shows 7 models, all of which are no larger than a US size 4. It has since caused an outcry from women demanding representation of larger body sizes.

The behind-the-scenes photo was leaked last week after the brand’s promotional photoshoot in London. Despite obvious efforts towards inclusivity, many commenters felt that Gymshark had fallen short in this aspect.

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This is what you should charge for your photography

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“What should I charge for my photography?” “Where can I go to find out how much to charge?” Commercial photographer and long-standing educator and mentor Don Giannatti says that of all the things he’s ever asked about photography, pricing related questions are by far the most common. He tells it like it is in this video about how to approach pricing your work.

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This is why you keep getting nightmare clients and how to stop it

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The nightmare client. They are everywhere it seems, and if you’re working in any kind of creative business you’ve probably come across at least one or two. They always want more for less, they want extra or last-minute changes, they aren’t happy with the final result. One such client I had (let’s call her ‘Plate Lady’) even tried to negotiate the fee after I’d delivered the work and sent the invoice.

We might put it down to the fact that some people are just harder to deal with than others, and while that may be true, if it’s a commonly occurring issue for you then you need to look at the common factor, and that’s usually you. Scott from Tin House Studio has an interesting thought on why you aren’t getting your ideal client and has some suggestions in this video on how you can change that.

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How to use flash if you don’t like photos to look flashy

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If I lay my cards on the table, in my personal and professional work I prefer to avoid the use of flash in favour of natural light. In an ideal world, I like nothing better than working with a fleeting beam of winter sunlight that glances across a face full of character, producing the type of photograph that would typically grace the cover of National Geographic.

The trouble is, as a busy corporate photographer, it’s much more likely I have to take a series of senior executive portraits from a basement office, generously artificially lit with horrible overhead fluorescent tubes, working to shoot directors who can spare about three minutes of their time and are itching to be off back to work.

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Is photography going cameraless? Shutterstock buys CG market Turbosquid for $75,000,000

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It’s been said for years that CG is coming to take away jobs from photographers and in some respects, that may be true. We know that companies like Ikea use almost exclusively CG imagery in their catalogues now instead of actual photographs of the products. But this is nothing new. Back in 2014, 75% of their “photography” was CG.

With many photographers around the world unable to work in 2020, though, CG imagery has seen a fairly solid uptick, which would probably go a large way to explaining why stock photography company, Shutterstock has purchased Turbosquid, the world’s largest 3D model marketplace, for a whopping $75,000,000.

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Ruling: National Park Service can’t ask for commercial filming fees/permits

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Filmmakers, rejoice: thanks to a court case from 2019, you may no longer need to get a permit and pay fees for commercial shoots in national parks. D.C. federal judge has just made the decision, ruling that it’s unconstitutional for the National Park Service to require a permit and charge you with fees.

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These are four things photographers should really stop caring about

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If you care about your work and clients, it’s normal that you care about many things related to your job. Obsess about them, even. But still, there are some things you shouldn’t really care about. In this video, Scott Choucino gives you four things you should stop caring about because your clients don’t either.

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Estée Lauder to do a $128,000 shoot onboard the International Space Station

Last year, NASA announced that it would open the International Space Station (ISS) for tourists. Estée Lauder decided to hop on board with one of its products. The cosmetics company is sending ten bottles of its skin serum to space for a photo shoot, and it’s reportedly paying NASA $128,000 for this unusual advertising campaign.

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What commercial photo set looks like in the COVID-19 era

 

Has COVID-19 impacted the look of advertising campaigns?

Maybe – but probably not by as much as you might think. What is impacted, however, is the way that a commercial photography set operates for the foreseeable future.

As an advertising photographer, you are responsible for everything that happens on set while shooting a campaign. This can range from not just the lighting scheme, but the choice of using craft services versus having a chef on set, choosing the appropriate camera and related equipment, and most importantly the safety of everyone present. This isn’t to say that there are not safety officers on set, or form specific trainers when we photograph professional athletes, but that the buck always stops at the photographer. For those that do commercial photography, we know that there are never ending insurance certificate pulls happening just to step foot on set. But how do we create when it comes to an unseen virus, and what will those campaigns look like?

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