I am not sure when Tracy will have the time to translate this, but since I have the chance,
I will try to answer what Chun-Li was asking.
Regarding Commercial, Advertising, and Fashion Photography, when Chun-Li said - “There seems to be common, but still there're some subtle difference”
I would say the difference is the style, in that, they have target audience in mind and will make it look appealing to the specific type of people.
To give you an example, if a fashion magazine is targeting young high school or college students they would use a "cool" look to attract them.
If advertising company is designing an ad for a new Mercedes Benz 500 Series, they would use more sophisticated look to attract the older and wealthier clients.
TO ME “Commercial Photography” is any work, in any genre of photography that is produced with intent to MAKE MONEY.
That means it can be advertising, fashion, wildlife, pornography, and even conceptual and fine art photography.
It also means that many photographs hanging in galleries and museums can very much be "commercial" work.
To give you an idea, if I take pictures of my kids for my personal diary, I would NOT call it “Commercial”.
BUT, if I take pictures of my kids with intent to sell it to a stock photography agency to make money,
then I would call it “Commercial”.
TO ME, there are three basic approaches to photography.
1. Personal - for your own sake of the need to express, document, investigate or challenge ideas.
2. Commercial - to make money by taking pictures that your client can use to sell something.
3. Social Awareness/Contribution to Society - to expose an idea or an issue that others may not be aware of,
hoping they will adopt and take action towards better solutions.
It can be just one of those approaches, "Commercial" for an example - taking a picture of something
you don't really care about but you do it to make money.
Or, it can be combination of all three (AN IDEAL PROJECT).
Example - The Taiwanese Government paying me to travel around Taiwan and document
the pollution and using my photographs to promote "Greener Taiwan". With this scenario, I would be taking pictures
to document and express my views("personal"), get paid("commercial"), and to promote
greener Taiwan(Social awareness/Contribution to Society).
It is possible for personal work to end up in the commercial arena - example, if someone saw one of my diary pictures and wanted to buy it for a commercial use.
But, IN MY OPINION, commercial work cannot end up in the “Personal” folder, because with commercial work, MONEY was the INITIAL MOTIVE for taking the picture.
Many photographers will disagree with me on this issue, but it's ok, we all have different ideas on what is "commercial" and what is "personal".
United Colors of Benetton is an exceptional company, in that, they are introducing
non-traditional ideas and subject matter into commercial market place(not at their retail stores but through their ads).
They use controversial ideas and subject matter as their marketing techniques (such as
fashion spread using people on death role).
At least that’s how they got most of their attention from the general public.
Their magazine
http://www.colorsmagazine.com
Like most businesses, they are in it to make money, but the reason why I respect them is because they challenge and provoke people’s preconceived notion about ourselves. They also expose issues that most people are not aware of and they show they point of view. Basically, the colors magazine tells you how messed up this world is, hoping people will take note and do something about it.
Their design school
http://www.fabrica.it
From what I know, it’s strictly a scholarship program - if you are under 25 years old, you can apply
and if accepted, you can attend their program for free.
It’s one of the better art & design schools, but from what many people say, it's not so easy to get in - maybe bureaucracy.
Back to the question, what do I think of all this?
Well, there is nothing wrong with doing commercial work, as it is needed to make this world go around.
In fact, I wish I had done more commercial work and made tons of money, so that I could be
building the por que temple right now.
Only thing I would oppose is doing something that is immoral, unethical or promoting something that is against my belief system.
Even though I believe we should challenge ourselves, it's important for people to know that
NOT EVERYTHING WE DO HAVE TO BE SO MEANINGFUL OR SO DEEP.
That would be too much pressure and we would be discouraged.
For most people, it's more important to be INSPIRED FIRST, and then, think about what you want to do with your camera and photography.
Again, I'm open to hearing other people's opinion, so I hope some of you will reply to this post.
Discussions like these are important to share with others, especially to those who are not sure how to approach photography.
I will try to answer what Chun-Li was asking.
Regarding Commercial, Advertising, and Fashion Photography, when Chun-Li said - “There seems to be common, but still there're some subtle difference”
I would say the difference is the style, in that, they have target audience in mind and will make it look appealing to the specific type of people.
To give you an example, if a fashion magazine is targeting young high school or college students they would use a "cool" look to attract them.
If advertising company is designing an ad for a new Mercedes Benz 500 Series, they would use more sophisticated look to attract the older and wealthier clients.
TO ME “Commercial Photography” is any work, in any genre of photography that is produced with intent to MAKE MONEY.
That means it can be advertising, fashion, wildlife, pornography, and even conceptual and fine art photography.
It also means that many photographs hanging in galleries and museums can very much be "commercial" work.
To give you an idea, if I take pictures of my kids for my personal diary, I would NOT call it “Commercial”.
BUT, if I take pictures of my kids with intent to sell it to a stock photography agency to make money,
then I would call it “Commercial”.
TO ME, there are three basic approaches to photography.
1. Personal - for your own sake of the need to express, document, investigate or challenge ideas.
2. Commercial - to make money by taking pictures that your client can use to sell something.
3. Social Awareness/Contribution to Society - to expose an idea or an issue that others may not be aware of,
hoping they will adopt and take action towards better solutions.
It can be just one of those approaches, "Commercial" for an example - taking a picture of something
you don't really care about but you do it to make money.
Or, it can be combination of all three (AN IDEAL PROJECT).
Example - The Taiwanese Government paying me to travel around Taiwan and document
the pollution and using my photographs to promote "Greener Taiwan". With this scenario, I would be taking pictures
to document and express my views("personal"), get paid("commercial"), and to promote
greener Taiwan(Social awareness/Contribution to Society).
It is possible for personal work to end up in the commercial arena - example, if someone saw one of my diary pictures and wanted to buy it for a commercial use.
But, IN MY OPINION, commercial work cannot end up in the “Personal” folder, because with commercial work, MONEY was the INITIAL MOTIVE for taking the picture.
Many photographers will disagree with me on this issue, but it's ok, we all have different ideas on what is "commercial" and what is "personal".
United Colors of Benetton is an exceptional company, in that, they are introducing
non-traditional ideas and subject matter into commercial market place(not at their retail stores but through their ads).
They use controversial ideas and subject matter as their marketing techniques (such as
fashion spread using people on death role).
At least that’s how they got most of their attention from the general public.
Their magazine
http://www.colorsmagazine.com
Like most businesses, they are in it to make money, but the reason why I respect them is because they challenge and provoke people’s preconceived notion about ourselves. They also expose issues that most people are not aware of and they show they point of view. Basically, the colors magazine tells you how messed up this world is, hoping people will take note and do something about it.
Their design school
http://www.fabrica.it
From what I know, it’s strictly a scholarship program - if you are under 25 years old, you can apply
and if accepted, you can attend their program for free.
It’s one of the better art & design schools, but from what many people say, it's not so easy to get in - maybe bureaucracy.
Back to the question, what do I think of all this?
Well, there is nothing wrong with doing commercial work, as it is needed to make this world go around.
In fact, I wish I had done more commercial work and made tons of money, so that I could be
building the por que temple right now.
Only thing I would oppose is doing something that is immoral, unethical or promoting something that is against my belief system.
Even though I believe we should challenge ourselves, it's important for people to know that
NOT EVERYTHING WE DO HAVE TO BE SO MEANINGFUL OR SO DEEP.
That would be too much pressure and we would be discouraged.
For most people, it's more important to be INSPIRED FIRST, and then, think about what you want to do with your camera and photography.
Again, I'm open to hearing other people's opinion, so I hope some of you will reply to this post.
Discussions like these are important to share with others, especially to those who are not sure how to approach photography.
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