Lifestyle and Commercial Photography

I decided this week to explore the definitions and differences between lifestyle and commercial photography, since these are the next topics to be discussed in class.

Lifestyle photography captures the little details apparent in everyday life. These photos can capture special memories or simply random events in daily life. This article displays some great examples of lifestyle photography. I especially love the little details that these photos capture! It also includes tips for how to capture those moments, which is especially easy in today's world of seemingly endless storage for digital photos and the exceptional quality photos most cell phones can provide in a compact device.

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2012/03/5-tips-for-lifestyle-photography.html


Commercial photography focuses on displaying a product or service with the intent to sell. I found this article from fstoppers.com which asks several different professional photographers to give their definition of commercial photography. I thought it was interesting to see the similarities and differences in each person's response. I especially liked Dave Geffin's answer: "Commercial photographers are employed to create compelling visual images that speak to the target audience of that product." This definition implies that while the end goal is to sell a product, the means to that end still require an artistic approach that inspires others to act.

http://fstoppers.com/fstoppers-answers-what-is-commercial-photography


The final website I looked at went into more detail concerning the different distinctions of commercial photography, including travel, product, fashion, and advertising.

http://www.all-things-photography.com/commercial-photography.html