The practice of commissioning or hiring photographers for income has been at the forefront since the invention of photography. In the book The History of Photography: An Overview, it reveals that since the 1850’s “Photographic campaigns and commissions were forming in most countries of the civilized world.” Much of this was associated with documenting new regions which were now accessible with the advent of the railways. “Countless private publishers hired individual cameramen to travel to the far corners of the world. The photographers would endure any amount of hardship to bring back views of the foreign and exotic, which the publisher would then contact print and sell either in shops or through subscriptions.”
Since then commissioned photography one thinks has been thriving. When working as an art director in the US, I would marvel at the global ad campaigns highlighted in and which celebrated and still continues to, the creativity of advertising campaigns. But what about now? What is the state of commissioned photography in the current photographic climate? Stock photography has improved considerably ticking all the visual trends and responsive to the new ones. With the additional attraction that there is an incredible choice of images on a global level to satisfy the needs of the most discerning art buyers. So why spend a fortune on hiring a photographer? There are compelling arguments for both commissioned photography and stock photography covered in this article in from 2012.
For , a contributor to the above article and now a commercial photography consultant and mentor believes that not only “commissioned photography is here to stay” but reiterating that “it is not dead or barely surviving but thriving”. Zoe goes on to add that what has changed in our now digital culture is the necessity for photographers to market themselves and carve a cohesive brand for themselves. This is everything from “networking, building relationships and basically not waiting to be found.” It also involves creating an “engaging persona online” as well as offline which involves a constantly refreshed and updated website, online presence, and marketing material. This then helps the potential clients out there to appreciate the development of your artistic oeuvre.
Zoe also refers to the ‘tangible benefit’ that brands have been alerted to and are harnessing from approaching professional photographers for their campaigns who have a large following on Instagram – sometimes this can be a deciding factor in who they may choose for their campaign.
This point is further highlighted in a PDN article from October 2014 which explores “When Instagram Success Leads to Advertising Assignments”. For photographer , “Instagram has proven much more effective in attracting clients than any of the moves photographers traditionally make when starting out.” The attraction for the big brands is access to a type of personalised imagery that is ideal for creating successful, authentic-feeling campaigns as well as tapping into talented photographers with a massive social media following.
The changing dynamics of commissioned photography is well described . It describes how the artistic director of Diesel enlists Nick Knight the renowned fashion photographer to create campaign imagery for his inaugural capsule collection at Diesel. “It’s a campaign in the most modern guise – rather than shooting six months before and running them in print magazines, the latest visuals were shot a few weeks ago.” Most importantly it was “created purely for the digital community”. Nick Knight has become particularly influential for his ‘digital embrace’, having migrated from a Hasselblad camera to an iphone for some of his assignment work.
In search of more perspectives on the original question, I asked a few more photographers for their opinion (Is commissioned photography dead?). They were very clear that this was not the case. from the US believes it is “far from dead”. She continues that “there is still a big market for original work created specifically for a client’s needs. Many clients want an art director as well as a photographer, they want your specific imprint and vision. The advantage for the client is something unique and exclusive and created specifically for their brand. I believe there will always be plenty of companies that will want that.”
, a UK photographer is in accord with Lara Rossignol. He’s “not sure how representative my experience is” but he’s “doing more commissioned work now then I have for decades, with some extremely stimulating and challenging jobs having come my way this year, including for clients Orient Express and Canon. He goes onto add “In fact I feel as if I’ve gone full circle in my career; I started out over 30 years ago chasing commissioned work and that’s exactly what I’ve now come back to.”
So in summary, commissioned photography appears to be flourishing while adapting to and creatively embracing the current digital climate. If your experience is different and you consider commissioned photography is less then thriving then we’d love to hear your perspective.
