Portrait and Commercial Work

There’s always something brewing in the world of photographers looking to expand their markets, Lately, for some it’s called personal brand photography or “PBP.”

Well, happy to report as always I’m not into fads – but I do handle commercial work.

In addition to the event photography, wedding photography, reunion photography and such I’ve been handling for over a decade, there’s also commercial photography such as products, real estate and – yes, even personal brands.

Recently I worked with Sean The Prankster Magician, a Windham-based magician and reformed attorney. In recent years I’ve worked with Sean on a promotional video – (yes, I’ve been behind video camera for decades too). We’ve also captured a number of performances for posterity, and just recently begun work on some images he’ll use to update his website.

Years ago a bride I photographed asked if I could work with her on business photos for her fledgling pilates practice. We did equipment, poses and portraits – her personal brand, so-to-speak. I was happy to update those commercial images several times over the years. In later years, we did work for her online retail catalog.

Just like a restaurant menu, most businesses need to update their offerings and marketing to stay relevant.

Admittedly, the nice thing about PBP, or commercial work is that unlike weddings your clients are likely to book sessions more than once, twice or thrice (I recently captured images for a save-the-date, the wedding will be next)

Though we hadn’t talked about it ahead of time, during the session I suggested a few close up shots that more like poses or equipment than portraits. Of course where magic is concerned one needs to be sure they’re never giving away the ‘tricks of the trade.’

So – have a restaurant, service business, retail shop, product line, yoga practice, something else? Need images for your personal brand? What I still call commercial photography?

Drop me a line. Let’s figure out how I can help. Who knows? The effect on your brand could be magical! But remember, just like shag carpet in your rental (o.k. perhaps that’s making a comeback) or meatloaf on the menu, we may want to come up with a plan to revisit down the road.

Thanks for taking a look. You can also find, follow & like Jonathan Ment Photography on Facebook & at www.catskillsphotographer.com and check out the broad-topic’d “Observational Ramblings” of the Ment Media Group’s “Business Blog.”