Commercial Photography is what some people call Business Photography. A commercial photographer takes photos for business marketing purposes, advertising, training, internal marketing collateral, business portfolios, social media, business websites, etc. I have even taken photos for company Christmas videos where the business highlights its projects for the year and shows the video during their company Christmas party.
A commercial photographer first has to know what the intended use is going to be for the images. Taking a photo for marketing purposes requires a completely different approach than taking images for training or for the company’s internal use. Commercial business videography is a complicated process whereby the videographer should read the script and discuss thoroughly with the authorized personnel what the approach for the video will be.
Walk-through videos for real estate use are far less complicated than training videos or infomercials for social media. That said, there is a degree of preplanning that a videographer must complete for walk-through videos as well.
Videography can range from shooting footage with a cell phone, a 35mm camera, or using a professional video camera. Pricing for videography reflects the degree of complication involved in the session and the degree of video quality required. Social media videos do not require high-quality footage but video for television does. A videographer cannot quote a price until they know the degree of complication that is required, the time-frame it is required in, and the use for the footage.
Training & marketing videos require a tremendous amount of pre-planning and script writing before the videographer is even contacted. Having this all planned in advance is the only way the videographer can also estimate the price. Editing will require more time on the photographer’s part, so try to keep your post video editing to a minimum by using detailed and thorough planning in advance. Reshooting footage is extremely expensive as well as expecting the videographer to do a great deal of splicing and editing of footage.