How/Why I Became Interested in Commercial Photography

My name is Ebony Thompson and I first became interested in photography in the 10th grade of high school. My school offered the class as an elective however, I wasn’t able to take the course until the eleventh grade. In the meantime, I joined a photography club after school as a starter. When I got to the eleventh and twelfth grade I learned the different types of lighting for portrait, pinhole photography, how to use the darkroom, beginner Photoshop, Lightroom, and more. It really was a great experience and it only grew my love for photography.

When it came time to apply for college and university, I decided to take photography as it was a growing passion of mine. While applying to school the refine of my preferred field had begun as some schools offered degrees to lead into fine art photography which is more taking photos to hang in galleries and others offered diplomas which would lead to freelance and photojournalism. I chose to take a two-year program at Humber College which would provide me with a diploma. At this point, I was leading towards freelance photography.

During my years at Humber, I was introduced to a variety of photography types. I learned video taking and editing, portrait, commercial, and location photography. I also learned Photoshop, printing, and alternative processes. These courses allowed me to really learn things about myself that I hadn’t noticed before. When it came to portrait photography, many subjects look for directions in form of posing and facial expressions. What I learned was that I am not very good at directing, I developed a sort of anxiety throughout shooting and in the editing process. People are always looking to give input on how they are edited and on the timeline of when they can access the images. I fell in love with commercial, specifically product and food photography as it gave me a sense of relief.

Commercial photography is photographing inanimate objects. While I know that in the future clients will be in charge of how my images will be set up and how they are edited, there is still the aspect of simplicity that portrait just doesn’t provide for me. For now in class, however I see the image in my head is how I am able to execute it. I also love the process of setting up and executing an image. While the editing process I’d still not something I look forward to, it’s something that is necessary and I am sure I will grow to love it as well.

If you have any questions about me or my journey feel free to contact me.