What is editorial photography?

Editorial photography refers to the pictures in a magazine that aren't ads. The photographs that go along with the articles - even the cover of the magazine. Some photographers shoot only editorial type work, others shoot both editorial and commercial.

Editorial photography does not pay nearly as well as commercial, but with editorial, you usually get much more creative freedom, and you get a credit line. You do it to add to your portfolio - then show the portfolio to get commercial work.

Would you like to shoot a layout of photographs for Vogue? Even if you only got paid a few hundred bucks? Of course you would. Then you show those pictures to potential commercial clients - they are impressed - and you make real money shootiing for them.

It's far easier to get your foot in the door of lucrative commercial accounts if you have editorial tearsheets. Shooting editorial work might not pay the bills, but it will be a very good investment in your future.

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