What Is Editorial Photography? (And When You Should Use It)

What is Editorial Photography?

You've probably heard the term editorial photography before. But what exactly is it? I'm going to give you two definitions. first, the google definition:

"Traditionally, editorial photography means the images that accompany an article in a publication. But editorial images can also exist on their own and imply a narrative or outline a creative concept." - Adobe

It's a pretty good definition! Now here's mine:

Editorial photography tells a story. Whatever story you want, really! Most editorial shoots either start with a concept (which you'll see a lot of in my portfolio) or a reason. Why are these photos needed? what is the purpose? a lot of the time, for big projects or ideas, editorial photography is the answer. 99% of editorial photography is looked at through a commercial lens - where you're using the photographs to promote yourself, or a business. Editorial photos are mostly taken indoors with artificial lighting, but there are definitely some exceptions!

Commercial Editorial Photography

Commercial editorial photography is mostly situated in the modeling world. Modeling digitals are definitely considered editorial photography. I would also group any photography used to promote music in this category as well. Album covers featuring the artist on the cover are editorial work, as well as any other photography that is used in music promotion! I know that music photography can be a gray area, but what I'm referencing is any music photography that includes a person in the photo.

Branding Editorial Photography

While this might be a hot take, I very much consider branding photography to be a type of editorial photography. That might be a "me thing", but considering that most branding shoots start at a creative concert stage, I would say they count. If you are getting images of yourself taken for the purpose of developing an aesthetic to promote yourself in any way, that would be considered editorial!

Creative Concepts

Any shoot that starts with a greative concept is considered editorial. During college, there were two semesters where i offered editorial sessions for free in exchange for the models (aka happy volunteers) to do a photoshoot based on creative concepts that I came up with and wanted to do. It honestly was so much fun, and while it was one of the busiest times of my life when I was doing this, by the end I had an entire portfolio of editorial work that I was super proud of.

So, in case you weren't sure whether what you were looking for is an editorial shoot or something else, I hope this clears it up! My contact form is always open if you have any questions about what category a session falls under!

Maddie <3