Great content is your business. Whether publishing online or off, you need fantastic images to help tell your story. This is where I come in. As a Rochester photographer, I have an extensive background working with local publications as well as national magazines. The Internet’s push for great content and ‘Instagram-ready’ images puts pressure on content creators to use outstanding images. For high-quality original content stock photography just can’t cut the mustard. Enter, local Rochester editorial photography.
What is Editorial Photography?
If you’re a content creator, then you may have heard this term before. That’s because the trend towards fantastic images when sharing ideas grows year on year. To stay relevant you need great editorial photography. But what is that exactly? Well, editorial photography (in Rochester and beyond!), at its essence, is photography that supports the printed word, such as news. However, you should also be aware of the legal and stylistic meanings of ‘editorial photography’.
Legally
From the legal perspective, editorial photography means images licensed for certain types of uses and publications. For example, editorial-only images cannot be used for commercial or advertising purposes. Photographers can choose to license their images for either commercial or editorial use. In the case of editorial licenses you can use images:
- in newspapers and magazines
- on a blog or website for descriptive purposes
- not for selling stuff
In other words, you cannot use these kinds of images for any sort of advertising or promotional purposes. So, for example, my Rochester editorial photography can be used by the publications I work with in order to support the journalist’s story. However, if you’re looking for great commercial photography Rochester, that you can use with your promotional campaigns, read on!
Stylistically
From a style point of view, editorial photography can mean many different things. Often associated with candid images that reflect the world around us, editorial photographs capture the everyday. Moreover, when supporting the work of newspapers, the integrity of the images is key. However, from a purely aesthetic point of view, editorial images can include photos directly from a news-worthy scene, as well as images that may not be directly linked but support the story and its ethical standards. That’s because, editorial photographs are there to illustrate a story, rather than to sell something.

Commercial Photography Rochester
Perhaps you are looking for stunning images for marketing and advertising campaigns. In that case, you’re looking for commercial photography. Commercially licensed photos:
- contain no recognizable people or copyrighted material
- an appropriate model or property release accompanies any photos with recognizable people
The good news is that Rochester editorial and commercial photography can be endlessly varied. Our cityscape and natural world offer so many opportunities for incredible shots. From the South Wedge to High Falls, or from Lake Ontario to Canandaigua Lake or region is amazing! Have I convinced you to dump the stock photography and get custom Rochester editorial photography? Excellent! Contact me and let me know what you need.
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info@johnschlia.com
585-738-2026