Last month, the 500px team hosted our second Licensing webinar in our In Focus series. In Focus dives deep into various Licensing and commercial themes to break down topics and concepts aimed to help photographers develop their portfolios with content types image buyers are looking for.


Ahema & Afia by Junior Asiama on 500px.com


Mother and son on the beach by Olha Dobosh on 500px.com

Our latest webinar, In Focus: Capturing realness in commercial photography, detailed the importance of realness and authenticity in commercial advertising. The 500px team walked through various terms and buzzwords commonly used, and illustrated how to shoot successful content for today’s consumers.


Man getting haircut at the barbershop. Professional barber at work by Volodymyr Melnyk on 500px.com

“It is an exciting time,” says our Community Manager, Logan Bales. “We are experiencing a turning point within advertising. Gone are the days where brands and companies can ‘pull the wool over consumers eyes’ and rely solely on tactics. Today consumers are more educated and are especially aware of marketing and advertising strategies that were historically used.”

What does this mean? Well, the consumer brand relationship is changing drastically, and we see more consumers being verbal in their expectations and needs. Consumers want to see more realistic and everyday depictions of people and life in their advertising. They want to stop chasing perfection and instead focus on global impacts and values. This has led to brands and companies adopting more relatable and genuine branding that builds trust and transparency that consumers want to see.


One day of the family by Inga Marchuk on 500px.com


Group of activists picking up litter in nature, environmental by Jozef Polc on 500px.com

If you are considering incorporating realness and authenticity into your commercial portfolio we highly recommend you check out the recorded webinar on our 500px YouTube channel and download the PDF in our 500px Licensing Discord to refer to. You will learn key terms, see real life advertising examples, and learn our commercial shoot strategy to help you make the most of your photoshoot. Plus, the 500px team deconstructs various demographics to help you strategically plan your shoots, and we give ample content types and shot lists to work from!

Check out the recorded webinar here and make sure to join our 500px Licensing Discord to stay up to date on trending themes and webinars!

Not on 500px yet? Click here to learn about Licensing with 500px.