Commercial Photographer
San Francisco commercial photographer for brands, teams, and executives, editorial-grade imagery with a photojournalist’s eye, delivered in 3 to 5 days.
Commercial Photography for San Francisco Brands
I’m Josh Edelson, a commercial photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I make images companies actually use: website hero shots, executive portraits, conference and event coverage, product and lifestyle work, and aerials. The brief is usually some version of “we need photos that make us look like the real deal.” That’s the job.
A Photojournalism Edge That Most Commercial Shooters Don’t Have
Here’s what sets my work apart. I shoot for Agence France-Presse and my photos move on the Getty wire. That means national outlets run my images of CEOs, courtrooms, wildfires, and breaking news the same day I shoot them. I’ve photographed Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk, and AWS chief Matt Garman, and that work has run in the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.
What does that buy you on a commercial shoot? Speed and instinct. I walk into a boardroom or a keynote and read the room fast, catch the genuine moment instead of staging a stiff one, and come away with frames that look like life, not a stock-photo audition. Executives who hate having their picture taken tend to relax with me because I’m not fussing for an hour. I get the shot and move on. That photojournalism discipline is the same reason my corporate work doesn’t read as generic.
Who This Is For
- Tech and startup companies needing founder portraits, team photos, and office culture imagery for the site and fundraising decks.
- Marketing and comms teams who need conference, summit, and product-launch coverage delivered fast for press and social.
- PR and agency clients placing executive portraits and editorial-style features with the media.
- Healthcare, life sciences, and professional services firms that want polished, credible imagery without the cheesy stock look.
- Real estate, construction, and venue clients who need licensed aerial and architectural shots.
What You Get and How Fast
Every shoot is fully directed, professionally lit where needed, and color-corrected by hand. You receive a private online gallery of high-resolution, retouched, web- and print-ready images with full commercial usage rights for your business. I handle the technical side so you never get a folder of raw, flat files you can’t use.
Turnaround is 3 to 5 business days for a standard gallery. When a team is shipping a press release or posting same-week, that matters. Need it faster for an event or an announcement? Rush and next-day delivery are available; tell me the deadline up front and I’ll build the shoot around it. For breaking-news-style needs, I can turn select frames around the same day.
Pricing
Straightforward, no surprises. Final quotes depend on scope, locations, crew, and usage, but here’s where most projects land:
- Half-day shoot (up to ~4 hours): from $2,000
- Full-day shoot (up to ~8 hours): from $4,000
- Aerial / drone add-on or standalone: from $500
Headshot volume sessions, multi-day productions, and multi-city work are quoted per project. Tell me what you’re trying to accomplish and I’ll send a clear estimate.
Why Hire Josh
You’re hiring someone whose images already pass the highest editorial bar in the business. My work has earned international recognition, including a First Prize at the Istanbul Photo Awards and an IFPA/Xposure award in the UAE, and my wildfire coverage has been exhibited at Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan. For aerial work I hold an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, so drone shoots are flown legally and insured, which matters for commercial sites and venues.
Beyond the credentials, I’m easy to work with. I show up prepared, I respect your team’s time, and I direct people who don’t love being photographed without making it awkward. Companies from Bay Area startups to global brands keep calling me back because the photos work and the process is painless.
Want to see the range? Browse my corporate headshots, event and conference coverage, office and lifestyle photography, and aerial work, or check the press and awards page to see where this work has run. When you’re ready, get in touch for a quote and tell me about your project.
I also photograph medical offices, labs, and biotech teams; that work lives on my healthcare and life sciences photography page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a commercial photographer in San Francisco cost?
Most commercial shoots start at $2,000 for a half-day (up to about 4 hours) and $4,000 for a full day (up to about 8 hours). Aerial and drone work starts at $500 as an add-on or standalone shoot. Final pricing depends on scope, number of locations, crew, and usage rights. Send me your project details and I’ll provide a clear, itemized quote.
How fast will I get my photos?
Standard galleries are delivered in 3 to 5 business days as high-resolution, retouched, web- and print-ready files with commercial usage rights. If you have an event, press release, or announcement on a tight clock, rush, next-day, and even same-day delivery of select frames are available. Just tell me the deadline before the shoot.
What kinds of commercial photography do you shoot?
Executive and team headshots, office and culture lifestyle imagery, conference and corporate event coverage, product and brand work, editorial-style executive features for PR placement, and FAA Part 107-licensed aerial photography. If your company needs images for its website, decks, press kit, or social channels, that’s the work I do.
What makes your commercial work different from other photographers?
I shoot for Agence France-Presse, and my images move on the Getty wire and run in outlets like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. I’ve photographed leaders including Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai. That photojournalism background means I work fast, read a room, and capture genuine moments rather than stiff, staged setups, so your commercial photos look authentic instead of generic.
Teams at Google, Salesforce and Meta Hire Me
Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Meta, Stanford and UCSF have all hired me for commercial shoots. I have photographed Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and AWS CEO Matt Garman, and my photography runs in the New York Times, TIME, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the LA Times. More than fifteen years shooting for AFP taught me how to walk into a room full of executives, work fast, and get the shot.
That track record shows up in the reviews. I hold a 5.0 rating across 43 Google reviews, plus about 56 more on Yelp. Hiring a commercial photographer in San Francisco means trusting one person to represent your brand on camera, and my clients keep hiring me back because the work holds up.
What I Shoot for Commercial Clients
Most of my commercial work in the Bay Area falls into four areas. Product and brand photography for websites, campaigns and ad creative. Corporate lifestyle, meaning real employees working in real offices instead of stiff stock poses. Executive portraits and leadership headshots built to hold up in an annual report or a press release. And full brand campaigns where I run the lighting and direction on set.
I light and frame every shot around where it will live, so an image built for a paid ad is not handled the same as one for a catalog or an internal deck. Booking one photographer for product, team headshots and office lifestyle in a single visit gives you one consistent library instead of three that do not match. Tell me the deliverables and the deadline and I will build the day around them.
Serving San Francisco, the Bay Area and Beyond
I am based in Novato and cover the entire San Francisco Bay Area, including the city, Silicon Valley, Oakland and the East Bay. When a client needs me on location in another city, I travel nationwide. Half-day shoots run $2,000 and full days run $4,000, with larger team headshot days around $3,500 to $4,000.
My editorial work has earned a First Prize at the Istanbul Photo Awards, an Xposure IFPA award and the AFP Varenne/Canon Grand Prix, and it has been exhibited at Visa pour l'Image. That is the same eye I bring to a corporate campaign or an executive portrait. When you are ready to book a commercial photographer in San Francisco, call me at 650-515-0999 or email josh@edelsonphotography.com.
More Common Questions
Do you travel outside San Francisco for commercial shoots?
Yes. I am based in Novato and cover the whole San Francisco Bay Area, including the city, Silicon Valley, Oakland and the East Bay. For clients who need me somewhere else, I travel nationwide. Call 650-515-0999 and we can talk through the location and dates.
What companies have you photographed in the San Francisco Bay Area?
Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Meta, Stanford and UCSF have all hired me, and I have photographed executives including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and AWS CEO Matt Garman. My work also runs in the New York Times, TIME, the Wall Street Journal and the LA Times, and I hold a 5.0 rating across 43 Google reviews.
Do you also shoot corporate headshots and events?
Yes. Along with product and brand work, I shoot executive and team headshots and cover corporate events across the Bay Area. Large team headshot days run around $3,500 to $4,000, and booking one photographer for headshots, lifestyle and event coverage keeps your image library consistent.
Production Details Corporate Teams Ask About
- Insured for enterprise work. $2,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 aggregate business liability, plus equipment and drone coverage under an FAA Part 107 certificate. A certificate of insurance with your venue named as additional insured is available on request.
- Same-day delivery available. Edited selects can be delivered the same day on request, so your social and comms teams can post while the event is still running. Standard delivery is a professionally edited gallery within days, with rush options when a deadline cannot wait.
- Crew scaling for large productions. I run productions with crews of up to 10, including second photographers, assistants, and digitechs, coordinated under one contact and one invoice.
- Wire distribution for press-grade moments. For launches and newsworthy corporate events, I can set up approved images to move to wire services including AFP, Getty Images, AP, and Reuters as press handouts. Fifteen years filing to the AFP wire from the field is the standard your coverage is held to.