The 10 Best Commercial Photographers in Scottsdale

As part of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Scottsdale commercial photographers are often lumped together with their peers in Phoenix (and other nearby cities and towns) on lists and searches. But as you can see from this post, the amount of photographic talent within Scottsdale itself is impressive, quite notable, and deserves a lot more attention. Here are some of the best of them in “The West’s Most Western Town.”

1. Michael Luna

Impressing clients for nearly three decades, Michael Luna has operated MLP Studios, delivering a variety of commercial photography services. His executive portraiture is what first caught our attention. These studio created images are classically styled and typically top-level corporate and conservative in look-and-feel.

Strong, serious portraits. Luna extends his classic sensibilities to other subgenres, like product/fashion photography, where his direct, uncluttered visuals do a tremendous job of pulling the viewer’s attention while imparting an air of sophistication. Very upscale.

2. Brandon Tigrett

The photography go-to guy for the commercial active lifestyle and sports space, Brandon Tigrett’s athletic portraits and dramatic action shots are front and center among his services. That makes it easy to miss that Tigrett is also very skilled at product and branding photography, even headshots and executive portraits.

Often the other way around, you’ll want to go past his website and explore his Instagram account to see these. Tigrett likes to keep his images and compositions simple, sharp, and clean. Along with his impeccable shutter click timing, it all comes together to produce some powerful images.

3. Tavit Daniel

Specializing in high-end event photography coverage, Tavit Daniel (through his Tavits Photography studio) has more than established himself among Scottsdale commercial photographers as the local event photographer of choice. The sheer number of photos of all kinds of events in his portfolio attests to that. And for all kinds of occasions, from corporate events and conferences to fun parties at entertainment venues.

His reputation isn’t just to marketing; the quality of Daniel’s images obliterates that notion. His lighting, in particular, is extraordinary, producing bright and colorful images with a natural look, and yes, often taken indoors with a flash. His clients couldn’t care less about the technicalities, of course, but they sure do know good picture-taking when they see it!

4. Dean Stevenson

What brought us to Dean Stevenson’s portfolio were his crisp and well-executed photographs of resort property and interiors, but what had us mesmerized were his scrumptious food and drink shots. His site trumpets his patience and dedication to getting perfect images, which is very much apparent in his work.

With his food photography, that manifests itself by working with food stylists, leaving nothing to chance, and we can see how he just nails each shot, enticing us with images of some of the most appetizing-looking dishes around.

5. Jimmie Sullivan

For nearly a decade, Jimmie Sullivan has operated J. Sullivan Productions, delivering real estate imagery from his Scottsdale base. His clean, bright, and vivid images are mostly of interiors and exteriors of commercial establishments.

Sullivan’s seeming ability to squeeze out every ounce of color from his shots, and yet keep it all natural and balanced, consistently gives his work an attractive and appealing aura while somehow retaining an air of normalcy. He has since added on a number of valuable enhancements to his service menu, including videos and drone aerials, all solidly anchored, of course, to his knack of getting the shot.

6. Tony Taafe

A visit to Tony Taafe’s website, and you know immediately what he does: He takes headshots. You also get the impression that the man knows he is very good at it. That confidence and directness can’t help but ooze their way into the images he captures. Taafe’s portraits are studio creations, usually with plain, darker backgrounds, and the expected head and shoulders composition.

What may be unexpected is his subjects look natural and comfortable, a possible indicator of something going on behind the scenes we can’t see: Taafe’s ability to connect with and guide his clients, leading them to their perfect headshots.

7. Tommie Cochrum

Tommie “Girl” Cochrum is a child portrait photographer, and a very good one. Cleverly, she also brings her baby portrait skills and style into the product and professional branding subgenres, which turns out to be a brilliant commercial move.

By applying a clean minimalistic style, bright lighting, and very light, often totally white, backgrounds to her product shots and portraits, Cochrum effectively produces branding images that will no doubt appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers.

8. Alex Harris

As tech moves relentlessly forward, so do the services offered by Scottsdale commercial photographers, and Alex Harris meets the area’s call for drone aerial photos and videos. Getting an FAA license and pro-caliber equipment aren’t enough—you need the visual skills for capturing great images, and that’s where many “pilots” don’t quite cut it.

Harris has all that covered, and his portfolio drives that point home. A regular photographer himself, Harris was also a seasoned post-production Los Angeles film editor. All that lets him turn unique and interesting aerial images into spectacular ones.

9. Cyndi Hardy

An amazing all-around photographer, Cyndi Hardy’s Instagram account is packed with her wedding and family lifestyle images, barely hinting at the quality of her real estate, product, and branding photos on her website. As good as those wedding shots are, seeing her commercial work is like rising to a whole different level of wow!

Comparing and contrasting her branding stuff is fascinating: clearer, brighter, sharper, and more visually direct, establishing a different feel with just a few subtle changes. Hardy’s real estate portfolio is where jaws drop, full of showcase quality images of interiors and exteriors, featuring majestic colors and lighting. Finding her portfolios of commercial work is like discovering hidden treasure!

10. Sariah Harvey

Another very talented local photographer who, like many other Scottsdale commercial photographers, diversifies her services, Sariah Harvey is clearly tuned to the wedding and family lifestyle photography spaces. Browsing through her work, however, reveals her skills being put to excellent use for personal branding portraits, even showing unmistakable potential for advertising.

Most of Harvey’s portraits we’ve seen are shot on location, and have a distinctly natural, refreshing, friendly, and welcoming look and feel, but unlike her wedding/family work, she subtly and effectively minimizes background detail, drawing all attention to her subject. These are little touches, but they make all the difference in the world

Local talent shines bright in Scottsdale!

Scottsdale stays busy, and that includes its entrepreneurs, business owners, advertisers, and media creators. Thankfully, there are plenty of amazing Scottsdale commercial photographers to help support everything Scottsdale’s eclectic inhabitants produce.

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