What Is Advertising Photography?

Advertising photography is, quite simply, the photography a brand uses to sell its products or services. When done well, photography advertising encourages its audience to be interested in the service. Therefore, this advertising channel is vital to a brand's campaign. It puts the product or service directly to any potential customers and helps persuade them to invest in the product or service[ii].

To achieve this, an advertising photographer must combine expert photographic skills with psychology, thus creating images that look good and communicate well with their audience.  

Whether you plan on sharing your advertising photography through poster printing or social media, how a company uses advertising photography influences how customers, new and old, view the brand. The images can be edited to accurately depict the desired voice and tone of the company and their products. This, coupled with the advertising message, encourages customers to buy from that company consistently.

On top of this, images are more likely to encourage people to purchase a product. They say a photo can speak a thousand words, and that's never been more accurate than in photography advertising. Although creating a successful advertising slogan is important, when people can actually see the product they are buying or how it can impact their lifestyle, they are more likely to be tempted into buying it. When people can see the product they are buying or how it can impact their lifestyle, they are more likely to be tempted to buy it.

Finally, advertising photography has begun to take over social media, giving successful campaign images the capability of going viral. Digital platforms are ideal for brands to build a following and spread the word, and successful advertising photographs are a vital tool to hit this aim.

Several things make a successful advertising photograph. Fortunately, with a strong grasp on the wants of your target audience and a bit of technical know-how, ticking off the right criteria for a good advertising photography campaign doesn't have to be too difficult. In fact, you may find that you can take some of the best advertising photographs on your smartphone!

Here are our tips on how to take successful photographs for an advertising photography campaign.

Both smartphones and cameras usually have a grid feature which can help you set up the composition of your image. This feature ensures the result will be straight, proportionate and properly positioned. Use the rule of thirds to divide your frame and place important elements of the photograph on the grid lines, not in the centre.

Most smartphones and some professional cameras have automatic exposure. This handy feature selects an exposure, or the amount of light your camera sensor will detect, that it thinks will benefit the scene best. Although it's usually almost spot on, it can get confused if the scene has too much contrast in light. So, make sure to adjust the exposure yourself to get the sharpest image you can.

From a technical standpoint, photography is all about capturing the light, meaning attention-grabbing photographs require plenty of light. However, a camera's flash, particularly a smartphone's camera, can be harsh and unflattering. So, avoid using it by using natural light sources where possible. If natural light isn't readily available, you can use other sources, such as overhead lights, candles or torches; just make sure you don't shoot directly into a bright light source since this will create too harsh a contrast.

Naturally, you want your product to be the image's main focus. So, keep the background plain and simple. A bright, cluttered backdrop will only take away from your product, not to mention the effect it can have on your brand voice. Instead, use a more neutral background where possible. If the background is unavoidably cluttered, try and find the best positioning so you can edit out any blemishes later.

To really transform your advertising photography, never neglect post-editing. Editing software allows you to create a more whimsical, exciting image that will stand out above the rest. Even if you don't want to drastically edit any part of your image, post-editing allows you to adjust the brightness, contrast, detail, and structure of your photographs, allowing a perfect result.

Advertising photography is now more important than ever to a brand's image. With advertisements being shared on social media and going further than brands could ever expect, creating attention-grabbing photos is vital to success. And now, you know exactly what you're doing!
Do you have any tips for advertising photography? Let us know in the comments below!

 [i] https://www.markdelong.com/blog/power-of-advertising-photography

[ii] https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-become-a-commercial-photographer