📸 Advertising photography: What is it and what is it for? [2021]

Advertising and photography are two things that have been linked for many years. In fact, it has been almost a century since photography was used in the world of advertising for the first time, with the aim of connecting with an audience in a different way. But,what is advertising photography? 🤔

In this article we will tell you what is the role of photography in the world of advertisingAs it not only makes advertising more attractive and inspiring, it can also be approached in different ways to give your advertising campaigns that extra touch.

1. What is advertising?

The term advertising involves many definitions. First, advertising is the way a company or brand communicates with customers, either advertising new products or improving the image of the company.

Advertising could also be defined as a space for which you pay, which is used to promote products, events or services. Advertising is present mainly in public spaces, the media, the internet and more.

We could also talk about advertising widely as a strategy to represent concepts, position itself and achieve awareness in the mind of the consumer. The types of advertising media vary frequently and are constantly evolving.

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Since when does advertising exist?

Advertising has been around forever. However, we can say that many years ago, the most popular advertising was word of mouth. Throughout history, the best salespeople were those who knew how to promote their products efficiently to attract as many customers as possible.

In the 15th century, the creation of the printing press by Gutenberg meant a major advance in the world of advertising. This is due to the fact that the discovery of the printing press allowed to considerably increase the number of advertisements, which were previously written and painted by hand.

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After the industrialization of the countries, advertising acquired an increasingly important and relevant value in society. Today, almost all companies want (or need) promote your products through advertisements. The objective of advertising is not only to publicize a brand or company, but to awaken the desire and need for purchase among consumers.

We can find advertising in magazines, newspapers, radio, television, outdoors, catalogs, flyers, internet and more.. Today, advertising has a very controversial image among the general public.

We all know that it is present in every moment of our life and that it is difficult to escape from it. On the one hand, people often complain about being bombarded with advertising images: when driving around town in a car, when turning on the television or radio, or when surfing the Internet.

Nevertheless, surely we have all clicked on an ad that caught our attention or have gone to a store after seeing an ad about it. That said, advertising serves its primary purpose and has allowed commerce to flourish, thus strengthening all economic sectors.

2. What is advertising photography?

For many companies, advertising photography is an integral and indispensable part of your marketing strategy. Contrary to what most people think, advertising photography should not be confused with product photography, which is just a detailed display of the product against a generally neutral background.

In fact, advertising photography goes beyond simple product photography, since it highlights its advantages to make them more attractive. Advertising photos must have the ability to attract potential customers to buy a product or hire a service.

Although it may seem like it, advertising photography is not a modern practice, has existed for several years and has been refined. Today, most companies have understood its importance in the sales process and do not hesitate to seek the help of professional photographers who specialize in this.

Source: Photo Awards

What is advertising photography for?

The advertising photography has established itself in the world of marketing thanks to the unquestionable advantages it offers. Among them, the ability to captivate a customer who visits a web page or sees an advertisement or billboard.

If you analyze the pages of your website or advertising campaigns, you will see that the products that do not have good photographs are those that, in general, have the lowest conversion rate. On the other hand, ad campaigns that include captivating and attractive photos tend to attract more customers.

This type of photography goes beyond a simple presentation of a product, as it highlights it in one way or another.

What is the difference between advertising photography and product photography?

Advertising photography captures and represents the emotions or feelings that a particular product elicits in the audience. This kind of photography too serves as a tool to attract the attention of consumers and motivate them to buy products.

Regardless of the style of the image, the ultimate goal of advertising photography is to drive viewers to buy or consume something specific.

Product photography essentially focuses on the product itself. This ensures that viewers do not divert their attention from the product. As a result, the style, background, and lighting are generally neutral. On the other hand, advertising photography uses innovative and creative framing and art direction techniques.

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3. Types of advertising photography

In most advertising campaigns, photography is one of the most important elements. Whether in a magazine, on a billboard, or on a website, a good photograph will attract the attention of consumers.

Advertising photography is used to help companies position a brand or communicate a change in the company’s image. Photography not only serves to represent a product or a brand, it should also awaken people’s emotions and desires.

Because today consumers are practically bombarded by advertising images, it is important that the advertising piece captures the attention of consumers and stands out from the rest. These are some of the main ways in which advertising photography is used to promote or communicate a product or brand:

• Advertising panels.
• Banners.
• Material for internal marketing.
• Photographs for commercials or television commercials.
• Product photos on the website.

When we talk about advertising photographyIt is very important to hire professionals who have experience in this field, as it can make a big difference in a marketing campaign. Professionals who specialize in advertising photography know how to team up with art directors and marketing managers to achieve the objective of a campaign or piece.

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Although good advertising photography can make a product stand out to promote sales, if it is of poor quality, it often causes the piece not to generate recall in the consumer. These are some of the industries or areas in which advertising photographers are most in demand:

• Brands with a focus on lifestyle.
• Gastronomy.
• Products.
• Corporate image of companies.
• Architecture and real estate.
• Hotels and resorts.

Hiring a professional advertising photographer is an investment that can be truly worthwhile. for a company, brand or business. Every industry has different needs and the use of advertising photography also influences the way the shoot is planned.

Regardless of the type of advertising photography being done, proper research and planning are essential for a successful advertising campaign.

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4. Best practices of advertising photography

Advertisers don’t need a personal photographer to enjoy the benefits of good photography during all stages of the campaign.

Regardless of whether the advertising photography ideas are generated in-house or the company hires a professional advertising photographer, there are some guidelines that will maximize impact and the results of the photographs used.

Be selective

Choosing an advertising image, be it a printed image or an image on the web, requires a trained eye that can see small details that can generally go unnoticed. Choosing the right image is not limited exclusively to choosing photos that are directly related to the product or service being advertised.

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What to look for is to establish an emotional connection with the audience. The most impressive or remembered ads are those that stand out for telling stories and transmitting emotions, rather than directly promoting products or brands without a deep concept behind.

To take a good advertising photograph, it is very important to take a minimalist approach of “less is more”And let the opinions and experiences of consumers be part of the storytelling. It’s great when the photo alone can transport the audience to the desired feeling.

Be consistent so that there is coherence in communication

Photos must rightly match the tone of communication and the objective of the campaign itself. For example, if the ad is strong enough to convince users to click and extend the customer journey on a website, the landing page after the click should include a unified message to maintain a sense of familiarity with what has been seen before.

Source: Glam Flame

The content or tone mismatch between the ad and the landing page can greatly hinder or diminish conversions and ROI by minimizing the positive impact generated by the emotional connection generated by the ad.

Do not rule out using photographs from image banks

The use of stock photos in advertising campaigns is not necessarily negative or limits the ability to create an attractive and immersive piece in advertisements. Conversely, stock photography can be a useful and convenient solution if you do not have a lot of budget in your advertising campaigns.

On pages like Getty Images and Shutterstock, as well as on free image pages – like Pexels and Unsplash – you can choose and download photos that can serve as material for your advertising campaigns.

When choosing promotional photos for your campaigns, you must apply the same guidelines that we mentioned previously. Following these guidelines will maximize impact and create a personalized feel for your audience.

Now you know what is advertising photography, what are the best practices and how to get the best out of it for your next campaigns. I hope this note has been useful to you and you can implement what you have learned in your next projects.

Until the next article! 🚀