Creative Advertising Photography [ With Definition, Benefits+ Examples]

Advertising has been an integral part of branding for decades. Previously, print advertisements in newspapers, magazines, and other media were the most effective. Sadly, the appeal of print advertisements has drastically declined since the popularity of video advertising. 

However, creativity is always praised, whether it’s used in print marketing or video marketing. This article includes some creative advertising photography examples that will assist you in coming up with brilliant advertising ideas. 

So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

What is Advertising Photography?

Advertising photography is a genre of photography that involves shooting creative images for advertising campaigns to promote a company, brand, product, or service. Usually, this type of photography has some artistic features that hit the target market emotionally and convey a strong brand message. 

The main purpose of this type of photography is to grab the customer’s attention and lure them to purchase the product or service. For that reason, the advertised items are shot in such a way that they feel like a part of a lifestyle. 

Different Types of Advertising Photography

Advertising campaigns are a must for every type of product to reach its target customers. As the products differ, different types of advertising photography techniques are required to make the products look their best. 

The following are the most popular types of advertising photography that business owners use to promote their products.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle photography involves presenting a product or service in a social context. Brands like clothing, footwear, jewelry, home appliances, etc., use lifestyle photography to give the products a slice of life. The main goal of this photography is to make the target audience visualize themselves using those products or services and entice customers to purchase them. 

Fashion

Fashion photography is a type of lifestyle photography where models wear products like clothing, shoes, or outfit accessories. It offers a variety of creative ways to connect with the target market and draw them into the products. For instance, models wear sports shoes to run or hike mountains, diamond jewelry or fancy dresses to attend parties, and so on. 

Usually, high-end fashion brands hire professional or well-known models for apparel, footwear, or jewelry photography. However, e-commerce brands with tight budgets also use fashion photography using parts models or inexpensive models.

Beauty

Beauty product advertising photography is the art of taking pictures of cosmetics and skincare products with the purpose of convincing customers to purchase the products to enhance their beauty. It is another style of lifestyle photography where models are seen holding or using products in the images. 

In this type of photograph, the glamorous facial features of attractive models are mostly highlighted to attract customers.

Architectural

Architectural photography shows the interior and exterior design of residential, corporate, or hotel rooms from their best angles. The goal of this photograph differs depending on the location. For example, the goal of a house or office space is to show how spacious it is so that the target audience can imagine themselves living or working there. 

However, for hotels, aesthetics are emphasized. Both the interiors and exteriors are captured in different seasons and styles to show the cozy, calm, and soothing environment. As a result, the aesthetic view evokes the need to take a break from regular life and makes the customers wish to spend their vacation or alone time there.

Food

Food photography  is an integral part of the food industry. Starting from high-end restaurants to fast food restaurants to eCommerce food product brands, everyone depends on tempting food images to attract customers. Brands or restaurants photograph mouthwatering dishes with raw ingredients, the cooking process, or the ingredients’ source to depict their product’s quality.

The majority of food advertising photography is unrealistic; that is, the images are exaggerated to look tempting, which in real life doesn’t look the same. 

Automobile

The automobile industry uses car photography for advertising newly launched models among consumers. The cars are photographed in different scenarios depending on their purpose. For instance, cars compatible with adventure are shot in hilly or hard-to-reach locations, whereas family cars are shot in a traveling or picnic context. 

The cars’ exterior and interior designs, with their detailed specifications, are shot for automobile photography to show the outlook, comfort, functionality, and safety features.

Benefits of Advertising Photography

We all know that advertisements are used to promote products or brands. However, aside from promotion, it helps a brand or business in numerous other ways. 

Let’s check out the benefits that advertising photography offers-

Build emotional connection

Advertising photographs help to build an emotional connection between the customer and the product. Instead of merely displaying the product, demonstrating the value it can add, such as, putting a smile on someone’s face or making their life simpler stimulates emotion within the customers. That emotional attachment drives the customers to make the purchasing decision.  

Stimulates desire within customers

The majority of people nowadays don’t shop for what they need; they shop for what they want. Advertising photography has the power to create a feeling of want within the customers. For instance, the desire to purchase a new product will be sparked when customers see advertising photos of a stunning dress or shoes despite having numerous similar products. 

Acts as a branding tool

Customers get to know about brands through advertisements. A creative yet consistent advertising style acts as a brand’s signature, conveying the brand’s voice, tone, and message. Therefore, advertisement photography can be used as an effective branding tool. 

Conveys brand message

Photo advertisement is a great way of conveying a message without using words. For instance, a girl strolling by the beach in a long white sundress with a hat on her head is enough to convey the message that it could be the perfect outfit for your next trip to the beach. 

Helps to increase sales

In the era of social media, unique advertisements get popular among customers within a very short time. The more popular the product becomes, the more attention the brands get. Thus, creative ad photography results in boosting sales and helps a brand stay ahead of the competition.

Amazing Advertising Photography Examples To Get Inspired

The following examples of advertising photography will help you think creatively and create amazing advertising images.

1. Advertisement photography by Aneev Rao

We plan a trip or a camp to get away from our hectic daily lives. But for traveling, what is the most important thing you need? Obviously, a backpack! Aneev Rao, a Mumbai-based fashion photographer, has creatively shown how a simple image can speak a thousand words. 

A backpack in the middle of a wildlife setting with the tagline “disappear” is enough to convey the message that this backpack from Wildcraft is certainly a perfect companion for traveling.

2. Adidas advertising photography

The majority of well-known brands produce eco-friendly, sustainable, and animal cruelty-free products, and Adidas is one of them. The vegan Adidas Stan Smith shoes are made with 70% recycled materials and don’t contain any animal ingredients. 

The dripping of water droplets on the plants from the shoes proves the shoes’ eco-friendly features. Moreover, the green color on the shoes is an apparent reference to the connection with nature.

3. Harley Davidson advertising photography

The stereotypical mindset of our society has imposed the idea that riding bikes are only for men. But with the passage of time, our society is also changing. The Harley Davidson commercial serves as proof of this change. 

The advertisement shows the girl riding a bike and enjoying her freedom, just like a free bird soaring in the open sky. 

4. Advertising fashion photography by Sandrine Michael

Fashion photography is not always about bold looks or unusual poses. Just like the fashion photographer duo Sandrine and Michael, you can keep the composition simple to create beautiful fashion photographs. 

This image is shot in a studio setup, maintaining the balance of colors. The colors of the outfit, hat, bag, shoes, background, and the contrasting color of the grass are all in perfect harmony, creating an eye-soothing composition. 

5. Advertising photography examples Emre Gologlu

The most effective way of attracting customers to products is to show them the result or benefit the product is going to provide them. Emre Gologlu, a Turkish-born photographer, has created such a result-showing advertisement for the detergent company. 

The captivating advertisement can help customers picture their own laundry experience. The way a dull white cloth enters the washing machine and emerges as bright white demonstrates how effectively the detergent can clean.

6. Volkswagen advertising photography

Volkswagen is a renowned brand that sells a range of high-quality cars.  The Volkswagen Amarok W580X is one of their stunning off-road cars, perfect for adventures. The advertisement for the Amarok W580X depicts that this beast can drive on any road, be it paved, unpaved, on trails, arid or rough terrain.

7. Coca-cola advertising photography

Coca-Cola has been reigning for decades. When a product has been a part of our lives for decades, it gets connected with our emotions and memories. Coca-Cola uses simple themes and taglines related to happiness to strengthen the emotional bond with its customers. 

Just like in this advertisement, the background lights, the smile, the gesture —everything represents a festive mood. The tagline ‘taste the feeling’  with the Coca-Cola bottle in hand delivers a strong message that it is not just a soft drink but an important part of a celebration that gives the taste of happiness.

8. Bose advertising photography

What a frustrating moment it is when we put on earphones to listen to music to take a break or destress ourselves, but the earphone falls off! Bose knows this struggle and offers earphones that will stay in place. 

The advertisement creatively demonstrated how an inspiring song could turn into a depressing one  just because the earphones don’t stay in the ears. The caption ‘If your earphones don’t stay in your ear, your songs won’t stay the same’ makes the message clear.

9. Mercedes Benz Marketing Photography

The success of a photography advertisement depends on whether the advertising photographer is capable enough to make the viewers feel the image. The Mercedes Benz advertisement from Jung von Matt/Limmat is a perfect example of it.

In this image, the speed of the car is beautifully demonstrated. The blurry surrounding with the focused car creates a visual illusion that makes the viewers feel that the image is in motion.

10. WMF advertising photography

Every knife brand claims its knife to be sharp. But how can you prove the knife’s sharpness through an image to make a brand distinctive? Take inspiration from the outstanding advertisement for the WMF Grand Gourmet Knife from KNSK.   

The beautiful curved sculptures on radish show how precise cuts can be made with this knife. This simple image conveyed the theme of the advertisement ‘for those who value precision’—without using any words.

11. BMW advertising photography

Using a phone while driving is one of the major causes of road accidents. Rodrigo Santos Alvarez, a Brazilian artist, brilliantly illustrated this fact in this BMW advertisement. 

The lock pattern of a phone screen is depicted as a road. And attempting to unlock the phone leads to an accident. The caption, ‘Do not unlock the phone driving, to not unlock a collision’ keeps the message concise.

Final Thought

Executing marketing campaigns is a daunting task. However, a creative advertising photographer can pull off this tough job with his passion and dedication to creating something new. 

Hope that this article has given you some new perspective on the innovative advertising strategies used by various companies. Learn from these examples to come up with your own creative version for your upcoming advertisement photography.