Anyone who has had little interest in how ad campaigns are conducted will have seen how complex they are.
Beyond the final image that is presented to us, there is a very concrete, complete and complex work, there is an in-depth market analysis, a lot of psychology and a myriad of strategies designed to attract the attention of the viewer and convey an idea that invites the action.
- Our literary recommendation for this month refers to this type of photography always present around us: advertising photography.
This is a book for advanced amateurs who want to learn about other advertising photography techniques. No way (unless you think it’s really your passion and you’re going to want to squeeze and decipher every word in this book) it’s not for someone who just started photographing.
On the other hand, if you have good technical knowledge and relative experience in the world of advertising or at least a great interest in it, this book may be what you are looking for, you will be able to see the entire process that this type of photography requires and add new ones ideas or techniques to your knowledge.
If you’ve just started photography and still don’t have technical knowledge, I don’t think it’s the book you’re looking for right now, at least not now;). Because it’s aimed at someone who has a pretty deep knowledge of photographic technique.
In this introductory chapter, the author outlines the entire topic he will discuss throughout the book, which is essentially the whole process that an advertising photographer must follow, from the customer’s first intention to the final retouching.
Explains how advertising photography is basically a way to express ideas and emotions and how its main goal is to get the photo viewer to immediately capture the message we’re trying to convey.
We will know how the purpose of advertising has gone from simply delivering a product to transmitting a message to a certain group of people in order to promote a certain attitude; how advertising seeks to have impact and originality by trying to penetrate the viewer by appealing to their emotions, in a single image, in which nothing is left to chance and the result must be exactly as expected.
You will also know aspects such as the requirements that an advertising photographer needs: having many resources, a high level of responsibility and involvement throughout the process, extensive technical knowledge and ingenuity.
In this third chapter, you’ll see in detail the whole process of creating an ad photograph, from Briefing (the document that provides the path to implementing an advertising campaign), the idea or sketch (an accurate idea of what the concept will look like) to the final delivery after post-production.
You will know all the stages of pre-production: logistics, product preparation, staffing, casting, search and rental of locations, application for permits, rental services, creation and scenery, costumes, budgets, etc.
You will also touch aspects such as lighting, movement speed (fast or slow), different lighting conditions, lighting type, perspectives, final image resolution and optics.
You will also find a composition section: interest, rule of thirds, eyes, lines, horizontality and verticality, direction, negative space, color or background.
In this chapter, you’ll see all the equipment you need to work in advertising, starting with the lighting equipment and finishing with the computer.
These are flash lighting equipment (generator flashes or compact flashes), continuous light, lighting fixtures (light windows, umbrellas, reflectors, honeycombs, tripods, filters?) And other accessories like synchronised cable, wireless triggers, etc.
Also explained in this chapter, the types of cameras, the different types of lenses and their main characteristics, different tripods, remote or cable triggers.
Finally, it refers to computer hardware: desktop, processor, RAM, graphics card, hard drive, monitor, laptop, external hard drives, memory cards or card readers.
In this chapter, you’ll see step-by-step how to edit a sample image in Lightroom and Photoshop. Through the same image that explains intent and shooting, you’ll see how the desired result is achieved in both editing programs.
Through real-life cases, you can see how to handle different types of objects or types of advertising photography.
You have at least one case study explained step by step for each of the following situations:
Opaque objects, opaque glossy, glossy opaque objects, translucent objects, advertising still lifes, photographs of people, moving photographs or photographs with special effects, in short, more than 16 cases explained in depth throughout the process, from the idea to the post-production .
Finally, I stick to these words from the author
Advertising photography is like an adventure in which every time we get into a project, we know where we want to go, but the path will be different and it will be necessary our creativity and technique to get a beautiful image.
Eduardo Daaz Bourgeot is a third generation photographer, started his career with 19 years of specialization in advertising photography, a specialty in which he has worked for more than 30 years.
He has won numerous awards such as the Cannes Lions, Sun, LUX, FIAP or New York Film Festival among others.
He has worked and works for important advertising agencies and with clients such as Vodafone, Iberia, Endesa, Peugeot, Ausonia, Cinfa, Bankia, Renfe and much more.
You can view your work by visiting your website: www. diazbourgeotestudio. com and on Instagram @eduardo_diaz_bourgeot or Facebook.
For me, without a doubt, the images of the different advertising campaigns that accompany this book stand out, are a real marvel, as well as the case studies that it shows detailed in each part of the process.
It is also very interesting to know in an orderly and detailed way the photographic process of something as complex as an advertising photograph, from initial briefing to post-processing.
The section where an image is processed with Lightroom and Photoshop Editors also seemed very complete and successful, it is very interesting to see what tools you use, what workflow you build and what tweaks you bring to the images and why.
It may seem like a dense book, but because I understand that the subject requires it, as expected, it contains a lot of information and very detailed information about everything related to advertising photography.
For anyone who has mastered the various photographic techniques, who knows the light thoroughly and wants to dely into the world of advertising photography, this book can be a great choice as a guide to take the first steps or perfect those who have already been given. .
You know anyone else who might be interested in taking a look at it?Well, share it on social media to help us reach more people and keep creating content for you. Thank you very much and until the next reading ;).