So far you may use both terms with the same reference in your mind, but commercial and advertising photography are two different types of photography.
Though both have things in common as marketing media and will need both experienced and skilled photographers to execute. They are different in some senses. If you are planning to use photography as a way to promote your business or product, these differences are important to know.
Commercial photography
To find out the differences between commercial and advertising photography let us take a look at what they are one by one. Started with commercial photography. It is good to know what it is and what becomes the goal of this type of photography.
Commercial photography is the type of photography that puts the focus on the specific product that is being promoted. This is the type of image you will likely to see. Whenever you search on a certain product on the internet or usually called stock photos.
The objective of a commercial photographer is to capture the image of a specific product in the best light. The sense of this kind of photography is to show the consumer how good the product looks. It is also convincing consumers who already know the product to finally decide to buy it.
Commercial photography is all about the product as it is mentioned that it focuses on the product itself. All other elements in the photograph such as background, lighting as well as styling are there to improve how the product will look like an image. Those other elements are not there to distract the focus from the product.
Advertising photography
Advertising photography can be considered to be more promotional than the commercial type. This type of photo is more likely to showcase the idea or feeling. By telling a story about how the product or service, advertising photographs are the right types if you want to reach a new market.
The pictures will tell the story and give certain feelings to the ad viewers. Marketers are convincing people to buy the product or pay for the service by telling what it represents.
What important in an advertising photograph is how the shot consistent with the vision that the marketer has, and if the picture tells the right story with the pictures fitting the theme.
The difference
Commercial and advertising photography is like the specific and the general. While advertising photography is telling a story, commercial photography focuses on one specific part of the story. By knowing how they differ, marketers can choose which one of or how to combine both to make the most of them as marketing tools.