Applied Photography and Video

Conceptual Photography
Conceptual Art

Beginning in the early 20th century, a

few rather defiant artists protested the
emphasis the art world placed on the
aesthetics and materials used to
create art.

Rather than focusing on the masterful

execution of aesthetic decisions, this
new movement emphasized the
concept that gives rise to a work of art.

It wasn’t so much the visual beauty of

the piece that was important, or the
materials and techniques used, but
rather the idea it expresses.

In 1950’s when the sculptor Edward

Kienholz first time used the term
“conceptual art”.

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Conceptual
Photography
Conceptual photography speaks
through images.

Each image captures a powerful

message capable of transmitting highly
abstract concepts to our thoughts.

One of the main features of conceptual

photography is the fact that artists
design the scenes and prepare them
meticulously to highlight their messages.

This sometimes involves including

impossible or exaggerated components
or manipulating the piece with digital
editing for high impact.

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The conceptual photographer strives to
bring a message to the viewer.

It might be a political statement, a

social commentary, or the portrayal of
a psychological idea about people,
relationships, and emotions.

The viewers’ task is to figure out what

the message is. The photographer
encourages them to ask themselves,
“What does this photo mean?”

Conceptual photography is often seen

in advertising, where images are used
to convey a clear concept, often using
actors or props.

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Conceptual process
1. Defining a concept - the first step is
to decide what it is a photographer
wants to transmit.

2. Searching for inspiration -

conceptual photography requires
method, discipline and work routines
such as continuous reflection,
observation and exploration.

3. Writing the ideas down - gathering

and evolving ideas is important step
for creating a strong concept.

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4.Using symbols - many symbols are
universal and can be used to express
concepts like time (watch/clock),
infinity (straight road disappearing into
the horizon), etc.

5.Keeping the message simple - as

images can be open to different
interpretations, the message should be
clear to make the idea for the viewer
as easy to understand as possible.

6.Meticulous production - in this phase

a photographer works on technical
aspects such as the type of lens,
frame, lighting, location, composition,
objects and models, etc.

7.Impeccable post-production - this

includes photo editing and post-
production.

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Got Milk? campaign

Shortly after he was hired in 1993 as the executive director of the California Milk Processor
Board, Jeff Manning had an epiphany. Sales of milk were sagging both in California and
nationwide.

Milk industry advocates have been producing ad campaign focused on its calcium and
protein benefits of milk. Consumers knew milk was good for them and they just didn’t care
about the ads.
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Instead, the ad agency Manning hired, focused on the complete opposite. They decided
that television spots should highlight the consequences of going without milk.

While the customers may not have longed for milk as a rule, the times they could have
used it—in coffee, for cookies, for cereal—and didn’t have it gave them a fresh appreciation
for the beverage.
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Link to Got Milk campaign videos: Who shot Alexander Hamilton? and Heaven or Hell
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Absolut Vodka campaign

Before all the success, art director Adman Geoff Hays of TBWA was asked to come up with
a campaign for a new Swedish vodka that had just landed in the States.

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Considering the strict guidelines from the Absolut in Stockholm, Hays had only to work
with the bottle.

The ads had to reflect the modern day while being classic and couldn’t be associated
with any specific lifestyle.

The Absolut bottle had a unique shape that attracted people, and it became a

modern icon itself.

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 “While the Absolut advertising campaign has 2,000 faces, it’s still a singular idea. A big
Absolut bottle. A two-word headline starring ABSOLUT and finishing with a word that
denotes a state of excellence, a mood, a place, a person real or imagined, a powerful
linkage to the arts…or anything else I might have forgotten.” - Richard W. Lewis

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World For All campaign

McCann Worldgroup has come up with

an ingenious print campaign for World
For All animal welfare organization in
Mumbai.

The three ad series features portraits of

a family, a couple and a pair of kids.

Using clever framing and lighting

techniques, the photographs also reveal
the silhouettes of a dog, a cat and a
rabbit in the negative space between the
subjects.

The tagline reads “There’s always room

for more. Adopt.”

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Become Someone Else campaign

“Become someone else. Pick your hero

at Mint Vinetu.”

That’s the name of a very clever and

elegant advertising campaign by
Lithuanian advertising firm Love Agency.

When one reads books, they start living

it and identify (or not) with main hero.

These print ads for the Mint Vinetu

bookstore, which sells lots of classics,
focuses on the idea of becoming
someone else.

And provokes people to try on different

personas.

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One Angle Is Not Enough campaign

This is a creative campaign created by DDB

Barcelona, Spain for the Volkswagen 360°
Area View Camera.

The campaign uses a strong visual to

communicate the product’s benefit.

A system of cameras that give the driver a

full 360 view of his environment, which
comes in handy when parking, having more
that 1 point of view.

Therefore, "One Angle Is not Enough”

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Free Your Skin campaign

“Free Your Skin,” is a print campaign for

Schick’s product Hydro Groomer, created by
Y&R New Zealand.

The campaign features men with animals

as beards to convey the message that a
man’s beard needs taming or it will become
a living creature.

Portraits of the men and the animals were

photographed separately and then two were
digitally composited together.

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WWF Respect The Planet campaign

French design agency Ogilvy created a

strong message for one of the WWF
campaign, emphasizing the importance of
respecting the planet with graffiti racked
animal photos.

They chose to tag four of the biggest

endangered mammals on the planet with
graffiti in hope that the world will change,
one person at a time.

The ads were accompanied by the strong

caption: What will it take before we respect
the planet?

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LEGO campaign

Originally, the Italian art director Marco

Sodano recreated a series of three
masterpieces as an unofficial project that
wasn’t endorsed by Lego.

However these images caught so much

attention that they eventually become and
inspiration for the official Lego's
advertisements.

The idea that gave birth to this project is the

belief that every child with LEGO can
become a great artist like Da Vinci and
Vermeer.

– Marco Sodano

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White project

Sydney-based photograph and stylist Benito

Martin and Gemma Lush created together a
project “White”.

In this series, the white background really

contributes to the enhancement of the food’s
pop colours.

Thanks to a minimalist décor, photographs

not only catch the eye with crisp colours but
they also give the opportunity to appreciate
the very unique and often under-estimated
beauty of every fruits and vegetables.

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The Trillion Dollar Campaign

The Trillion Dollar Campaign is an outdoor

advertising campaign launched in 2009 to
promote the newspaper The Zimbabwean in
South Africa.

The campaign was created with the goal of

both increasing awareness of the newspaper
itself, and of the growing problems of
hyperinflation in Zimbabwe and increasing
restrictions on free speech by the
government. One of the most eloquent
symbols of Zimbabwe’s collapse is the a
trillion dollar note, a symptom of their world
record inflation. This money cannot buy
anything. 

But it can become the advertising. So, they

turned the money into its own medium by
printing the messages straight onto it.

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 Thank you!
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