Advertising photography is by far one of the most competitive forms of photography. This is mainly due to the fact that you can earn far more money than in any other aspect of photographic industry.

Every day companies pay millions of dollars on Advertising ; with one goal - to sell their product. Companies want to tell the reader that their product is best - so you must be able to match this.

The photographers work must be to the highest technical quality and he/she must have the ability to create a masterpiece from something simple. Close enough is just not good enough. Close enough will not sell a product.

To become an Advertising photographer one must first understand the market and understand what the client is looking for. The best way of understanding this is pick up a magazine and look at the ads. Study each image. Study the images you see on billboards or images that are used to advertise movies.

Most parts of Advertising photography can be classed as still life photography. So if you are interested in taking images for the Advertising market your first job is to set up your own home studio. This can be a great place to practice.

Every thing in your home can be photographed. Start off with a few glasses. But remember you are not trying to make the glasses look nice - you are trying to sell them.

The second thing you need is a large format camera. Buy a range of the best lenses. Slide film is your best choice for Advertising photography. The client may want to blow up the images to a billboard size.

The most important thing when starting off is creating a portfolio of your work. This can be sent to advertising agencies or can be shown directly to a company. Always have a few copies on standby. Also set up a web page. On-line advertising is growing at a spectacular rate. Your portfolio should also consist of a different range of images.

If you are thinking of using an Advertising agency, get their guidelines from them. These should be very helpful to you in understanding the market. Dealing with a well established agency should be very profitable for you if your photography is to par.

Advertising can be seen everywhere - and about eighty percent of all ads use photography. Most Advertising these days consists of a few words and a stunning picture that should attract the viewer’s attention. If you can produce that picture, you're on a winner.