Evidence of Action

It would be easy to take this exercise at face value, and simply take a photo of a broken egg or an empty drinks bottle. I think however that the real point of the exercise is to take an opportunity to tell a greater story, with an element of context. In other words, showing where the breakage or emptying happened, and by whom. An example coming to mind (that unfortunately I wouldn't be able to take in reality) is a picture of a half-empty mug of coffee, and in the background you can see a firefighter jumping into a fire engine in a hurry. This single snapshot allows your mind to connect the dots and deduce that the firefighter's coffee break was interrupted due to being called away on an emergency. This opens up the possibility for other questions, such as 'what is the nature of the emergency?'

Another idea (which I have produced below) is that of a filing cabinet or drawer, where the contents are strewn haphazardly on top of the cabinet, and on the floor. It is clear from this snapshot that someone has rifled through the paperwork, obviously in a hurry or panic. Again, although the action is clear, the circumstances are not, which gives rise to interesting speculation; what was the person (or people) looking for? Why were they in such a hurry? Is it the result of a burglary? Is someone frantically looking for their misplaced passport when they should be on the way to the airport?

 

24mm, f/3.5, 1/60s, ISO 800 -2EV

We are then tasked with thinking of five examples of concepts used in advertising that cannot be shown directly. Once I had thought of my five examples, I then used google to find existing images that are representative of my chosen concepts:

Smell - An invisible action, portrayed here by the removal of other senses - the person is blindfolded, and hands and ears are out of the frame. A typically fragrant rose is positioned in front of the model.

Wellbeing - The concept of wellbeing is very abstract. It is often depicted by a smiling face, an image of happy family life, someone doing a starjump, or as in the above image, reaching for the clouds in a natural setting.

Learning - New information being stored by your brain is also an invisible concept, but in the above image a particularly studious-looking person is situated in front of what appears to be a blackboard, surrounded with a pile of books. She is looking above her head at a lit-up lightbulb, signifying a new idea or understanding of a topic.

Delivery - In advertising a delivery service, you have to get across to the consumer not only the fact you deliver parcels, but also the scope of the service. In the above image, a smiling courier holds a parcel, and in the background there are various other symbols showing benefits of using this particular company; a watch shows a focus on a speedy service, the globe and vehicles make it clear that this is a worldwide service.

Silence - Companies such as those offering spas, country retreats and other relaxing endevours often want to show the contrast with your busy, hectic 'normal life'. The above image of a man sitting alone on a bench reading a book in  serene natural surroundings makes this statement clearly. The calm lake waters also speak of peace and tranquility.