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INTRODUCTION TO FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
HELEN HANN
“FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY IS A GENRE OF PHOTOGRAPHY DEVOTED TO DISPLAYING CLOTHING OR OTHER FASHION ITEMS” - WIKIPEDIA
IT IS NOT ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE
WHAT IS FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY?
CHOOSING A MODEL (OR NOT)
• Don’t use a friend (unless your friend is a model)
• Don’t choose someone because you fancy them
• Choose someone that meets the looks needed for the theme behind your shoot
• Remember - sometimes really gorgeous looking people photograph really badly or look a bit ‘chocolate box’ pretty to be fashionably edgy
• You don’t always need to use a model - think about other ways of displaying fashion items
CONSIDERATIONS FOR MAKING GOOD FASHION IMAGES
• Theme/Story
• Model
• Location
• Lighting
• Shapes
• Colours
• Movement/Dynamism
• Props and accessories
• Angles and crops
• Avoidance of the cheesy cliché
SHOOTING WITH A THEME
• It is essential to have a theme as it will give your shoot a sense of continuity.
• Your theme will inspire the choice of clothing, make-up, hair styling, lighting, location/sets and model choice.
• You can use a single word to build your theme - coffee, circus, red, vintage, tea party, desert, ocean - anything that evokes imagery you can work towards.
• The idea is that your pictures will collectively tell a story!
PHOTOGRAPHY BYELAINE CONSTANTINE
PHOTOGRAPHY BYDAVID LACHAPPELLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY…..????????
CHOOSING A LOCATION
• Don’t choose a location because it’s nearby or ‘easy’ - your back garden is nearly ALWAYS a bad choice - unless you happen to live somewhere pretty amazing…… or really grim.
• Don’t choose a location that doesn't support (or directly contradict) your theme
• Remember the images are about the fashion/the clothes - it is not a piece of travel/architectural photography!
• Think about the time of day you will be shooting - what will the light be like at your chosen location?
COLOUR - OR NOT…..
• Be aware of colour - not just of the clothes but within your location, props etc.
• Learn to really SEE what it is your looking at and become more aware of the colours we surround ourselves with.
• Black and white is good… Richard Avedon says so.
MOVEMENT/DYNAMISM
• Showing movement in photographs is best achieved using motion blur - this is achieved by using a SLOWER shutter speed
• Slowing the shutter speed lets more light on to the camera sensor - try using the ‘shutter priority mode’ (Tv Mode) which will automatically make adjustments to prevent over exposure
• Don’t try and hand hold a camera if the shutter speed goes below 1/60 sec - use a TRIPOD
• Try using a flash - this will create a crisp subject while everything else blurs
• Need help with this? - ask me - I’m a specialist in long exposure images!
PROPS & ACCESSORIES
• Props can make a good shoot great
• Keep props and accessories simple
• Props can be food, beverages, vehicles, bicycles, street furniture, animals, furniture, telephones, luggage, umbrellas, toys, flowers, mirrors (careful - photographing with mirrors opens up a whole host of new issues!), tools, other people, balloons, electrical appliances - just about anything - just keep it relevant (or irrelevant!)
• Avoid cigarettes, crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia!
• Firearms are also a bit taboo - although in the correct context even drugs and guns can work….maybe
LIGHTING
• Lighting is your best friend
• Lighting is your worst enemy
• Keep it simple
• Avoid fluorescent lighting (if will give you an unpleasant colour cast)
• Keep it simple
• Avoid mixed lighting situations - be aware of colour temperature!
• Keep it simple
BAD PHOTOGRAPHS AND THE CORRECTION OF GOOD IMAGES
• You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (as my Grandma always told me!) - if it’s a crap picture no amount of manipulation is EVER going to make it a good picture
• Even the best images may need SUBTLE retouches
• If you can see the ‘correction’ or retouch, it’s no good
ANGLES AND CROPS
• Sometimes cropping extraneous ‘nonsense’ out of your shots can make for a much more interesting image.
• Images shot at a quirky angle can be interesting too - however, BE BOLD. images that are just off being straight just look like rubbish shots - be deliberate!
• If you are shooting with a straight horizon, make sure it is straighter than a really straight thing! AND remember water doesn’t run up hill (except in Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides)
AVOIDANCE OF THE CHEESY CLICHÉ (AND OTHER HORRORS)
• Dropped hips
• Hands on hip
• Duck-faced pouts
• Bad lighting and poor focus
• Objects growing out of the top of heads
• Leaning on things and looking wistful - looks dreadful every time
• Remember - your model can't see the shapes their body is making - YOU need to guide them by TELLING them what you want them to do - even if they are a professional model