The Complete Guide to Fashion Photography

The Complete Guide to Fashion Photography When people dream of the life of a professional photography, they usually think about fashion photography. Shooting beautiful mode is on beautiful beaches, traveling to exotic places every season, and rubbing elbows with A-list celebrities and supermodels.

As photographers, we know that professionals like that make up a tiny percentage of the industry. What might surprise you, though, is how many different types of fashion images there are and how many different ways you can get into the industry.

It is valid in all types of photography, but it is especially prevalent in fashion–photographers become known and discovered for a unique style. No one cares about the equipment you use or even the models you work with. What they care about is the look of the final images. It's pretty evident as you flip through the pages of Elle, Harper's Bazaar, or Vogue that the photographers working there have a style.

These images have a feel all their own, made by talented photographers who make the world look glamorous.

What is Fashion Photography?

Fashion Photography, a term that is so widely used yet so many fail to understand its true meaning. It’s not a term-limited to fashion studios and booked for high-end fashion designers. In reality, it is a phenomenon that makes up for a large percentile of visual data we feed on daily.

Whether it is on social media, or on E Commerce webs sites, we are surrounded by fashion photography and influencers who are basically influencing our choice of clothing and trends that we follow.

Being a fashion photographer is much more than just clicking good pictures. It is about fulfilling the need of the client, need of the hour, and need to stand out among the rest.

If you are thinking of making it a fashion photoshoot and have very little idea about how to start out, here’s a guide that contains almost all the practical information that you need to be aware of right now.

Types of Fashion Photography Fashion photography as a professional can be divided into 3 fundamental styles; catalogue, editorial, and high fashion shoot. There’s a fourth style too that is gradually picking up. It is called a street fashion photo shoot. It is easy to distinguish between catalog photography and street fashion shoot. But it’s not so much true for an editorial and high fashion photoshoot. So, here’s a small description of each one of them for you to understand the types of fashion photography, properly.

1. High Fashion When it comes to advertising, big fashion brands advertise their products using this style of a fashion photoshoot. The photos, for the most part, include supermodels, acclaimed entertainers, and on-screen characters. The garments and frill included are regularly styled in a manner that it looks like it's from

some other world. The postures can be overstated and over-the-top. All components of the model; the closet, styling, hair/cosmetics, lighting, and area cooperate to make a perfect picture.

2. Catalog Photography This style is utilized by organizations that print to showcase their items to their shoppers. This is fundamentally a picture with loads of information where the model is made to stand against a specific background to showcase the piece of clothing more clearly.

Here, styling is very ordinary and the background used is white so that the detailing in the clothes is clearly visible.

3. Editorial Photography Most fashion magazines include this style of photography. Here, styling takes a conspicuous bleeding edge. These shoots portray a topic and the photographer model needs to authorize the job they are given and act out to pass on their story. The entire picture is shot in order to make an incredible articulation.

4. Street Fashion Photography The final type of fashion shoot could be called street or lifestyle fashion. Here, the images are shot on location in everyday environments. It can be appropriate for catalogs and editorial purposes, or it can be a type of fashion picture all to its own. In these shoots, the model blends in with those around them.

They're in their natural element instead of a stylized and perfect world.

What are the skills needed for fashion photography?

In order to qualify as a skilled professional to meet the demands of the industry, here are some of the requirements that you must fulfil.

1. Take photographs of models as per clients’ expectations.

2. Try to work more in-studio set up so that you know how to enhance the picture of the models and show them in the best lighting.

3. Create a good working environment for the models so that they can feel comfortable in your presence.

4. Try to create your own unique style of photography that can grab the attention of shoppers almost instantly.

5. Expand your horizon of photography and try to work with different lighting setups and areas.

6. Try to connect with makeup artists, fashion designers, and biggies of the industry.

7. Draw out the best in models during photograph shoots by guiding them through the photoshoot.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are other qualities such as 1. Great eye and masterful capacity 2. Great capacity to catch rare and candid moments 3. Wonderful aesthetic detail 4. Knowledge in photography editing applications 5. Capacity to function admirably with models, executives, designers, specialists, and different customers Camera Equipment and Settings Fashion is one of the most variable types of photography. It's almost impossible to put together a completely comprehensive list of equipment you might need for fashion. It's all about being creative with what you've got.

The camera you choose should be one with professional metering options, fully manual control, and the ability to fire remote lighting options. The choice is going to depend significantly on whether or not you shoot on location. If you can set up your photography studio with the best gear, you've got a little more flexibility in your choices.

On the road, however, you need to make everything you've got as portable as possible. This pretty much limits you to DSLR camera body systems. You need one that shoots fast, and the resolution of full-frame sensors is always handy with selling to magazines. You need the highest quality, clearest images possible.

Lens choice also plays a big part. With fashion, you have complete control over the composition. Most fashion photographers prefer to at least start with prime lenses. Find the best lenses you can with the widest apertures. Again, since you're in complete control, you can play with the look you get from older manual lenses like Leica and Zeiss glass. Most fashion will be shot with a 50 mm natural or higher. The perfect starter kit would likely have a 50-70 mm prime and a 135 mm prime, both with the widest apertures you can afford.

Wide-angle lenses are sometimes used, but these can distort the model's features if you aren't careful.

It's easy to move closer or away from the scene to frame it as necessary during this type of shoot. That gives the photographer more flexibility to used fixed focal lengths.

This doesn't mean that you can't shoot fashion with zoom lenses. These lenses just tend to be bulkier and much more expensive. You can find far wider apertures on prime lenses.

Lighting If there is one thing the photographer should be an absolute master of during fashion shoots, it's the lighting. From harshly lit summer beach scenes to studio shoots with five strobes and color gels, photographers must master what's entering the camera.

Lighting makes or breaks the fashion image. The photographer needs to be able to create the photo aesthetic that the production manager is looking for, no matter the conditions. Most fashion images are done with very high key lighting techniques that minimize shadows and contrasts. When low key images are used, the shadows must be carefully controlled to flatter the model and the clothing. This is especially important in contrasty black and white fashion photography.

To pull all of this off, experienced photographers should have access to and experience with as many lighting options as possible. Use all the tools available to tame, create, or move the light in just the way you want it.

Our Guide on Photography Lighting will help you master lighting fundamentals, and set you apart from many other aspiring photographers and take your images to the next level.

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Choose The Right Camera Try A Lot Of Different Camera Angles Make Sure That The Lighting Is Proper Be Ready With The Poses Follow Composition Rules Tell A Story Select A Suitable Background Don't Forget Props Emphasis on the Product Let The Outfits Do The Talking

Conclusion

If you are aiming of making it big as a fashion photographer, you must start out with furnishing your Fashion photography skills. Work with other photographers which will help you get exposure, and build contacts. Also, if you have customers, make sure you provide them with the best so that they don’t think

twice before referring you and your work to someone else. The majority of a photographer’s work comes from references so make sure you go hard on that.