intro to fashion photography
TRANSCRIPT
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O FA S H I O N P H O T O G R A P H Y
H E L E N H A N N
“ FA S H I O N P H O T O G R A P H Y I S A G E N R E O F P H O T O G R A P H Y D E V O T E D T O D I S P L AY I N G C L O T H I N G O R O T H E R FA S H I O N I T E M S ” - W I K I P E D I A !I T I S N O T A B O U T P H O T O G R A P H I N G P E O P L E
W H A T I S FA S H I O N P H O T O G R A P H Y ?
C H O O S I N G A M O D E L ( O R N O T )
• 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
C O N S I D E R AT I O N S F O R M A K I N G G O O D FA S H I O N I M A G E S• Theme/Story
• Model
• Location
• Lighting
• Shapes
• Colours
• Movement/Dynamism
• Props and accessories
• Angles and crops
• Avoidance of the cheesy cliché
S H O O T I N G W I T H A T H E M E
• 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!
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y E L A I N E C O N S TA N T I N E
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y D A V I D L A C H A P P E L L E
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y … . . ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
C H O O S I N G A L O C AT I O N
• 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?
C O L O U R - O R N O T… . .
• 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.
M O V E M E N T / D Y N A M I S M
• 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!
P R O P S & A C C E S S O R I E S
• 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
L I G H T I N G
• 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
B A D P H O T O G R A P H S A N D T H E C O R R E C T I O N O F G O O D I M A G E S
• 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
A N G L E S A N D C R O P S
• 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)
AV O I D A N C E O F T H E C H E E S Y C L I C H É ( A N D O T H E R H O R R O R S )• 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