2. What is Fashion Photography
Unlike commercial photography, the emphasis in fashion photography does not lie
on just accessories or clothing, but on the mood and styling of the image. The
products merely help to convey a certain lifestyle. Therefore, the whole image is
much more complex.
You rarely see plain white or off-white backgrounds in fashion photography and the
models are usually styled very dramatically with thick eyeliners, dramatic eye
shadows, or anything to make them bold.
With the increased complexity in styling also comes an increased complexity in
lighting to make the image look more dramatic. While many commercial
photographers only stick with one light for the model, fashion photographers tend
to use a wide array of lights and lighting accessories.
When doing a fashion shoot, photographers can use ten or more lights for fashion.
A dramatic look can also be achieved with only one light, such as a beauty dish or
an octabank, it’s all about the effect of the lighting and not about how many lights
you use to get that effect.
3. Where can Fashion Photography be found?
Fashion Photography is most often conducted for
magazines such as Vogue or Cosmopolitan, it can also
be found on advertisements such as billboards. Over
time Fashion Photography has developed to the
accessories or the location being the aesthetics in which
the fashion is enhanced.
7. Past and present examples of Vogue Fashion
Photography
Sebastian Kim 2015
edition of Vogue
1962 summer edition
of vogue
8. Past and present examples of Elle Fashion
Photography
2015 edition of
Elle Magazine
1953 edition of
Elle Magazine
9. comparing past and present magazines.
In comparison to the 2015 magazine covers from both
Vogue and Elle, both 1950/60 magazine covers are full of
bright colours. The models are also more dignified than
the 2015 by the use of clothing and amount of clothing
worn. The 2015 edition uses more black, grey and white
to show the modern society. Also, there are more tag
lines on the recent editions.
10. Techniques Fashion Photographers use
A technique used by fashion photographers is develop lighting, they have to learn
how to use diffused sunlight, backlighting and backlighting using reflectors.
Another technique is to be able to use photoshop to make fashion fantasy a reality.
Not all photos finish where they start, there is a lot of development made to
increase the realism.
Painting with lighting effects is another technique used by fashion photographers,
they can light up models or dull them down with the use of painting lighting.
Getting inspired by everything surrounding you is a very important part of being a
fashion photographer. The general surroundings, sights, smells, sounds can
influence and inspire the photographer for their next fashion shoot.
Learning the technique of props, backgrounds, shooting on location and when, why
and how to use these options in the right proportions.
