Fashion Photography. Light is the New Black.
The fashion industry is huge. It’s valued globally at more than two trillion dollars and encompasses a wide range of sectors, including retail, textile manufacturing, shoe design, and accessories. Thanks to market emergence, innovative new technology, consumer growth, and popular media outlet campaigns, there is no better way to establish a fashion brand’s style than by working with a seasoned fashion photographer who knows how to deliver on ambitious expectations.
After a week in the Bahamas doing workshops, I filmed a video for FStoppers called How To Shoot Swimwear that details the intricacies of a fashion photography shoot. With just my Hasselblad Medium Format camera, Bron Move Pack, Chimera Soft Box, and a bit of play on soft lighting, I created a dramatic effect by taking in environmental factors and playing on them.
In the Photokina interview, with Marc Ludwig, I talk about how dramatic lighting plays a significant role in my commercial work. I want to tell a story, so I consciously build a world where the models, the props, the wardrobe, and the sets all play into how I want to produce dramatic lighting, whether it’s with a strobe, a Bron, a Chimera softbox, light tools, or grid spots..
A designer will experience industry longevity when targeted audiences connect to their branding. It’s my job to capture the glamor and allure of the industry and make it relevant to consumer needs. It must also be inspirational since fashion influences people’s sense of self-expression and self-perception. Consumers want to imitate what I achieve with a camera lens, not just because of what they visualize, but because of what they feel about the story I’m telling.
Fashion Photography: Characteristics and Types
As a fashion photographer, I cater to audiences that tend to focus primarily on the sartorial design and quality workmanship in an image. Secondarily, consumers want to relate to the subjects wearing the labels, so the aesthetics and scenery need to sensationalize the pictorial effect. It’s my job to portray a designer’s stylishness by pioneering point-of-views through the creation of trendsetting imagery based on my client’s method of publication and promotion.
Fashion photographers also work in a wide array of settings that help them promote themes, cultural demand, trends, art, or seasonal design collections. I take a collaborative approach, whether it’s for a high-fashion commercial ad or a chic editorial layout. Knowing the channel that fashion houses will utilize gives me a sense of what I need to accomplish to meet the expectations of their customers.
I advise upcoming fashion photographers in my book, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait, to learn through the process, find things that work and then take the initiative to elevate the results by trying new techniques to diversify the way you want consumers to perceive an image.
