So You Want To Do Fashion Photography?...
... as a photographer I mean! :) Disclaimer: I am not a professional photographer. Photography is my creative outlet. It started quite innocently and then a combination of positive feedback and GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) made avalanche into a passion that took no prisoners where my other hobbies are (were) concerned.
Having said so, I do try to behave professionally in any of my fashion-photography-related endeavors… so here is some (unsolicited) advice for anyone that would like to test their mettle with fashion editorial photography - there are other types of fashion photography, including commercial, beauty, glamour and, recently, blogs – there are subtle and not-so-subtle differences among these sub-genres, but I feel that what I am going to write applies to all of them more or less.
My advice is…
• Be passionate and keep at it – it is difficult, at least at the beginning, to compare your initial works with the output of established photographers. There are reasons for that but most can be overcome if you really want it.
• Invest in your passion – I do not mean go and buy expensive cameras and lenses even before you start. By all means start small, most modern equipment will do at the beginning. What I mean is that, at the beginning it is fine to experiment with friends or random people found on Facebook (say), but if you get ambitious, you will soon discover that better models, talent, styling, location, etc. invariably, all else being equal, lead to better results. The catch being that, until you are established, better talent may require compensation to work with you
• There’s always something new to learn – I thought I knew about photography already… but when I started fashion photography I quickly realized that there were a number of skills I needed to develop. Controlled lightning is key of course, but you need as well to learn how to direct models, how to communicate with your team, how to plan and how to network
• Team – fashion photography is a team effort and while your first shoot may be just you and a model, once things get more sophisticated you will need a team. Be nice to them and they will be nice to you. Understand that it is a team effort and that the weakest link in the team will determine the quality of the end results. Toys are important, but the better idea, models, style, and location trump the better camera. Always.
• Network – you need to work with the right people and therefore you need to find them and get in touch with them. And you need a portfolio to show them which is good enough to convince them to work with you. It is a slow process and it takes time to build up. Well, unless you’re filthy rich of course… :) What worked for me was starting with group photoshoots (e.g. the ones organized by groups on meetup.com) and then, once I acquired enough skills and confidence, start “flying solo” – this works if you do make connections with other photographers and talent in the group shoots
• Purity (lack of) – I started with thinking: I am a photographer and taking photos is what I like to do. Well, fast forward a lot of shoots, now if I actually take photos for 1/4th of the time of a shoot, then I consider myself lucky. And that’s on the day of the shoot, without taking into account the organizing before and the retouching after. Do not get too hung up on only taking photos. Great photos come out of a lot of preparation which has nothing to do with actually clicking your camera’s shutter button.
• Do not compromise. That works both for buying equipment and for planning shoots. Stop-gap measures are a waste of time and money that always left me wanting for better. So now, I prefer to wait or skip until what I really want comes along or is affordable.
• Be ready to stretch yourself and to take risks. I am not talking about putting yourself in danger… I am talking about being willing to take on different challenges, even when you do not feel ready for it. I have “faked it” a few times :) The old “throw yourself in the deep and see if you can swim” always work to push you higher and higher
In the next post I will go through the process that I follow to set up and execute a photoshoot
Nowadays I am here: results with a great team - Ashley in Central Park
This is the last time I "faked it" (posed as expert of colored gels usage while I was a total virgin with them)
But I started here: my very first fashion shoot with Veronika. This shoot was what got me into this passion, but now I can’t avoid looking at those photos and seeing problems :)
