Is this an ad? An editorial? An exercise in playing with bokeh?
One of the things a photographer will be asked quite often is “What do you shoot?” This is usually a double-edged question, as the person asking it will either refer to gear, discipline, or both. Now while looking at one’s camera bag and providing a quick inventory with a small sense of pride can be gratifying, answering the other half of that question, especially if the answer is “Fashion” can be a bit more problematic.
You see, if I said “Interiors” you can quickly imagine my kit – some sort of tilt-shift lens or bellows adapter, some wide angle lenses and perhaps a macro lens for “details.” If I said “Food”, “Children”, “Little Trinkets Shaped like Rabbits” etc., your mind will immediately and usually quite correctly rest upon a certain choice in gear and techniques. Yet if I said “Fashion” about 90 percent of you would think of the shot above or something similar. A model in some dramatic location with gorgeous garments flowing about her. Yet this shot could be used in a variety of ways. It is certainly what we call “Editorial”, i.e. a shot designed to tell a story when shown together with other photos from the same session. These could be used for advertising or perhaps a magazine story based on Jean Luc Godard’s Alphaville, which is the case, and herein lies the rub. While this is easily a “Fashion” photo, it may not be the “fashion photo” that is needed by the client at the time. You see, “Fashion Photography” is an umbrella term that covers a range of disciplines. Very briefly in this article I will discuss the various disciplines involved in “Fashion” and hopefully guide you towards a better understanding of what is done under that vast umbrella. No other sector has as much specialization as “Fashion Photography”.
Coco Rocha walks Ralph Lauren
Runway
Since it’s the beginning of Fashion Week here in NYC, while I write this article, let’s start with “Runway”. Sometimes called “Fashion Journalism”, many of the photographers you will see at the end of the runway shooting for the various press outlets are just that – press photographers. During the shows in September many pull double duty shooting Ralph Rucci one minute and then Round Three of the US Open over in Queens the next. The skill set and gear required have been discussed here at the Adorama Learning Center before. As a quick recap, a camera with a fast shutter, good ISO performance between ISO-640 to 1250, large buffer, and of course great glass are needed. For all intents and purposes, the camera you use to shoot Serena Williams serving the ball at Arthur Ashe Stadium is pretty much the same kit you need to shoot runway for Michael Kors.
Floating in a white void
Catalog/Lookbook
Perhaps the most common thing shot in fashion is a catalog/look book. Basically this is a collection of shots, usually against a white background used to sell the clothing in the “look” either to the general public or to department store buyers. This usually means a three light kit – two heads to the backdrop and one on the subject. The “looks” in question are usually broken down further by item shown, such as the four items shown in the above shot. These may be also shot individually flat on a table or directly on a mannequin for a line sheet in much the same manner as above.
The camera here just needs to show detail well even when zoomed in. Something like a Full Frame camera at a minimum or preferably a Medium Format unit is what is needed in these situations. Yes, you could use a camera with a smaller sensor, but in order to get the best detail possible, you should get the proper gear. The lens here is pretty straight forward. If you are shooting a prime lens, a short telephoto to give a touch of field compression is an excellent choice in this situation. The typical normal zoom should also be good, though the longer the top end of the zoom the better.
“Beauty is a fragile gift.” -Ovid
Beauty
Beauty is a subset of fashion that can be best described as a tight glamorous portrait. In commercial use these type of shots are done to sell makeup such as eyeliner, lipstick, and the such. In this situation, the more detail the better. Cameras like the Pentax 645Z and a macro lens like the Pentax 645D FA 90/2.8 are your best options, but where the real magic comes in is the lighting. Mastering the classic “Clam shell” lighting of one light above and a reflector below the subject. The light above is usually modified with a diffuser like a beauty dish. Ring lights are also a popular option, though not as much as in the past for the key, but as a fill give a unique catch light and help bring out details.
Still Life Talking
Still Life
Accessories such as handbags, shoe, and the hat in the image above are also Fashion items, requiring many of the same approaches as any beauty, as well as product shot. Irving Penn famously did a collection of fashion based still lifes for Vogue near the end of his career for a variety of lifestyle articles in the magazine. Of course there are many approaches that can be taken besides the traditional shot above to do a still life for fashionable use. One can take a more editorial approach for instance when creating the images for selling the product in question.
Walking on sunshine
The idea is as with any commercial shot is to create an image that will sell the product in question. Telling a good story is a bonus. Speaking of stories…
“My name is Ishmael…” -from Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Editorial
Perhaps the most famous and of course visually compelling images in Fashion are the “Editorial” shots. Be they a selection of images put together to tell a story for an ad campaign, or a single image that conveys a specific mood, if any area of fashion photography gets more press and comes closest, if not quite often crossing the boundary of commerce into art it, is “Editorial”. Understanding your gear, while useful, is secondary to understanding the visual language of the world today. Editorial is where you can exercise your creativity and stretch your boundaries to the breaking point. This is the major leagues of fashion photography, where names are made and emblazoned unto the stars…and unless you are shooting an actual ad campaign, the sector that pays the least like any art.
Hopefully this helps you as a basic primer on the wide and varied field know as “Fashion Photography”. Feel free to leave your comments below.
All shots in this article were taken by the Author, Sandy Ramirez.
