Fashion is everywhere – in newspapers, magazines, on billboards, and television advertisements. Fashion models get decked out and will strike a pose to help sell products for businesses vested in the fashion and beauty industry. Fashion photography will always be in demand as models need images to build their portfolios and companies need all components to sell their products. High Fashion Photography is now becoming more popular as the competition for a better ‘look’ becomes more and more competitive. Think of Vogue and Allure magazines – their images are first rate and these are not your average quality photos. While several elements are vital to a high fashion look - care, precision, patience, color, lighting, composition and purpose are all important to consider – the image uniqueness or quality would not be captured without a suitable photographer.
Here are a few tips Dreamkeeper Photography came up with for both novice and skilled models to get better quality high fashion images for a high-fashion photography shoot:
Set Your Goals and the Scene
Study as many fashion magazines and books you can get access to. You can also go online and purchase books on fashion. Consider different props and scenes that can be used to get different settings and takes for images.
Accessorize & Stylize
Fashion includes clothing, jewelry and accessories. Makeup and hair styling is an important factor depending on the focus. If a wardrobe is hard to come by, we recommend borrowing or using someone else’s fashionable attire to help get ‘the look’ complete and to match the scene. This can also promote a designer or company who may aid with spreading good PR about your work as a model.
Portfolio Building & Prep
Models and photographers need many images to work from in order to narrow down to the best images. Some models will already have portfolios while others will need a new one. For experienced models, the high fashion images can be a jump from the start of the shoot. Beginner models should work their way up of from headshots to full body and once warmed up, the high fashion photos can follow, which may need to be at another scheduled session.
Fashion Focused & Forward
Most editors are looking for your personality in the photos you take. Fashion photographers capture the essence of fashion and its models differently. Pay careful attention to body positions, facial expressions and tone of the shoot.
Black and Whites in Fashion
Conventional photos will not cover marketing bases these days, so yes, Dreamkeeper Photography may change some of the final images from color to black and white, and use other effects and lighting techniques to give a more dramatic flair.
Magazine Work and Look Books
High paychecks and a high profile lifestyle may seem far from reality, but with good photographs to market you, chances of getting featured magazine spreads or even a page or tear sheet are great paths to getting high fashion photographs exposed.
Spreading the Word
In the time of modern technology, we feel you should promote your talent as a high fashion model online as well. Setting up a website and being on social networks is an ideal way to go. Submit your photos to contests and online fashion galleries. This helps with getting your work seen which can lead to more opportunities.
Contact us at Dreamkeeper Photography so that we can assist you with getting the proper images you need to land a cover or spread of a publication.