What is fashion photography? This photography genre is among the earliest known niches, and it continues to be in demand in the world of clothing. For this article, we're going to look at what fashion photography is all about, its categories, and what it takes to become a fashion photographer.
What Is Fashion Photography?
Fashion photography is the ability to tell stories about clothes using images. It aims to make a brand or client's clothing look even better, whether through the use of a model or mannequin.
However, it must not only focus on the visual interpretation of clothing and other fashion accessories. Fashion photography must enhance the brand for buyers to interact with, whether the pictures are in a magazine, print catalog, or website.
To do so, fashion photography requires a creative collaboration with the client and other production members to develop a story about the clothes, considering the client's branding and goals.
Main Categories of Fashion Photography
Some clients need more than one subset of fashion photography, and it pays to learn the necessary skills in every category. Before that, you must understand what they are all about, as well as the differences so that you can apply the ideal type of fashion photography for a product.
Lifestyle and Editorial Fashion Photography
This category of fashion photography puts clothes and other products in situations or settings that relate to the lives of people.
Lifestyle fashion photography takes images on a certain location with an intriguing concept, idea, or mood. The shoots would depict a theme, with the models enacting roles to convey the story or message.
It strategically uses the surroundings to tell a story or educate readers about a fashion concept or garment.
Styling takes center stage as the editorial photos must set a powerful statement.
It aims to show how consumers can use a particular style of clothes.
Whether with or without text, the concept must express and engage with the viewers.
The composition varies from close-ups to long-distance shots.
Beauty and Studio Fashion Photography
Beauty fashion photography is usually more condensed, focusing on the face, hair, or nails. Unlike lifestyle and editorial, beauty photography gives more freedom to shoot in a studio with less equipment or props.
The beauty industry is a $532 billion business across the globe, with the U.S. being the world's largest beauty market. This is why beauty photography is a highly profitable genre because it generally takes on makeup, skincare, hair products, and jewelry.
It utilizes fewer elements to help viewers focus on the product.
It uses dynamic and creative hair and makeup.
Mainly close-up and detailed shots to highlight product features or an item's effect on the model.
It can be commercial or artistic in nature, as long as the portrait implies beauty.
The shoot uses various looks and emotions to appeal to viewers.
Celebrity and Magazine Fashion Photography
This category of fashion photography may involve big fashion brands and labels that advertise their garments using celebrities, supermodels, or other high-profile personalities.
Despite the world of social media providing a platform for celebrities to share their pictures directly, formal celebrity portraiture still exists to give a glimpse into the lives of these celebrities, often in the form of glamorous clothes.
A celebrity and magazine fashion shoot may use over-the-top or exaggerated poses with the styling often detached from reality.
It may incorporate unrealistic wardrobes and hairstyles.
It can be an assigned portrait session for celebrities, whether on-location or a studio setup.
The theme, composition, and styling aim to show the celebrity's personality.
The shoot may indicate a connection between the subject's public image, the client's branding, and the clothes.
E-Commerce Fashion Photography
E-commerce fashion photography mainly involves making a model wear clothes and pose at different angles so that people shopping can see all the necessary features and details of the garment.
There are approximately 2.14 billion digital consumers across the world. With this number multiplying over the years, businesses need e-commerce photography to sell their clothes and other fashion items.
It's a form of informational imagery where a model would pose against a background to help people see the clothes clearly.
It may use either a model or mannequin.
It has a less cluttered setup.
It uses simple storyboards and staging.
The editing should not mislead viewers, so keep it natural and don't add new features.
What Does It Take To Become a Successful Fashion Photographer?
When clients seek a fashion photographer, they will look into your expertise and skills in photographing clothes. However, there's more to just clicking the camera's shutter button.
With almost a decade of experience as a professional fashion photographer, these work ethics allow me to retain profitable relationships with clients while growing my portfolio and business.
Well-rounded: A well-rounded fashion photographer must be able to do a lot of things. While there would be an art director and set designer, learning what it's like to be on those hats first enables me to consider multiple aspects in a shoot to tackle each project differently.
Efficient: You must deliver top-notch fashion photos even with a small crew. I'm able to produce more setups or images in an 8-hour shoot than the average photographer.
Great listening and communication skills: It takes proper communication to form a bond with clients. You must develop a relationship to professionally explain what you need to do and what would work best for the project. This trait lets me deliver outputs that are above and beyond client expectations.
Technical skills: There are a lot of elements that would influence the photos, so the technical knowledge about lighting and posing must become second nature to you. Besides that, it's best to do your own editing. I have a unique post-processing aesthetic that makes my work stand out.
Conclusion
Fashion photography is a visual genre that allows you to showcase clothes and accessories using compelling images. To become a full-service professional photographer, you need to understand the different categories of fashion photography, apply various creative and technical skills, and learn how to create a good relationship with your clients.