FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

Fashion photography is a genre of photography displaying clothing and other fashion items Often Used: Advertising Catalogs Fashion Magazines Fashion photography is an art and fashion photographers have helped designers sell their clothes and items by taking good pictures of models wearing the clothes and posing in various positions at exotic locations. Since fashion photography is an art, one needs to have artistic skill to ensure efficacy in their work. Ethics and etiquette are other requirements A fashion photographer needs to travel widely to meet many people in their line of work. An additional element needed is for one to have is technical ability Understanding fashion photography: Fashion photography is best displayed in fashion magazines like Vanity Fair, Vogue and Allure. Fashion photography has its own aesthetic, celebrating fashion enhanced by exotic locations and themes. The first fashion model was photographed by Adolphe Braun, making him the first fashion photographer The fashion photography hot shots: In fashion photography, special emphasis was initially on 'staging' the shots, in natural poses at natural environment. This procedure or practice was first adopted and developed by Baron Adolf de Meyer. Fashion magazines Vogue and Harper's Bazaar were leaders in the field of fashion photography in the earlier half of the 20th century. fashion photography Four components The clothes designers create trendy clothing that fashion photography sells by making it aesthetically pleasing The model the model who is showing the clothes needs to be photogenic & fits the style of the clothing The photographer the photographer needs to have a love for fashion, understanding of the fashion business, contacts with magazines an eye for photography. The photograph the photo is what sells the clothing. It needs to be visually interesting & highlight the main item of clothing. The photos are usually displayed in magazines.

HISTORY Fashion photography history begins in 1913 when Cond Nast employed Adolphe de Meyer (Franco-British, 1868-1946) to make experimental photographs Next came Edward Steichen who started photographing fashion models in 1911. The fashion magazine Vogue had already been launched in 1892 but they used illustrations for their fashions. Steichen used artificial lighting as well as natural light to create a feeling of sensuality in his pictures and became the most highly paid photographer of the 1930s. George Hoyningen-Huene (1900 - 1968) was another famous photographer from this era, travelling and working with Coco Chanel, Greta Garbo etc. In the 1920s he was chief photographer for French Vogue and later for Harper's Bazaar. 60s Fashion Photography 60s fashion photography was highly experimental and photographers found themselves having greater decision-making power with editors. Vogue photographer Bob Richardson was one of the biggest names in high fashion photography at that time. In the 1970s, Helmut Newton rose to fame along with Guy Bourdin who created fashion photographs with aggressive and violence contained within them.

In the 1990s high fashion photography was dominated by photographers such as Collier Schorr and Glen Luchford who began to depict young men and women in gender-ambiguous photographs. Types of Photography Fashion Photography This genre of photography is one of the most lucrative kinds. Photographs are one of the most effective ways of communication in the world of fashion. Here, photography is used to bring attention to the clothes and the accessories. Models are exclusively selected to showcase products in the best way possible. Fashion photographers today create the particular look, either in natural environment or one that is created in the studio. Often, these fashionable photographs find their way in the leading fashion magazines. These magazines cater to the niche crowd that loves to know the best in clothing and other fashion accessories. Glamour Photography Glamour photography is also about fashionable visuals, however with a touch of difference. Glamour photography highlights the model in a different light rather than laying emphasis on the clothing or accessories. Advertising Photography Advertising photography is all about creating the right environment to highlight the product to be advertised in the best way possible. Still Life Photography It is all about capturing objects on camera that are deliberately grouped together to create a particular composition. This form of art requires the photographer to have an excellent sense of composition and lighting. Wedding Photography-is a specialized field of this art form, which is dedicated to snapping the most memorable moments in various creative ways. Fine Art Photography - is all about visuals that resemble a work of art. These are highly creative images that have an abstract appeal. Celebrity Photography: Celebrity photography is all about capturing celebrities from various fields. Various media houses use such photographs - from publications (magazines, newspapers) to the online media. Sports Photography This genre of photography is dedicated completely to capturing the best images in action, for any kind of sports. Nature Photography are very much sought-after by media houses. Works of these creative geniuses can be seen in magazines like 'National Geographic'. Nature photography encompasses various other types of photography, such as Landscape Photography Wildlife Photography Underwater Photography Portrait Photography- is all about capturing the mood of a person with an emphasis on the face and expression of a person. This style of photography need not only be about professional models, it can encompass any kind of a person. Street Photography: This is all about capturing candid images of public places or even people in their natural element.

Types of Photography
Digital Photography- all about photographers opting for the digital cameras over the traditional ways to click images that are faster to transmit. However, there are many photographers who still prefer to use film to digital cameras for better clarity and representation of light and dark. THE EQUIPMENT Todays cameras are so advanced that a beginner can move relatively quickly to the stage of producing prints which look like magazine images. This user-friendliness makes photograph a very popular activity. The choice of camera for professional fashion photographers is enormous and is a matter of taste and preference. Many swear by large format cameras which have well-defined negatives these negatives do not lose definition when the images are blown up. There are also medium format cameras and small format cameras (35mmcameras) which are more easily manageable. The basic starting equipment is a camera and a roll of film. Later, as you build up your equipment, you can add special filters, other lenses and a tripod. When you are ready to start experimenting with printing your shots you could set up or own dark room in a small cupboard. Lighting Basic Lighting Light is one of the most important tools in a photographer's toolbox. Photographic studios can be as huge as aircraft hangers or as small as the tiny canvas tent. In the studio the photographer can choose the background and lighting, as well as protecting the subject from the elements such as wind, rain or excessive sunlight. One important decision when setting up a studio s whether to use tungsten lights or electronic flash. Tungsten lights are cheaper to buy but use up more electricity. An electronic flash freezes all action in the picture but a Polaroid test is necessary to see weather the lighting and exposures are correct. When using electronic flash, lighting effects have to be controlled by using umbrellas, diffusers and reflective sheets. There are a multitude of lighting aids which can be used. Such as large sheets of expanded polystyrene, foil-covered card and diffusers made of acrylic or tracing paper stretched on a frame. Lighting is an important part of good photography. It is an existing tool, which a photographer needs to exploit to take some of the best pictures. The type of lighting decides the mood of the photograph and the texture it might get. A light effect can make or break your shot. Types of Lighting in Photography Outdoor Lighting The way the light falls on a subject and the way you to use it, will decide the color, quality and the texture of the photograph. In a photo studio these factors can be controlled. The natural light sources such as sunlight keeps changing by the hour. It also changes as per the seasons and the weather conditions. Constant changes in outdoor lighting can bring about changes in the tones, colors, shades, shapes and forms of your subject. Side Lighting Changes in lighting produce some very interesting effects. Side lighting is a natural lighting effect which highlights only one side of subject. Backlighting Backlight is one of the basic light , when the light source comes directly on the camera, such that it illuminates the subject's back, the source is known as a backlight. Existing Light Existing light is the type of light which is naturally available Diffuse Lighting Diffused lighting is a softer lighter, which is usually used to create drama in photographs. This type of lighting brings out certain

aspects of the subject, which are often lost in bright lighting. KEY LIGHT: The dominant light on people or objects. FILL LIGHT: Light that fills in the shadows not lit by the KEY LIGHT. Fill light is often from the sky, clouds, reflected off nearby objects or created by the lighting or grip crew. BACK LIGHT, 3/4 BACK LIGHT, KICKER, RIM LIGHT or EDGE LIGHT: Light that hits a person or objects from almost behind that does not hit much of their face (or object) and hopefully not their nose. TOP LIGHT: Light directly from above is a difficult situation. HARD LIGHT: Light from the sun or small source. Hard light creates hard shadows and accentuated detail such as lines in the face. SOFT LIGHT: Light from a large angle relative to the subject. Skylight is from many directions and is soft. Each setup can create several different types of lighting. One Light A one-light setup can create front, side, back, bottom, top, or high side lighting. Two Lights A two light setup uses a main light and a fill light. The fill light softens shadows created by the main light. The fill light is positioned higher than the main light and should be twice as intense. Three Lights A three-light setup can create flat lighting with little or no shadow. To do this the main light source should be a front light , the fill light should be on the same side of the camera & the third light should be a side light on the opposite side of the subject from the other two lights.