Fashion Photography
Fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Allure. Over time, fashion photography has developed its own aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by exotic locations and story lines.
History of Fashion Photography
Photography was developed in the 1830s, but the earliest popular technique, the daguerreotype, was unsuitable for mass printing.In 1856, Adolphe Braun published a book containing 288 photographs of Virginia Oldoini, Countess de Castiglione, a Tuscan noblewoman at the court of Napoleon III. The photos depict her in her official court garb, making her the first fashion model.
In the first decade of the 20th century, advances in halftone printing allowed fashion photographs to be featured in magazines. Fashion photography made its first appearance in French magazines such as La mode practique. In 1909, Condé Nast took over Vogue magazine and also contributed to the beginnings of fashion photography. Special emphasis was placed on staging the shots, a process first developed by Baron Adolf de Meyer, who shot his models in natural environments and poses. Vogue was followed by its rival, Harper's Bazaar, and the two companies were leaders in the field of fashion photography throughout the 1920s and 1930s. House photographers such as Edward Steichen, George Hoyningen-Huene, Horst P. Horst and Cecil Beaton, and independents such as Yva transformed the genre into an outstanding art form. Europe, and especially Germany, was for a short time the leader in fashion photography.
As World War II approached the focus shifted to the United States, where Vogue and Harper's continued their old rivalry. House photographers such as Irving Penn, Martin Munkacsi, Richard Avedon, and Louise Dahl-Wolfe would shape the look of fashion photography for the following decades. The artists abandoned their rigid forms for a much freer style. In 1936 Martin Munkacsi made the first photographs of models in sporty poses at the beach. Under the artistic direction of Alexander Brodovich, the Harper's Bazaar quickly introduced this new style into its magazine.
Fashion Photography Guide
Fashion photography to many entails dreams of huge paychecks and a glamorous lifestyle, but it is very difficult to attain this level of success in fashion houses and magazines. For every one talented young photographer, hundreds are left at the sidewalk, only dreaming about the moment that their photographs will be chosen and published in a fashion publication.
Here are a few fashion photography tips for anyone looking to get started in fashion photography. The first tip is study your subject and realized that you can never learn enough. Study any and every fashion magazine you can get your hands on. There are a number of fantastic books on fashion and model photography available. Amazon.com is a great place to find some. You are going to need one or two good cameras, a tripod, and a lighting system. Always make sure that you have plenty of extra film and batteries on hand. SLR and digital cameras take different photos, so you want to choose one that is best suited for your field.
When submitting your fashion photography work, always have your portfolio on hand, in case the editor of the fashion magazine wants to see samples. When putting together your portfolio, sharp images on a 4 X 5” transparency will showcase your work best. If your work has already been published, regardless of whether it was a local newspaper, magazine, or contest, a tear sheet (literally a sheet torn from a magazine) should always be included in a portfolio. Be sure to have at least 20 photographs in your portfolio preferably with different styles.
Remember, fashion includes not only clothing, but jewelry and accessories as well. A luxurious watch from a high end manufacturer adorned on the slender wrist of a beautiful woman would make for a great fashion shoot. If you are applying for a high fashion photography job, be prepared to leave your portfolio behind for an extended period of time. I would advice you to make copies and have several extra on hand in case you need to leave yours behind for some time. This will comes in hand when showcasing your work to many different people when looking for fashion work.
In this modern of the internet, it is imperative that you display your talent as a high fashion photographer online as well. Set up a website with samples of your work. Submit your photos to online contests. Submit them to online fashion gallerys and stock image sites. This will help to get your work seen so that people can see your high fashion photography skills.
Most fashion editors are looking for your individual personality in the photographs that you take. Every fashion photographer captures the essence of the fashion item and its model in their own unique way. Therefore, you want to learn from what other successful fashion photographers are doing, but you need to develop your own unique style. The key is to set yourself from apart from others with your photos. Most importantly, if this is truly your dream, never give up. If you stay persistent and continue to learn and evolve, success will come your way.