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Genres in practice3 min read

LESSON 48

Fashion

Clothes, models and a point of view.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. What the genre is
  2. A short history
  3. In practice: the team and the brief
  4. In practice: movement and light

What the genre is

Fashion photography shows clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically means a photographer working with a dressed model in a studio or outdoors. It grew out of the clothing industry, and though some of it is treated as art, most is still made to sell clothes, perfume and beauty products. It appears mostly in advertising and in magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle, and has spread to books, galleries and museums. The genre has its own visual language, in which locations and accessories lift the clothes.

A short history

People used photography to show costume almost from the start. From 1856 the Countess di Castiglione worked with court photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson on some 700 pictures of herself, which has led some to call her the first fashion model. In 1881 fashion photographs began appearing in French textile sample books, and in 1892 La Mode Pratique became the first magazine to print fashion photographs. In 1911 Edward Steichen photographed gowns by Paul Poiret for the magazine Art et Décoration, the date often given as the start of modern fashion photography. Its popularity spread in the mid-1930s, and its peak began after the Second World War with photographers such as Irving Penn and Richard Avedon.

In practice: the team and the brief

From here this lesson is working practice. A fashion picture is made by a team: photographer, model, stylist, hair and make-up, and often an art director and the client. Before the shoot, agree a mood board with references for light, pose, location and colour, so everyone works toward the same picture. The clothes are the subject, so check fit, creases and pins between frames. Ask the stylist to watch the garment while you watch the light and the model, because no one can see everything.

In practice: movement and light

Also practice. Movement sells clothes: a turn, a step, wind in a skirt, a jacket thrown over a shoulder. Use a fast enough shutter or flash to freeze it, and shoot in bursts. Hard light with deep shadows gives an editorial, graphic look; large soft light gives a clean, commercial one. Direct the model with clear words and show them frames that work. Pay attention to hands and feet, which often look awkward. Agree in writing who may use the pictures and how, especially when people are working for free on a test shoot.

Try it today

  1. 01Collect six reference pictures for one mood and share them with a friend who will model.
  2. 02Style one outfit and check it carefully before every set of frames.
  3. 03Shoot the outfit in hard sun and again in open shade.
  4. 04Ask for one movement, such as a turn, and shoot it in a burst.
  5. 05Agree in a short written note how both of you may use the pictures.