Fashion Photography

What Is Fashion Photography?

Fashion photography is a form of photography that focuses on showcasing clothing and other fashion items. It’s perfectly exemplified by fashion spreads in glossy fashion magazines. As such, it focuses on portraiture, posing, and extensive lighting.

Having been around since the early days of photography, it’s one of the oldest forms of photography. It’s also one of the most prevalent forms. It’s everywhere from magazines to billboards, and even the sides of buildings. Because it underpins the primary form of advertising in a very lucrative industry, it’s also one of the most profitable forms of photography.

To be successful in fashion photography, each photographer should develop their own aesthetic. To develop this aesthetic, it’s not only the clothing that matters, but also beautiful locations and accessories. Because of this, and changing trends, fashion photography is continually evolving.

Equipment and Technique

Equipment is especially important in fashion photography, but can vary depending on what the images will be used for. A shoot for a magazine will, for instance, use different equipment to a shoot at a fashion show.

In addition to equipment, technique is also important. There are a variety of techniques available and a lot of planning goes into finding the right model and the correct pose. The technique used will differ for every photographer as they develop their aesthetic and for what the images will be used for.

Irrespective of what the images will be used for, the best cameras for fashion photography are DSLR’s, medium, and large format cameras.

Photographers can use almost any lens depending on the circumstances, but they favor prime lenses above zoom lenses. Prime lenses offer larger apertures and capture sharper images compared to zoom lenses.

Besides cameras and lenses, photographers also need flashes, lighting, tripods, and other equipment. These all form part of the successful fashion photographer’s toolkit.

In the articles below, read about fashion Photography tips, tutorials and news.