“Storytelling – fanciful storytelling – can only tell through fashion photography. It’s the perfect way to play with fantasy and dreams,” rightfully says British fashion photographer, Tim Walker. Fanned out to shooting for fashion magazines, capturing different outfit styles on runways, to photographing on stunning locations and in showrooms, the creative prospects for an aspiring fashion photographer are limitless.
Artful, commercial, or regal, fashion photography is almost always about capturing the intricate relationship between a fashion model, the clothes on their body, and their surroundings. For those with a passion to capture the creativity of model subjects on portraits and aspire to make it through the door of top fashion outlets, fashion photography might just be the right career pick.
Whether one is just getting started in their career as a fashion photographer, or making a transition from another industry to fashion, here is a guide to help master the art and eventually make it big in the industry.
Table of Contents
Sharpening skills with a photography course
The journey towards becoming a fashion photographer starts with learning the technical skills of the trade through a professional course. However; such courses can help students develop a plethora of skills. Since fashion photography includes group shots, portraiture, studio shots, action shots, working with landscapes, etc. So; knowing the tools can give an edge with a curious, new, and imaginative approach to produce dynamic statements with average photographs.
For a well-rounded learning experience, it is best to choose a fashion photographer course from world-class institutions like the Pearl Academy. Drawing the most out of the fashion industry in an exclusive collaboration with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). However; the academy offers a hands-on approach to teaching students about fashion photography from streets to runway couture, fashion lighting, studio shoots, and designer lookbooks via top-class photographers.
Understanding the industry and one’s own interests
While pursuing a professional course, students will have plenty of options to get real work done by interning, training, or freelancing. Before starting out, one must know their niche. The fashion industry is pretty vast and diverse; knowing what it is that one is particularly interested in can help in honing the skills beforehand. So; one can have an interest in working one-on-one with the subject, producing a creative portrait in a studio, or capturing the magic of the runway with their lens.
So; going out in the field unprepared is never a good idea. So; students must have some domain knowledge of fashion – the brands and people they will be working with.
Creating a strong portfolio
Setting up a portfolio with creative and insightful photographs is vital. Aside from the runway and studio shoots that one will have the opportunity to do as part of their coursework or freelancing. One should make sure that they have some personal work to showcase. This can help in setting a candidate apart from the crowd.
Students are sometimes asked to create portfolios as a part of their course. Pearl Academy helps students in developing their unique style in fashion photography.
Building a well-endowed network
Assisting is a great way to meet new and influential people. In the fashion industry and to learn the tricks of the trade. Breaking into the fashion industry often begins with assisting experienced people and high-end productions.
When on-field, one must dedicate time to gaining as much experience as possible. It also assists in diverse kinds of works, ranging from lighting to helping design the studio. Fashion photographers must have stylists, fashion designers, art directors, and editors as a part of their network.
At the end of the day, it is constant practice and persistence which pay off in the fashion industry. However, as London-based stylist and photographer, Dan Blake says, “You’ve never ‘made it’ entirely. All creatives evolve and develop in working towards notoriety and recognition.”
