Fashion photographers are the new painters.
Words by the master of cinematic images, Peter Lindbergh.
And aren’t they?
We must remember that Lindbergh’s influence created a brand new term – supermodel.
His timeless pictures of Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz and many others not only made a mark in the fashion industry for himself but also influenced and boosted careers of his models.
Lindbergh showed those images at Gagosian Gallery in Paris in September 2014 to celebrate his 30th anniversary in the industry.
In the photography world, fashion photography is deemed to be the creme de la creme of the business.
But what it takes to become a fashion photographer?
And is it worth it? We all tend to consider grass to be greener on the other side, don’t we? Let’s sneak peek into the backstage of fashion photography and see what the crucial elements are.
As I stated in my last post, professional photography is more teamwork than primadonna show. Of course, there must be head of the gig, the chief snapper. Otherwise, everything will fall apart. On the other hand, the best photographer can do only this amount of work himself. He can’t do makeup; he can’t do hair, and he usually sees the whole wardrobe for the very first time. Even a person with excellent taste and knowledge of recent fashion trends would spend hours trying to compose outfit for models. And it would be totally wrong because designer’s vision happened to be completely different.
AH, REMEMBER – THE CLOCK IS TICKING!
The client is paying for studio time. He or she is also paying for your day. If that’s you who provides extra staff, a customer has to cover those expenses as well.
Team Is The Key.
The more you do within your time limits, the better. Notice that it comes at the price. Building the team, finding those few right people who can create something out of nothing takes time, and resources.
I’m not even talking about patience and extra work you have to put into your business to just reach out to those right people. They don’t just ponder around waiting when Mr Photographer will kindly ask for their services.
By the way, have you noticed that everyone who is good at something is usually quite busy (read: expensive)?
It took me and my business partner, co-owner of Pro Image Studio significant amount of time to complete a list of people we have tested, we like to work with, and we can rely upon, yet won’t blow up our budget.
Resources You Must Have.
I’m not going to tell you that you need camera and lights, come on.
I would rather like to emphasise something else. Your resource is your people. It is nice to own a studio I can’t deny, but your ultimate goal, especially when you are trying to get your foot in the door of fashion photography is to get to know people within the industry, especially influencers and grey eminences who run the whole show.
If you are not at this level just yet, start building your circle, and you will be surprised how quickly it will start paying off.