Monthly Archives: September 2011

Professional Photographers



Professional photographers can make such a difference in your pictures. Aside from all their professional equipment, their angles and knowledge of location can really make a big improvement from your digital camera. Safe professional timely service is hard to find but there are certain things you can look for to tell if they’re really as good as they say they are.

Equipment is important to your photographs because the camera has higher quality and there are an extremely large number of pixels so you can blow the picture up to even a billboard size without it getting pixelated. Also the lighting will enhance the picture to its full potential. It will make the image pop and give it a great look. Backdrops are handy for professional headshots, photo shoots and product shooting so you have a clean background and the focus is on the object in the image.

Photo editing is important too. Professional photographers are trained in editing programs to clean up and enhance the photos further so they look clean, finished and gorgeous. They have all the computer programs and printing equipment to make your photos look just right. If you ask some photographers, they’ll even show you before and after images. They also may know great locations for shooting. Some have beautiful scenic and creative places to take you to get the most stand-out photos you can find.

Exploring angles is really important in photography. Finding a photographer that knows how to make an object, person or location look interesting by using angles is important. You want to find someone who can look at your features, and use angles that flatter them so you look to your best potential. Lighting comes in with that too. If your face is lit from the wrong angle you can look less attractive than you really are. With the right lighting and camera angles, you can look like a totally different person.

Make sure you discuss pricing beforehand. Some photographers charge a down payment for booking their time in case of cancellations. Photographers can be in high demand depending on the area you’re in so try to pick an appointment and stick with it. If you cancel some photographers may not give the deposit back.

Photographers don’t only shoot people and products in the studio, they also go to events, sporting events, weddings, corporate photography, architecture, and landscapes. Whether it’s for a high school photo, a business advertisement, a magazine cover, family photos, or just every day photos for fun there’s always something to shoot with professional photographers.

Fashion Photography Tips For Success



We see them all over the place; in television advertisements, in magazines, and on the runway. They are the beautiful men and women who strut their stuff while showing off the latest styles from the hottest fashion designers. These are the fashion models of today and tomorrow, and the subject of high fashion photography. It is through photography that these models and fashionable clothing are brought to the public. Therefore, these photographs must be taken with a certain level of precision and a special attention to color, style, and lighting composition. Learning a few key fashion photography tips will help to make this possible.

High fashion photographers such as Mario Testino and Eva Mueller may not be as famous as the models they shoot, but they are actually sought out more than their model counterparts by fashion magazines and designers. While the dream of huge paychecks and hobnobbing with the rich and famous might appeal to the aspiring fashion photographer, it is not easy to become successful in fashion and model photography. For every one talented young photographer who makes it big, there are hundreds are left dreaming about the moment their photo will be chosen.

Here are a few fashion photography tips for anyone interested in getting started in the field of fashion photography. The first thing you must do is study your subject. As with any field, you can never learn enough. Read as many fashion magazines you can possibly get your hands on. There are a number of fantastic books on the subjects of fashion and model photography available. They can be purchased cheaply online at sites like Amazon.com or even cheaper if you get them used on eBay. You will also need a good camera, a tripod, and a lighting system. One of the more often overlooked fashion photography tips, is to ensure that you always have plenty of film and extra batteries available.

One of the most important fashion photography tips to focus on is having a portfolio. You need to start assembling a portfolio of your work and you need to keep this portfolio handy at all times. You never know when you will have the opportunity to show your work off to someone in the fashion world. Sharp, vibrant images on a 4 x 5″ transparency will best show off your work, so focus on them when putting your fashion photography portfolio together. If any of your work has already been published regardless of whether it was a local magazine, newspaper or contest, add a tear sheet (literally a sheet you torn out of the magazine) is a great addition to a portfolio. You should have a minimum of 20 photographs in your portfolio and showcasing different styles.

In this day of the internet, it is wise to display your fashion photography talent online as well. Setup a simple website displaying your work and submit your digital photos to online contests. Also, submit them to online fashion gallery websites. This will help tremendously with getting your work seen and showcasing your talent around the world. Probably the most important of all the fashion photography tips is to get your photographs seen by as many people as possible. There is no better way of doing this than by putting them online.

Remember that most fashion magazine editors are looking for your personality in the photographs that you take. Each fashion photographer will captures the essence of a fashion design and model differently. Most importantly, if this is your dream, do not give up, ever! Keep learning the latest high fashion photography tips and keep working to get your photographs on the cover of my next hot fashion magazine.

High Fashion Photography – The Creation of Desire



In high fashion photography, the aim is simple – to create desire. This is achievable because the photographer has complete control over the environment and is free to choose what to include or exclude.

Fashion photography began in 1913 with Adolphe de Meyer who made experimental photographs using a soft-focus lens and backlighting.

Next came Edward Steichen who started photographing fashion models in 1911. He used simple props combined with classical poses. Steichen’s photos replaced the illustrations used by fashion magazines since 1892.

George Hoyningen-Huene was another famous photographer from this era. He worked with Coco Chanel, Greta Garbo, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Marlene Dietrich and Kurt Weill.

Cecil Beaton and Horst Paul Horst were next on the scene. Beaton’s images were influenced by his theatre designs while Horst’s leaned towards the surreal.

During World War II, the fashion photography industry in Europe suffered due to lack of materials and fashion photography was considered frivolous. When Hitler invaded Paris, photographers such as Horst fled to America where the industry was unaffected.

After the War, the American photographer Lillian Bassman (born 1917) created a new aesthetic in black and white fashion photography with pictures that were atmospheric and moody, mostly in black and white.

She was rediscovered in the 1990s when a bag containing hundreds of her photographs was discovered, photographs which she had thrown out 20 years prior. Today she has been rediscovered and given the recognition she rightly deserves as a top fashion photographer.

In the 1940s and 1950s Alex Liberman influenced a whole generation of photographers, including Diane Arbus, Bruce Davidson, Robert Frank, Robert Klein and Lisette Model. Irving Penn is another fashion photographer from this era, whose compositions were daringly simple, often isolating his subjects from all props or backgrounds to create a feeling of emotional detachment.

1960s fashion photography was highly experimental and photographers such as Bob Richardson took their inspiration from film directors particularly with respect to camera angle and lighting. Richard Avedon is well-known particularly for his work with Twiggy, the great icon of fashion of the 1960s. Meanwhile, Diane Arbus worked for Harper’s Bazaar in 1962 on a series of photographs of children fashions and also for the New York Times in 1967, 1968 and 1970. David Bailey is another well-known 60s fashion photographer who photographed actors, musicians and royalty as well as fashion models. He captured, and helped to create, the Swinging London of the 1960s

In the 1970s, Helmut Newton rose to fame along with Guy Bourdin who created fashion photographs with aggression and violence contained within them.

In the 1990s high fashion photography was dominated by photographers such as Collier Schorr and Glen Luchford. David Lachapelle, Jurgen Teller and Wolfgang Tillmans are perhaps the most influential photographers of this era. This whirl-wind tour of the history of high fashion photography brings us to the present day and photographers such as
Michael Creagh, a New York based fashion photographer who was presented with the 4th Annual Black and White Spider Awards Nominee in the category of Fashion in January 2009.