Fashion Photography – The 4 different types

Fashion photography is becoming an increasingly popular type of photography. Fashion photography trends change with each season. Each new season brings with it new creations, colours of colours. With each season, the fashion for photographs relating to clothes, the way they are presented, changes. However, there are a few basic types of fashion photography that I have decided to introduce to you. However, let’s start with the characteristics.

Characteristics of outfit photography

The main task of fashion photography is (and always has been) to bring out the beauty of the models. This is because it is they who, with their beauty and style, are supposed to draw the attention of observers to the clothes, accessories, etc. presented.

As one of the better-known contemporary fashion photographers, Solve Sundsbo, put it: “you can have a good idea, but what matters most anyway is that the person you are photographing looks stunning. It doesn’t matter how great the fashion that they are presenting – if the model looks terrible in the pictures – no one will hire the photographer again. No one will hire someone who can’t photograph a model so that she looks beautiful.”

Fashion photographs are meant to advertise a specific commodity – clothes, shoes, accessories, jewellery. A fashion photographer must therefore work with models, stylists, hairdressers in such a way that a perfect end result is achieved. The quality of fashion photography should translate into commercial success (for both the brand and the photographer).

1. Editorial Fashion Photography

Editorial photography is compared to lifestyle photography. The model portrays a character and wears clothes that you may not wear every day because of their avant-garde nature, but would secretly like to have. Editorial fashion photography gets its name from the fact that it appears in books and magazines about fashion and photography. Editorial sessions can tell the story of a product or brand, tell a story or depict a slightly over-the-top current trend. Photo shoots often take place outdoors rather than in a studio, and the atmosphere can be very different. There is always a storyline and a story behind each shoot that the photographer wants to portray.

2. High Fashion Photography

High fashion photography is about unusual clothes that almost no one would go out on the street in. It is a display of the designer’s creative craftsmanship, very often handcrafted to the point of art. The best photographers and models who know how to show extreme emotions are chosen to present such things. High fashion photos always depict a scene, even a theatrical one, and are designed to evoke the emotions of the viewer.

The first step before a high fashion shoot is to think about the mood you want to convey through the session. You don’t need to be very detailed and you can let your imagination run wild, but choosing the right mood is definitely the first step.

3. Catalog Fashion Photography

Catalogue photography is a fairly specialised area of photography and, depending on the type of product being sold, may require models, a strong thematic concept or both to show a product really well. Simple product photography for a catalogue can be done quicker (it’s obviously cheaper), but working with a strong concept designed around the products can be the difference you’re looking for to make your catalogue photography something that really stands out and makes an impression in the mind of the customer. The photo shoot is usually done in a studio with a neutral backdrop. For this style of photography, a variety of lighting setups are done.

4. Street Fashion Photography

Street fashion photography, also known as street style photography, focuses on what people wear and how they are styled in the real world on the real street. It is an observation of what style an entire city represents. Street fashion photography started as a sub-genre of street photography, where people were photographed in their everyday lives with a focus on displaying their individual sense of style. In Street Photography, candid photos of real people on the streets look better. They are the ones who often present unconventional compositions and styling.

Street photography for fashion or advertising campaigns is a great challenge and responsibility. It involves choosing models, spaces, light, moments that fit in with the type of photography we want to do.

Fashion photography – who can I do it with?

Fashion photography is very much a team effort. The photographer alone almost never handles all aspects of the shoot. And that’s a very good thing – it’s best for everyone to do what they know how to do. In freelance work, the strict division of roles is due to the need to guarantee the right results and the requirements of the client. Here, the photographer’s role is fairly truncated, although he or she still has a huge influence on the final results. The following people are involved in a fashion shoot (I omit assistants and other helpers): Creative director / magazine photo editor, stylist, make-up artist, sometimes set designer.

It is a huge undertaking that culminates in the perfect presentation of a fashion piece. If you are interested in working together – write to me and let’s develop a strategy together.