Helpful Steps to Capture that
Great Fashion Moment!
Today I want to talk about some tips that will help you give your photos that WOW factor!
The point in any image making process is to
engage your viewer. Keeping these 10 Steps in mind when you’re on your
next fashion photo shoot will help you do just that: Engage Your Viewer!
In the comment section below, why don’t you add a tip for the other
readers! And I would like to know too, what tip do you have under your
sleeve to make more powerful fashion photographs?
1. Engage the model: Use eye contact. Eye contact directly into the camera is powerfully engaging. It strongly connects the model with the viewer of the image.
2. Looking away. Having the model looking away,
focused on something off camera, is an intriguing way to engage your
viewer. It creates a sense of mystery, urging the viewer to contemplate
what the model might be looking at.
3. Models looking at each other. It helps create a
story within the image and the viewer becomes engaged in the story and
the emotions being shared between the models.
4. F%$# the rules! (Personally, my favorite thing to
do) Mess with the composition. Place the model either dead center or
put them off right to the edge of the frame. My theory about rules is
this: You must know them in order to break them!
5. Experiment with light. Mix available light with
strobe or tungsten light. Leave the shutter open for longer than you
normally would and let the flare come in. Light creates DRAMA. Use it.
6. Get that model moving. Take her out of the
studio, all dressed up in 4 inch heels and make-up. Get her out on a
busy street and let her work her walk and stop traffic! It’s amazing how
the confidence will take over the girl and how strong that will make
your image!
7. Change your angle. Normally a rule of thumb for
shooting fashion is for the photographer to be low or close to the
ground in order to shoot up towards the model. This elongates the model.
But what did I say earlier about rules? Yep…break them! As I’ve
mentioned in an
earlier post,
and as you’ve seen in the videos, I move around a lot when I shoot to
get a variety of angles. Get up on a ladder and shoot down, or try
shooting from different angles. See what makes for an interesting shot.
8. Get a prop involved! How interesting is it when a
model is playing with a handbag or a tube of lipstick. It adds a sense
of “reality” to the shot, letting the viewer take on a voyeuristic
approach as if they are catching the model in a private moment.
9. Grab those random candid shots. Watch for those
moments when the model is adjusting her skirt or reaching down to fasten
the strap on her shoe. When the model is looking away and her attention
is somewhere else for a moment, it’s unexpected and it’s sexy! Because
it’s a REAL moment. Shots that aren’t posed are usually so dynamic!
10. Play with emotions. Get the girl to pretend to
cry or get her to laugh wickedly…or even sneer. Have them act! It’s
another way to engage your viewers and hold their attention on a
photograph longer than “just another pretty picture.”
repost: http://fashionphotographyblog.com
