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The Fashion Photographer's Kit

Fashion told his kid it's always good to think about when you're thinking about kids the concept you're gonna be using it for us light in how you're gonna use that camera kit for lighting what kid do you need to produce those images are you gonna be working on location first studio I remember that the most important thing is choice of kit depends on what you intend to do so I get a lot of questions on workshops and other things that people say what kids do I have to I need one like yours cameras are just tools it really comes down to the photographic eye and how you present your work if you have personality in your work if you have a beautiful image that speaks more and you only have to reference like massive photography people that use one light people like evidence out there and producing beautiful, stunning imagery with limited equipment you know, backdrop on I really admire photographers like that so my current can't I'm using the cannon five team mark three recently got very excit...

ed about um twenty forty seventy two point eight this is the lens I have I never really have it on my camera but I have it's an option it's good if I'm in the studio and have to do things quickly because it gives me that kind of no quickness when I'm moving about fifty one two is a recent lens I got and the famous eighty five one two I used these to prime lenses because of the quality they're beautiful lenses, teas in the studio and outside as well. So these two up constantly glued to my camera, I also have a seventy, two hundred two point eight. This is a great lens, but it requires a lot of distance and meet my friends called the science of bird watcher because you always see those men with those like big cameras. This's a great lens if you're on location. Um, I use this for a shoot for one t five where had goes walking down the street and I wanted to head back a little bit and do like a voyeuristic kind of thing. That's a great lengths for that. I currently have a preferred e d want a kid, but I'm not set on lights. I don't really light, so not my thing. I just use one lights, so whatever kind of brand it is, I used wrong color in england. He's goings I'm familiar with a lot of lighting, but I tend to use natural light just because that's my preference you say you son bounce reflective because I feel there is important to have on hand. I don't always use thumb but it's, good if you're on a client shoot or you outside and you've got some way and you just want to add a little touch back to it. So how does this compare to when I started, um when I started, I started with the cannon three fifty d it was a christmas present I longed for for a very long time, and I was very excited when I got it. Um, I used fifty one point eight, which is a really cheap lines, but something I loved, and I used to tell it it broke down on me. Um sixty mil f two point eight macro was when I was experimenting with self portrait, I focusing on eyes, different concepts and that aiding to fifty five three point five, five six caitlin's not the best quality lens, but it really helped me in my beginning days when I couldn't afford to get a different lens, and the only thing that is improved with my work from these kits is just the quality. My vision is obviously improved over time. But having a better kid it just you know, keeps me within the clients that request higher res images you know, for billboards that kind of thing but I'm not a big person kit you can make beautiful images with nothing yes technical question do you have more than one body that you work with at a time like with one and with different lenses and then you just change it up? I do have I have five t might be rich recently god and I have the count of five one to which I'm gonna keep my before that I had like, you know, I always had the lower one and then I have the high one so it's good to have the two just in case on the good thing with what I do I don't always have to because I have to help with sponsors like cannon if anything breaks down there was that kind of jump in and help me a small anymore questions from anybody you certainly do way have time always questions great. All right, go for it let's see, we have, uh james e photo saying you spoke of collaboration with make up artist and stylist how did you manage to maintain your vision when working with others you have to be in control you have to be the director of the shoot and they're there to collaborate with um I've had it where people have come on my chute and tried to overtake it and the end result is not good um there's always that kind of collision on shoots of ideas so it's always good to be aware that this is your idea you could bring ideas to the table but you're ultimately won with the idea but in a good way it's also good when you start in if you're working with a makeup artists and hair person immediately it's good to have them kind of come on and take charge a little bit because they're also guide you as well from x spirit but just remember that you're the directive and you're the one in charge ok any way dio uh harada wants to know what designer you're wearing designer I found this in nordstrom unfortunately it's not a designer um let's see emily em photo do you still use creative lenses like the lens baby it's a good point um I used to use them because they were good back in the day to kind of experiment with I find that if you use them too often it becomes like one of those points and he what folly where everyone's eye all she's using the lens baby again so it's something I use you know if a client requests that kind of effect it's great but it's also very time consuming tease because you've got a focus and usually when I'm on a fashion seven advertising, I'm really pushed for time, so I tend to do a lot in post if that's the case. All right, so if you are just starting question from shawnee is, how many lenses do you think a photographer needs when they're just starting what would be your basic? My movie showed us okay? Yes, basic he would recommend so I would recommend a fifty whatever kind of quality is, if you can get a high quality, you have the money gray, but if you don't, the fifty mil won eight was like my baby for the longest time I loved it, um and that's a great lengths to start with a kit lens of fifty I may be like an eighty five shooting portrait, so three lenses, two or three lenses and that's all you need is a wonderful um t view, fano says, wow, I'm intrigued used mostly shoot with available light. How do you work with current weather conditions? Do you have any way to try and shoot over several days to get the right lighting, or you just I have to figure it out? This is a funny question because I have struggled over the past few weeks with weather, and I never have an issue with whether I've been trying to shoot a resort story when it's like cold outside and reign in um I tried to shoot something the other day with natural light indoors and it didn't work out but you just have to plan it if it doesn't work out you learn next time it's always good to have a backup plan he shouldn't on location and it rains I think about you know what can we do to solve this on we book a studio as a second option or can we move the shooting it's very hard when you do fashion shoots to re schedule last minute because everyone's books and everyone's schedule for a cool time so it's just about knowing how to act on location, how to solve mistakes won't happen and that's what's great about having a team like assistance if an editor's on board because they can also help like we arrange everything. So speaking of teams you mentioned earlier that you are organizing a lot our chutes generally and see you somebody had asked if you are your own director there four or do you work with directors or when do you work with directors? Director's really depend on the shoot um personal working editorial I'm the director of the organizer I'm a bit of a control freak and I have to learn to let go sometimes and I think this comes from having a background with you've done everything yourself and you know how it works see um so when clients on geez, I have to kind of give away that control when I'm doing a shoot with a high budget and this art directors and this art wise and that kind of thing on set, I have to leave it to them. A wait for them to give me a chance to give my input on the shoot. So question from dave g, he says. I had a three model editorial shoot this week, and there were designers and pr on set, which I didn't know about until I turned up. How do you keep charge when everyone wants to throw their own view of what they want to see, and I know you touched on this, but for his situation, I think this really depends on how you put the sheet together. The planning beforehand talking closely tt may be meeting up with them before. What did they bring into the shoot, what clothes they bring in one of their ideas and making sure that you're in control as well. So it's all about the point of putting your point across the same hey, this is my shoot. I'm the photographer you can bring in your ideas but you know this is how I want to share this is my style how would you say your average editorial style shoot is how long is your average advertising you said he repressed for time it's usually a day clients always want to try and get budget within one day they don't want to go in two days so they'll make you work from six sometimes until eight at night depending on how it is um a few of my last advertising shoots has been from late am start shooting it about ten and then we run through toe like six or seven and then we'll go for the images of the end of the day um but then sometimes I have a product shoot the next day as well depended on him and just really quick related to that uh when you're planning the shoo in relations like the lady in conditions changing constantly like throughout the day do you just do plan certain things? Okay, we're gonna do this one in the morning we're gonna do this yeah often when I'm with a client and I started doing this a lot in my editorial shoots because they you know, that's a lot of time taking up I'll go on location scout once met the location if I haven't already before I'll go wavering plan like a case of this look is here um, this one is here, and then art directors a great at that because they need to plan their the ones that click your fingers when they're like, okay, twenty minutes, we're done, you've got this time to do the shot and you like panic and and doing everything to get the shine time hair makeup still not done that could tell them so it's good to have, like, a time frame of, like, twenty, thirty minutes a shot and that's it give you creative team in time for, like, hera makeup and just say, ok, we've gotta finish it this time we've got a saw it this time, so just be really clear any other? Yeah, so when you're given a choice, umm do you prefer national lighting when you're shooting on location? Depends again, who the claim is? I always get pushed into doing things sometimes because from shooting for an advertising client, they want the detail of the product, so we'll go out and I use self bucks on natural light, but it's, not my craft friends, I'll just try and let you know have a touch of light to get the product and shot, but if I'm going on gina editorial, I'd be like, okay, natural light is what I shoot here's my final shots, I know they look role but this is how I edit them. So it's just being clear about everything with you decline or the editorial person, uh, john c is saying I'm just starting out and em a male. What is your suggestion on building trust with female clients or potential clients to get their business, especially with just starting out and not having much of a portfolio for them to look at. So he's one dreamlike female clients, female models, maybe a little bit both. Okay, so I guess with it, I don't think that's an issue with, like, a male that's up, you know, males of the people that run the fashion industry. My good girls have a hard time getting in that, um so there's, no problem with him trying to get in the industry. It's just again. Just gaining trust. Just keep doing personal work, get tearsheets reached out to online magazines, build from there with models if he was trying to get into that it's just about earning your recognition with models, maybe start working with small agencies asking to test with their new faces. Females on dh just build the trust, because then the agency will have the feedback from the models, and then they'll begin to give you more models, too, okay? So it quickly wanna talk here about the elements of fashion photography, first elements for me, concepts, the cast in style in and the execution of the shoot. So all of these have to exist to make a good fashion photograph concept comes down to the team, what you're going for, the cast and comes down to the people and the subjects that are involved in the shoot. The styling comes down to how it's, silent on set. What is the success of the styling? What do you bring to the table, and the execution is how you go about it. How do you set it up? These are all achievable, no matter what your budget is, and you're going to get really bored of me saying this, but these are really achievable to anyone. You don't have to have a big budget to do any of these. So I think about these whenever you put in a shoot together.