Creative Photo Shoots on a Budget, Fashion

Fun, Low Cost Clothing or Commercial Photography with Artistic Edge

Feb 25, 2009

Photographing fine clothing and fashions can be extremely pleasant to the eye and can in some cases be applied commercially through microstock or other agencies.

Clothing photography can be very interesting for amateur and professional photographers in that it allows for so much variety in the subject. For example, one could easily set up a home macro photography studio and take shots of men's and women's jewelry, neckwear, footwear, and even dress shirts and slacks in interesting poses and combinations. More commonly thought of would be the prospect of finding a local model or simply a willing and photogenic friend and taking several commercial fashion shots outdoors or in a simple home studio. In either case, fashion and clothing photography does not need to be extremely expensive or difficult.

Starting Out Simple

The easiest way to practice photography is by creating a simple, in-home studio and shooting various objects with as many angles, crops and exposure settings as possible. Particularly useful in the realm of macro photography would be men's cufflinks, tie-clips, and other small jewelry, women's and men's neckwear and neckties, and other small articles and accessories. Other wonderful conceptual shots include fabric swatches being layered artistically to produce depth and shadow whilst including needle and thread and uncompleted stitching to imply artisanry.

By shooting objects as the subject you are creating an easily manipulated shot, created with your own lighting, backdrops, and other particulars. You are not relying on models and as such are eliminating disagreement over creative control as well as time or scheduling concerns. Your post-production skills can be practiced, and honed at your leisure.

Models and Complex Shoots

The wonderful thing about fashion photography is the great degree of creative license allowable in the field – everything ranging from purely commercial to the extremely avante-garde is allowable in the realm of fashion photography.

In portraiture, it is extremely important to consider angles, cropping, and colour. When choosing clothing for your models to wear one should always consider if that particular shade will compliment the complexion of the model and further, will it work well with the light source that you will be using – be it natural sunlight or DIY studio lighting. When shooting models with a larger build, be sure to raise the camera to a greater height and to tilt down slightly to reduce the likelihood of uncomplimentary shots.

Cropping can be done at the post-production level, though in order to maintain aspect ratio as well as to promote quality work as a photographer it is best to master shooting perfect crops before post production. For example, a male model wearing black slacks, a white shirt, and a black tie is not simply a one shot wonder – you could also potentially shoot his collar close-up, with the knot of the tie enclosed by the notched lapels and the stark black perfectly segmenting two fields of pure white cotton. A sleeve slightly folded back over the wrist to reveal a bright chrome timepiece would make another excellent macro shot. With these examples, one quickly understands the value of getting the most from a particular pose.

Shooting clothing and fashion iconography and concepts can be extremely intellectually rewarding as well as satisfying for those with a keen eye for colour, shape, and design. Starting off simple and developing into more complex model shoots is a great way to show your personal interest in both photography and fashion while cultivating fantastic shots for a professional or artistic portfolio.

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The copyright of the article Creative Photo Shoots on a Budget, Fashion in Photography is owned by Nicholas Morine. Permission to republish Creative Photo Shoots on a Budget, Fashion in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.