UNIT 26 - Specialist Studio Photography
Fashion photography by its very nature is a team effort. You are an emerging fashion photographer, focused on making your mark upon the industry. To do this you will need to work within a small collective to produce a series of work.
You are to visually rebrand for a fashion label 2016/17 season
You are to develop a unique style and approach your work, drawing inspiration and re-invented upon masters of the past.
The requirements are to produce...
A Series of Fashion images for a given clothing brand
A short 40-60 second fashion film or ‘behind the scenes’ video to support your series.
Early Stages Experimentation of Posing:
To practise for this project in class we went to the library and looked through fashion magazines, such as Dazed, Vogue, Elle, GQ and many more. We then picked out several completely different poses from these magazines, photocopy them, then try to recreate them in the studio. Each member of the group chose a different pose. I chose this Chanel Advert Pose:
Some may say that this pose looks quite simple, but in fact it was quite hard to achieve! The head and body had to be at a certain angle, the hand had to be in at the top of the hip, but the most difficult was trying to get the feet/ legs n the right position. This was tricky as that often dictates which way you face, but we wanted the body to be slightly towards the camera and with the feet facing diagonally. These are some of my attempts.
This task was tricky because we had try and tell the model what we wanted them to do in a easy way that they could understand, and be gentle and encouraging when asking them to do so/ position them ourselves. Also none of us are models so none of these movements come easy to us, we cant just move to get better lighting etc. It did take some time but I got a picture I was happy with, and the task definitely helped me to communicate with models in the studio. We had one soft box positioned in front of the model to the right, you can see this by the shadow on the backdrop. Using a soft box has created a gradient shadow across my models face, and has highlighted her collarbones and jawline. Because the soft box is so wide it gives out a large area of light , we have angled it on the top of our model as we wanted to accentuate her features.
Choosing Our Model/ Genre
My partner and I have decided to focus on older men’s fashion. This is because we are both interested in this area of photography and we have not explored it as much as women’s fashion. It will enable us to work with more hard lighting, as we are able to extenuate jawlines etc and make our make model look more powerful/masculine.
Georgianne and I have decided to partner up on this project as we both have similar interests in men’s fashion. Georgianne will be the photographer, and I the Videographer for this project.
Debenhams Website Research.
We will be advertising clothes from Debenhams as they have a wide range of brands that we can mix and match when shooting.Such as Jeff Banks, Rocha John Rocha, Gant and many others:
On the Debenhams website the men’s clothing pictures have been evenly lit so it is easy to see all the detail of the clothing items.The pictures are crisp and clear, with good colour. Plus all the brands have used a range of different aged models, but all the posing styles are quite similar, so we will have to do some more research so we know how to pose our model.
Some of the items, such as the shirts don’t have people modelling them, they have been put on a mannequin which has been edited out. I like this because you are able to see how the piece of clothing fits, however it isn't something we would be interested in doing for our project, as we’d like to focus on using a model.
Although the high key, evenly lit photos seem to be the norm on websites like this, for our advertisement photos we would like to explore more with the light. To make our photos much more striking, and challenge ourselves to achieve a much more high end, professional look that would also be worthy of high end fashion magazines, such as GQ as well as Debenhams catalogues and advertisements.
Although there were some middle aged models we were really looking for senior models, as they have a completely different posing style altogether. It took us a long time to find some older models, we had to look on some model agency websites and looked at magazines such as GQ. We looked at covers/ articles with men such as Idris Elba, Tom Selleck .
I like these Tom Selleck photos because the poses fit his age, they are not to flashy and are overall quite simple. An element of movement has been added in the top image, you can see this in his coat. The second image is really relaxed I love the smart/casual outfit, the pose is natural and I really like all the detail you can see in his clothes.
These are shots of Idris Elba that I really like. He is such a suave man who is also up for a laugh. This is conveyed in his photos. His first one, again like the Tom Selleck photo, looks as though it has a bit movement in it. It looks as though he is stepping forward and is reaching into his suit pocket. I like this pose men are photographed in suits, or when they’re undoing a button or straightening out their jacket. The even lighting is most likely achieved by soft boxes directly in front of him. The second image is a more of a relaxed, casual photo. He looks as though he is laughing at something someone has said behind the camera. Off guard photos are often the best photos because it shows who the person really is because they’re not worrying about posing. The light is coming from the upper right above eye level, most likely a soft box as there are no harsh shadows. The final photo is more of an action shot, showing the modern man on the go, I know its a location shot but i like the way he is putting the sunglasses in his pocket.
Traditional Artist Study: Richard Avedon
For my traditional artist I have chosen Richard Avedon who was an American Fashion and Portrait Photographer
Richard Avedon used simple sets when he shot for fashion magazines.
In the first photo, there is a lot of movement in the hair dress and by her stance. There is only one light on her it is coming from the right of the photo, it is a hard light most likely a spill kill or tungsten. Its only one hard light because there is only one shadow going to the left, that is solid with a hard outline, and her jaw has a defined shadow underneath it.
The second photo has a centred composition and a light directly in front and above the eye level of the model, as her shadow is shining directly behind her.
The third Photo is a portrait that I really like, the model is facing completely to the side, with a soft light shining just above eye level,this is evident from the dark shadows under her chin. The edge of the shadow has a gradient and is not solid.
Contemporary Artist Study: Rankin
These three images are from Rankins menswear portfolio.
The first photo is only lit by one light. It’s nice that Rankin has left the spill kill light in. It has only illuminated one half of the face, and has cast a big shadow on the background because it is so close to the model. Only parts of his clothing is lit up but it is enough for the viewer to see the colours and how it sits on the body.
In the second picture the two shadows have been created by two spill kill lights. One positioned to the left and right of the camera, slightly above the eye level of the model, you can tell because the shadows are slightly shorter than him. It gives the illusion of a group of people which is creative and goes with the western theme of the shoot.
The final photo is one of my favourites because, firstly, the model is an older man, like ours. He is wearing similar attire to what we will cloth our model in. I like the way Rankin has again used just one light, most likely a spill kill, because of the hard lines of the shadows on this face. The light has created a high contrast look and I love texture and shadows it has created on the suit.
For our project Rankin will definitely help make the decisions on our lighting arrangement. Less is more, too many lights will make things over complicated and we may not end up with the professional results we want.
Video Advertisements Research
Researching men’s fashion advertisement videos that had middle aged/older models was quite difficult. Many adverts cater to the younger generation, and because of this they sometimes involve less clothing, can be a little more sexual and involves dancing and a whole lot of different posing.
We did look at a Debenhams advert for their coats, I really like this advert because it doesn't have a white background it is black instead, this is better because the white can sometimes be too overpowering. In this instance the black fits the autumnal theme, and you are focused on the models clothes more. I like the use of slow motion, and short clips of the leaves and water, and the way the video focuses in and out.
The Video also provided some movements for us to do with our model in our video:
I like the shrugging on of the coat
The zipping up of the coat is nice, especially if there is a brand name on the zip or on the coat that could be included.
We could change the putting up of the hood into pulling up of the collar. SOmething men often do.
I like the person out of focus in the background with the leaves in the foreground in focus.
The video has used a tripod in some shots, to make sure its steady and able to focus on things in the foreground, and when shooting detail shots. . In some other shots the camera has been hand held, this is evident in the scene where camera follows the man doing up his zip on his coat.
Lighting: In some shots of the coats (models face not in shot) you can see that hard lighting has been used on one side of the model because of the hard shadows around pockets and collars. There also must have been a soft light, on low, directly in front of the model or the other side of the hard light to provide some even lighting to light up the area around the model. But when the models face is in the shot soft light is used on both sides of the model. You don’t want hard shadows on the models face when filming as the shadows can make the face look strange.
Music: The music in this ad is a instrumental piece. Its modern, with a beat throughout, but reminiscence of smooth jazz/music. It is a piece that doesn’t take away from the visual side, but nicely blends into the background, but still catches your attention every once in a while. I think for our ad an instrumental piece with little to no singing.
link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVZBkA-P9Lc
David Gandy - Bonda Castana A/W 2013 Fashion Film
I chose this fashion film starring Davis Gandy because even though he is only 35 he has a rugged, older face. Moreover this advert has some really nice technical points that we can carry over to our film.
I love this still because there is a low light coming from the bar that is illuminating the left side of his face, while putting his right side into shadow. We can recreate this by using a tungsten light, and a reflector on the right side to show a bit of facial feature.
I like the spotlight over him because it puts him in a silhouette, this could be recreated by using a rim light behind the model. It adds drama and an air of mystery.
The Music: Debussy 'Clair de Lune' is a slow piano piece where the clips change on pauses in the piece. It suits the gentle but seductive tone.
Bonobo feat. Andreya Triana 'Eyesdown'
This model/actor is most relevant to our research because he is older and we can take pointers from this photo. I like the soft gradient on his face, it subtly accentuates his cheekbones and jawline making him seem much more masculine. I like his pose as it is a popular pose and could be recreated in many outfits.
Our model will be an older male, my Father Brian as kindly agreed to model for us, he also has many high end brand products. We will have him in three outfits: casual, smart casual and smart. Three outfits will be enough as we will layer them up and provide lots of different poses and detail shots.
We researched older models to find out what type poses we could use when shooting our stills. Many of the men have quite simple, poses, but their clothing and individual personality shines through. Many are wearing suits and smart casual wear. I would definitely like to try out some of these poses with my models.
Aim: To produce a series of Fashion images for Debenhams, which will have to be shot in the studio. We will also have to produce a Fashion film/ advertisement to accompany the stills, which will need to include location shots, and shots in the studio. The studio shots will be behind the scenes, and in black and white, as we have more props and angles to play with.
Canon Camera 1100D - Video
Canon Camera 700D - Photographs
White Background - Shot stills and studio based film on
Clothes: Three Sets- Casual, Smart Casual and Smart (suits, coats, shirts, jeans, shoes)
Accessories - Scarves, Watch, Gloves
newspaper, coffee Cup, phone
Studio: Our stills are to be shot in the studio as we have complete control over the environment. We are able to control the, lighting, make sure that the model is warm, and we don’t have to rush and worry about loosing the light.
Headstone Manor: We went and shot our video at Headstone Manor in Harrow. We chose this location because, it had open fields, the Manor House, the old barn and a river with ducks. All these different setting provided us with lots of different and unique shots. We went on a crisp Saturday morning, 28th November, where there were only a few clouds in the sky and the sun was shining bright. We were not only able to get lots of shots of our model, we also managed to get, some ‘in between shots’ of the leaves, sky, lens flare etc.
Look&Feel: We decided to go for an sophisticated autumnal feel. It is the perfect time of year to extenuate this theme, as there are beautiful golden colour leaves on the ground, crisp condensated breath, bright shining sun not blocked by any clouds. We managed to pick a day with little clouds, so it was perfect weather to shoot in as the contrast was naturally boosted and there was no need for a reflector. All of our location shots were filmed in colour in order to show the bright colours of nature and the colour of the clothes our model was wearing. Whereas our studio film was shot in black and white, to fit with the professional, sophisticated older male feel. Also many of the behind the scenes fashion videos are shot in black and white.
Genre/Audience: We want our stills and fashion film to appeal to the older generation of men, who still want to be stylish and sophisticated. The type of men that read GQ, and port magazine.
This is a project management form to help us plan our project.
When our model came into college we had to complete this form in and hand it into reception, so he was able to access the studio.
This is a model release form that we had get our model to sign, giving us permission to release and publish the still images and videos.
Test Shots and set up (which we used for our final shoot):
I brought an outfit in we were going to use and dressed a mannequin in the studio in it. This would help us get an accurate representation of lighting on our model. We knew we didn't want the even lighting, like the shots we researched, as we wanted to make our images more interesting to look at. We wanted shadows to create a bit of drama and highlight parts of the clothing. A hard light would create shadows that would be too harsh. So after experimenting we decided to use a strip soft box and a beauty light. The Strip light provides an even light down the whole body, rather than an ordinary soft box which will only light one half of the body at a time. We had it diagonally to the left of the model so the front half, or side (depending on how we positioned them) had even lighting. The Beauty dish diagonally behind and to the right, provided a rim light around the back of the model/mannequin , creating a subtle outline of the body. When we faced the mannequin towards the beauty dish we got more detail on the clothing and more of a shadow on the side facing the strip light.
This is a lighting set-up from SyLights:
We used the beauty dish as a rim light. We used it instead of a snoot, spill kill or tungsten because it is bigger it will provide a wider range of light, therefore providing a brighter silhouette, and an even amount of light. This was behind the model the whole time.
The Strip light (softbox) was positioned diagonally to the right of the model. It is narrow and will illuminate the body length of the model. We have much more control over the light that hits the subject.
When experimenting we also took the clothes off the mannequin and hung them on the hangers, on a movable light stand in order to get some detail shots. We wanted to get some pictures of the label in the Jeff banks shirt but it was too saggy and looked scruffy. So we had to improvise and use a college card to hold the collar open, we got some good pictures in the end. However having the card in the collar restricted how high we could shoot from, as we could see the card if we went too high.
From these shots we found the lighting we want to use in t our final shoot, the images are really good on their own and need little to no editing.
Final Studio Contact Sheet:
Debenhams Suit and trousers
ISO 100: f/8: Exposure1/125
IOS 100: f-stop f/8: Exposure Time 1/125:
We found that in the end we didn't have to edit the images very much in the end. When opening up the RAW files all that was done was a slight contrast increase, to make some of the tones slightly brighter and more detailed. We moved up the black slider to darken some of the shadows to create more texture and depth. We tided up any loose threads on the clothing, and any small blemishes on the skin, with the spot healing tool. On some of the photos that had the red tartan lining of the Gant coat the vibrance was boosted to really catch the eye of the viewer. All of these edits were made, because if they were used for a an advertising campaign, people need to be drawn to them in order to buy them. But luckily because the picture was good technically when we took it, we didn’t have to over edit it so it doesn’t look tacky or unrealistic.
In the majority of our photos our model is centred but we made sure that his body was always at a slight angle. This was because we wanted him to face the strip light, as it was the softer light and the beauty dish behind him gave nice shadowing on his face. The detail shots were photographed in fromt of the strip light because we wanted an even, soft light on the buttons and labels so they were easy to read. But we were still able to create a shadow on the rest of the clothing. Like the last photo and the John Rocha Coat.
When shooting we stayed on
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/148412728
You tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaM9qoDDXCc
We edited our film on a Mac in iMovie. Going into this we weren't sure how to put this video together. But once we had looked through both our studio and location shots we narrowed down our favourite film clips. We then decided to mix the two locations in together, because putting all the location then studio shots would be boring. We started with the trees against the sky, as it was the easiest one to put text over and it was nice and simple. Then we started to pick and chose what order we wanted to put our clips in. We chose the song Love You 'Cause You're There - Hidden Charms, which is quite Jazzy and has a long instrumental introduction, dominated by a low electric guitar, and drums, which is made up of some quick beats which we used to change between clips, which were not much longer than a few seconds. Some clips we used transitions, such as, dissolve focus and fade to black/white. But in the end we didn't use many of them because they added, more time and didn't quite go with the music, so we just went from clip to clip. Some clips we reversed, sped up, one suite clip we slowed down, because they made the video more interesting to watch rather than, normal speed. Near the end of our 60 second clip the music speeds up, and we came up with the idea of reversing all of our clips super fast and end on the same screen we started in.
The clips them selves are all different. On the location shots we shot in colour because it was a bight day and the colours on the clothes, especially the red had naturally become more vibrant. Moreover, we used the tripod on location because we needed steady shots when he was walking around. Also some of our, shots of the leaves, and detail shots of the clothing needed a steady camera when focusing in and out. In the studio we decided to shoot in black and white, because when we shot the film in colour it was too yellow and didn't look professional. The lighting for the studio clips was the same as our still lighting. I liked filming when Georgianne was shooting because when the flash went of it would sometimes go a bit slower and that silhouetted our model really nicely, and other times it would go at normal speed creating a white flicker across the video clip. This was useful and created a dramatic effect when putting the clips together, it was a built in transition. Many behind the scene videos, or more up market brands use black and white video, this what we were hoping to achieve. So overall the video turned out even better than we expected.
I feel as though that our final series of images and fashion film turned out better than expected. They both have a very professional finish, and I could definitely see the photographs being used in a Debenhams catalogue. I feel that working in a team with Georgianne certainly contributed towards these results, as we planned everything out that we needed to do, bounced our own individual ideas off of each other that ultimately lead to something greater. The studio shoot went very well, as we had planned all the outfits and accessories we needed a few weeks in advance. We were very lucky that my Dad had these high end brands in his wardrobe already. The editing of our photos went well because we hardly had to do any at all, as we had tested our lighting and got the correct settings when doing our practise shoot, so we had near perfect photos. Plus, while editing the film I was able to ask Georgianne for her opinion and she came up with the idea of reversing all our clips at the end of the video, and I was able to do that easily as I had spent time building up my skills on iMovie while composing the film.
I could improve my research, do more of it to fit with my brief. To add more of my testing, as that was important part of how our final studio set up and photos turned out.
Did you do purposeful research? Did it help towards your final results?
I feel as though I could have done more video based research. I was just looking for videos/adverts specific to menswear or (older/middle aged) men’s fashion, which made the whole task much more difficult for me, as there isn't much out there fitting that genre. If I had widened my search to both young and old/ middle aged men’s fashion then I could have more to draw inspiration from. Also if I had looked at more high end brands and highstreet shop adverts then I could have seen how they put adverts together and try and combine the two in our advert. I did find a Debenhams mens’ autumn coat advert that helped greatly in the final production of our film.
Furthermore, I could have done more research on photographers to get a wider range of influences. Even though Rankin had many images that influenced us, I could have talked about more of his and other photographers too. I could have looked at photographers who photograph similar clothing to us or photographers who use white backgrounds too see how different lighting effects it, for example.
What did you learn from this project?
I learnt from this project was how working with someone can result in your own ideas being taken and moulded with someone else to create something bigger and better. I have never worked with anyone on such a big project before, and it makes you want to work harder and working together can help build a project that has lots of detail and new ways of producing work that could help you in the future.
I also learnt that in depth experimenting with a studio set up, where you find the right lighting and settings is very important, especially if you have a model coming in from outside of the college, so you don’t keep them waiting and look more professional. Additionally, experimenting with clothes, props you are actually going to shoot with makes the whole process so much easier.
Finally, I have learnt how different advertisement fashion/ magazine fashion is compared to portraiture, fine art or landscapes. It is fast paced, all while keeping the quality of work high and being expected to know what is fashionable and how to make a product appeal to the public.
What could you do differently next time?
To try and shoot and film much earlier on in the project, so we could do at least do two or maybe even three different shoots, each with different lighting clothes and settings, so we would have a wider variety of images to choose from. Also to make sure that we write up everything as we do it, as some things got crammed in together, and with such a big project with lots of different shots and experimenting that is important. Finally I feel as though I need to brush up on my technical knowledge of photography.
Did you stick to intended plans/ideas?
Yes, I felt that we did stick with all of our plans as we both had a very clear vision of what we wanted to achieve. There were minor changes here and there, but all the main ideas we stuck to throughout.
Did you stick to your individual roles within your group?
Yes we did. I took on the role of videographer, as I wanted to have a go at taking videos, trying out different vantage points, this lead me to find some great stills with in the short clips I took. Therefore expanding my thoughts and ideas for future projects. Georgianne was happy to take on the role of photographer, as she really took to taking photos of the clothes when we were experimenting with studio set ups. We were comfortable with each other being good friends and we both had similar ideas. We worked around each other when we were working in the studio, For example Georgianne would ask our model to pose in a certain way and that could lead to me capturing a great shot, or vice versa. She has shown me a new way of planning out all the written work that I will carry over into future projects. And I have helped her on how to create films in iMovie.
Overall I have learnt a lot from this project, how to work in a partnership and how that can help you mesh your ideas together to create new ideas and something special. Also this project has changed my view on fashion photography, I don’t feel as intimidated by it as much as I did in the past, as some things looked quite complicated to achieve, and I doubted myself on whether I could ever create something so professional looking. Not only have I done that , but in older mens fashion, something that we have not studied in depth before. So that was a challenge but It was a subject Georgianne and I felt strongly about doing in order to understand it more. At times it was more difficult because mens posing is much more simper than womens, so trying to find the perfect pose did take time, but we got there in the end.
