Photographing Fashion - Part 2
It turns out I have a lot to say about photographing fashion! So I’ve created part 2 of my blog on fashion photography. If you missed part 1 you can check it out here.
The fact is, having an appropriate model available to pose for your images isn’t always possible. It’s also nice to mix up your content with other types of shots - so in this blog I’ll cover what to do when you don’t have access to a model.
Without a model you’ll need to get a bit more creative and think about how you can hang or lay your clothing in an appealing way.
Fashion Flat Lays
There are a few formulas for helping to figure out how to style a fashion flat lay:
The personality: Think about the personality of the person who would wear these clothes and style the image with supporting props which would give hints into their personality - kind of like a detective! The magazine or book they are reading, the things that are in their handbag, some clue as to the outing that they are taking that day, perhaps they are going to see the sights - they you could add in a camera or a map. This is a fun exercise because it really makes you think about the story of your clothing and helps you understand your ideal clients even more.
If you’re photographing children's clothes, this might focus on the age of the child and the kind of toys and activities they would be interested in.
The ‘look:’ Here you can create a complete ‘look’ by adding accessories, bags, shoes, jewellery etc. This is a great way to collaborate with other makers on a photoshoot and increase the reach of your images. Ask the makers of your favourite accessory brands if they want to contribute to the shoot and share the images with them. Who knows you could find that you make a good team and could collaborate on a give away or something similar in the future.
The making process: This is where tools and materials you use to create the clothing come in handy. Tools and materials such as sewing machines, scissors, thread material scapes etc all make great props. This type of item also has a great story telling aspect to it as well because they provide information about how the product was made. The beauty of using materials and tools is that these are items that you already have access to as you use them on a daily basis.
Shooting a flat lay fashion image isn’t always easy - I'm not going to lie. It's a pain from a technical perspective as you really need to put enough distance between you and the ground to fit your outfit into the shot. You will probably need to elevate yourself using a step ladder, or you may even want to find a location where you can physically climb some stairs and shoot down on your scene.
If you can’ get far enough away from the ground you can always crop part of the image out.
Hanging clothes
Another option is to hang your clothes. There are loads of different ways to hang clothing, you could:
Create a sort of free standing wardrobe scene
Hang clothing from a branch
Hang from a washing line
Hang clothing / accessories from an arm or hold it out with your hands.
When hanging clothing to be photographed, consider the backdrop:
Try to pick a backdrop that is interesting but not distracting: like a texture wall.
Hang your clothing a metre or so forward from the wall. This will help to prevent a distracting shadow being cast onto the wall by the clothing / hanging implements.
Create a study insert for your clothing. You can cut a piece of cardboard in the shape of the clothing and insert / tape it to the inside of the garment. This will help the garment hold its shape when hanging.
To sum up, you don’t always need to photograph your fashion items on a model. Get creative and see what type of images you can create. And as always please come over to the photography for makers facebook group to share your images - we love to see what you are creating!
Rachel
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Images in this post feature A hop and a skip @ahopandaskip and Moosey Moose @mooseymooseofficial