Modern Fashion Photography

Introduction

Though print lingers on, contemporary audiences continue to move away from traditional outlets to the digital world of online content, eventually leaving previous platforms to the annals of fashion photography history. Bemoan this if you want, there’s not much you can do to stop it, so it behooves any fashion photographer to learn how to make their own content. However, content creation is a very different beast than contemporary photography with its own rules and precepts, and those going against the grain do so at their own peril. Thankfully, online creation has been around long enough that we now know several axioms to provide guidance through the vast, confusing world of online media.

Find Your Focus (Specialization)

If you ask any “old school” photographer, the move towards specialization is a divisive one with practical and ideal reasons for and against. Previously, photographers would grab any work they could, often being part of an agency, with only those who had developed impressive portfolios and strong networked connections able to specialize. Before long, the labor market exploded with freshly-minted “photographers” who had little training but a willingness to undercut contract prices just to get their foot in the door. As such, to stand out, you need to focus on one or a few related genres of fashion photography to land high-profile clients willing to spend for quality. Today, the need for specialization transcends traditional professional boundaries and applies to online content. Specifically, building an audience to generate leads requires knowing who your audience is and what they want. If you try to cast too large of a net, all of the fish swim away and you go home hungry. That’s why the biggest photography content creators all focus their attention on a particular niche whether fashion, travel, or any other number of popular genres.

Standing Out (Style)

That said, the issue with a glut in the labor market hasn’t just gone away, with more and more amateurs breaking onto the scene-- not because of their photography skills but because of their online skills. Unfortunately, the two skill sets have very little overlap, but a strong online presence with a connected audience can often take you further when you’re just starting out. That said, one thing that even amateur content creators understand is the need for a distinctive style. Where once a distinctive style would be used as a form of marketing to potential clients looking to stand out among all of the other images, these days, your style simultaneously allows you to attract an audience awash in nigh-homogenous content as well as find your niche. For example, there are many types of fashion photography, and you can split the genre into high-fashion, editorial, or street. While many of these types of fashion photography adhere to fairly common standards, high-fashion can further be broken down into numerous sub-genres based on the artistic movement aesthetic they draw inspiration from. I favor modern styles, but you can find plenty of examples of vintage, alternative, and even concept fashion that are all so different from one another you might think they aren’t even part of the same genre. This is one of the most important parts of online creation as it defines not only your brand but the people drawn to it as well.

Acquired Taste (Audience)

There are two main ways to generate an audience: intrinsically or extrinsically. The former relies on engaging in market research to understand what the current photography trends are and why a given audience is drawn to them. The latter involves developing a particular tone and style with your photography and letting the people who appreciate it find you. In terms of building an audience quickest, your best bet is to go with market research, though you may have to purchase the data or contract a firm. On the other hand, building an audience naturally tends to provide a more loyal fanbase that is willing to stick with you should you branch out or change your focus. Just keep in mind that building an audience naturally can take significantly longer than with market research as you are essentially groping in the dark, hoping you find the right mix of style and substance to resonate with people. One way to skirt this issue is by doing your own research regarding similar content creators and identifying some of the structural qualities that draw people to their work. This is not a suggestion to copy someone else as this is unlikely to generate much interest with your content simply becoming part of the din of oversaturation. Still, you can identify things like posting time, modes of engagement, organization structure and the like to help format your content in a way that appeals to your target audience without actually copying the style of the content creator.

One-Man Band (Roles)

Once you have a rough idea of the content you intend to create and the audience you will market it towards, next comes the different tasks of putting the content production together-- and it’s a lot. Just for photography, you need to know how to shoot images, structure and make videos, work with animation, copywrite, and edit-- and that’s just the “creative” roles which don’t include the various organizational tasks. If you plan on creating content by yourself, you also need to know how to make a website (even if you plan to focus on social media) as well as build your brand. Of course, a fashion photographer might also throw hairstylist and fashion designer into the mix if you can’t find someone to collaborate with you-- and anyone who does collaborate will need to be compensated. The alternative to this litany of roles is to hire one or more people to help you, but given the sheer number of tasks at hand, that can get pretty pricey, pretty quickly. Freelancers can help reduce this burden at a lower cost, but, depending on where you source the freelancers from, they can be unreliable and their product hit or miss. It’s not a terrible idea to identify one (or more if they’re related) of the tasks that you struggle with the most and hire a freelancer or part-time contract employee for that specifically. However, you should still try your best to learn the different skill sets needed to complete as many of the tasks on your own as possible. Not only will this reduce your overhead as well as provide reliable, quality production, but you can use those skills for a host of other ventures once your first content outlet is up and running.

The Grind (Schedules)

One thing that distinguishes online content from other photographic endeavors is the scheduling. Traditionally, fashion photography runs on the schedule of sets and shoots determined by the availability of the space and model within the confines of a contract. Throw that idea entirely out of the window when thinking about online content. Online content is better understood like a television show where the audience expects to receive a certain amount of content at roughly the same time every so often, depending on your upload schedule. If you upload at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Sundays, make sure that you <i>always</i> upload at 7 p.m. <i>every</i> Wednesday and Sunday. On rare occasions, you might be able to get away with uploading outside of your set schedule, but if you do it too often, the audience will eventually look for their content needs elsewhere. That said, if you remain consistent, you can expect a fairly reliable number of viewers for your uploads such that you can strategically use the information. A good way to make sure that you always upload when you’re scheduled to is by creating additional content when you have the time and “banking” it for those instances when life would otherwise get in the way. Holidays are an excellent opportunity to do this since you do not have to worry about devising a theme for the post.

Nuts and Bolts (Platforms)

One area of creating content online that can be daunting for any artist, regardless of their field and specialty, are the platforms. While it would be nice to make and post content on every platform to achieve the broadest reach, that does not always work for every niche and can become more time-consuming than it’s worth, leading to diminishing returns. Instead, it’s better to identify a handful of different platforms where your work presents best and focus on generating an audience through those with the option of expanding later once you’ve gotten the hang of it. Obviously, photography only works on visual platforms, but do you want to focus on social media, streaming, uploads, webpages, etc? Social media is one of the platforms all content creators should use due to the ease of sharing the content with other potential audience members. Much like how word of mouth can generate contract leads, social media can help grow your audience without you having to do anything else-- though you will definitely have to do more. Make sure you understand not only the formatting and accepted style guidelines of the platform but the cultural tone as well. While Instagram and Snapchat might seem somewhat similar on the outside, the general demographics that use those platforms differ enough that generating a post for both using the same photograph should have different captions, hashtags, and other content.

Best Foot Forward (Presentation)

You probably don’t need to be told to take great shots and compose compelling images, but the same rules apply to your content outlet. The best image in the world might languish on a poorly designed outlet, especially a website, where the contrasts and light saturation clash with the image's aesthetic. While you may not have much control over other platforms like YouTube or Instagram, you can still account for the interface. For example, you can inform your audience that an image is best seen in “light” or “dark” mode or even create images that appear best under your audience’s common theme. Just as important as the display of your outlet is the user interface, though this is another aspect you don’t have much control over outside of your website. That said, any good use of extraneous platforms should link back to a website you control-- especially for lead generation purposes. Still, if your website has a confusing layout that’s unintuitive, the plethora of other options will weigh on your potential audience and their attention will wane. As such, your outlets must be as pleasing and intuitive as possible, a tenant that is arguably as important as the quality of the images themselves.

A Cut Above (Value)

While the art may speak for itself, the same cannot necessarily be said of the content given the conflux of influences your outlet has to deal with. You may have a unique style, but what really sets you apart from another artist with their own unique style? Keep in mind, we are awash in a deluge of content options accessible at our fingertips literally every second of every day. Why should someone engage with your work longer or over another artist who is likely every bit as talented and unique? This is where a lot of transitioning content creators make the mistake of presenting the work, maybe adding a few hashtags, and calling it day. But content consumers want more than the static content-- if they can get it-- and parasocial relationships are best crafted, not foisted upon. One of the best ways to increase your connection with your audience is by engaging with your art as you present it. For videos, this is fairly obvious as you simply discuss the art’s composition, choices, and technique, offering fashion photography tips. The same applies to static media, though you have to do so with text instead of speech. Keep in mind, while Instagram might run on hashtags, a few words on lighting, themes and moods, or fashion photography tips can go a long way in connecting your audience with the work. To truly impress upon the audience your expertise, it might even be worth throwing in a few references to fashion photography history every now and then.

Going Viral (Marketing)

On occasion, a piece of content catches the public’s attention in the right way, at the right time to facilitate massive rapid sharing to the point that everyone’s seen it within a month. However, that can be like waiting for lightning to strike if you expect it to happen naturally and likely never will. Instead, it’s better to identify what tricks content creators use to market their work (and themselves) such that people feel like sharing it is a natural response. This can be a bit tricky, especially in contemporary times, where what often gets the most attention is something ridiculous or controversial. While that can get you noticed, it might not get you the kind of attention that you want and leaves you with little control over the perception once it’s out in “the wild.” Instead, curating a tone and image for both your work and yourself that’s crafted to appeal to your audience is your best bet at consistently getting shared. From that point, it often boils down to luck as to how far the content’s scope reaches, but you have a much better chance of achieving the desired result and getting the right attention. 100 million people seeing, sharing, and commenting on your work sounds great-- but not if it's being mocked or used as an example in a negative light.

Devil in the Details (Info)

Thankfully, not every part of online content is as difficult as others, and making sure that your baseline information is correct is arguably one of the easiest parts. That said, this is also one of the more important aspects of online content, especially if you intend to use your platforms to drive other business like landing contracts. In this regard, you need to make sure that your contact information is correct and update, regularly checking in on it to make sure it stays that way. It also helps to include a contact form that sends you an email or other missive to let people interested in reaching you do so. <h2>Nitty Gritty</h2> (Statistics) Once you’ve got your content outlet set up, it pays dividends to keep track of how and when your audience engages. That said, this can be deceptive in that it seems fairly easy and straightforward on the surface but may take deeper insight to unpack than it appears. For example, if most of your audience views your uploads within the first few days, this is a pretty good indication that they 1) check those platforms regularly and 2) keep up with your content specifically. However, what constitutes a “few days” is not standard and one content creator might see a solid week of engagement before the spike drops while another might see as little as 24 to 48 hours. The important thing to remember is that these statistics can help guide your content as well as refine the process. It can be worth trying out different types of uploads, times of uploads, and other changes to your content outlet’s process, but make sure it not to confuse the audience by doing it too often all at once.

Word of Mouth (Community)

One of the best ways to learn how to develop a content outlet is by finding successful content outlets in your niche and reaching out to their creators. You might be surprised how readily a successful content creator is to talk about how they achieved their goals. Just make sure you understand the fundamental aspects and basic concepts of content creation beforehand, otherwise they might feel like an instructor rather than a peer. The same way that members within the industry talk and how this can improve or impede your prospects so too does word of mouth and your niche community impact how your content outlet grows and develops. That said, the two behave very differently where members of the industry often have more in common than not with at least a sense of cultural agreement. Online content, on the other hand, rarely follows that rule, though any successful content outlet eventually identifies an emergent sub-culture that sprouts from the audience’s engagement. Because content outlets can be accessed by nearly anyone, you can expect a much broader demographic than you might with a contemporary photography contract. This can be both a blessing and a curse as it provides you a potentially much broader reach but can also limit what you do with that reach. Remember that when you have a broad demographic audience, there are far more ways to alienate different segments of it. While losing a small sliver of your audience may or may not seem like an issue, it can become a much larger problem should that aggrieved group start a boycott or other grassroots campaign against you.

Reaping The Rewards (Monetization)

Monetizing online content can work a bit differently for photographers than it does for other artists, though it does not have to. For experienced photographers, online content likely serves more as an entry point for potential clients or a way to display your portfolio in the most favorable light to land new contracts. That said, effective online content can be its own form of revenue as well, and this should not be looked down upon. Trends change quickly and nowhere is this truer than in the world of fashion, and while you might be a hot commodity today, you can swiftly become last year’s news. A stable online content platform can help supplement your income during those leaner months, though monetization is likely more important for photographers trying to break into the field than it is for established veterans of the industry. For fresh photographers, online content can allow you the ability to purchase new equipment or take artistic risks you might not otherwise be able to if you're just relying on contract work. While advertisements on your platforms are one form of monetization, often a better way of monetizing your content is through product placement. Granted, you generally need a native audience of hundreds of thousands before that becomes an option, but it allows you to make your art as you normally would without the potential stigma of overt advertising.

Baptism by Fire (Initiative)

One of the hardest parts of creating content is actually setting down to do all of the various tasks required to get your outlet up and running. Obviously, photographers likely need little impetus to create their art, but how motivated are you to do all of the other tasks that have nothing to do with a camera. Things like maintaining your websites, upload schedule, social media presence, and just general communication can all seem daunting-- especially if you’re not already skillful in those endeavors. If it helps inspire confidence, take a bit of time to learn about these roles and the different skills required to perform them effectively-- but don’t use that as an excuse to dawdle. Creating content, not images, is <i>work</i> and it doesn’t come easy to most people-- even prolific content creators. Once you have a plan and a handful of skills, jumping in the deep end of the pool might just be the best way to learn how to swim.

Hell or High Water (Perseverance)

One thing to keep in mind when engaging with content outlets is that it often takes a long time to make headway. Unless you already have an audience that follows you and consumes your art through other media, there’s a good chance that you’ll have to carefully cultivate your audience to the point that it’s worth mentioning. Six months is an extremely generous estimation for a content outlet where everything is done right-- and unless you already have experience with online content, chances are you’re going to make mistakes. Even if you do everything right, content outlets with quality media can take a year or longer to develop. That’s okay. You don’t have to get everything right all at once and will eventually get better at your weak points by sticking with it. So long as you keep producing content and learning from your mistakes, it’s more likely than not that you’ll grow your audience to the point that it reaches a “critical mass” and then maintains a level of stability.

Ahead of the Curve (Innovation)

Once you have your content outlet set up and a large audience that continuously consumes and shares your work, make sure to keep watching the trends. This is likely second nature for fashion photographers, but it applies to the platforms too. Three years ago, Tik Tok was a Vine-clone with an audience made up primarily of teenagers, and now it’s the most downloaded app for two years running. Running an effective content outlet means keeping up with the new developments in online content and platforms it’s shared across. Of course, it never hurts to broaden the content itself either, but be more careful with this so you don’t alienate your dedicated audience. Depending on the audience, it might make more sense to start another content outlet altogether than trying to expand a specialized one. Of course, if you get to that point, then it means you’re already successful with the first outlet and can use all of the lessons learned during its creation for the next niche. Conclusion With talent, a willingness to learn, and an inexhaustible font of determination, most people can eventually develop a worthwhile content outlet. So long as you take the time to learn the in’s and out’s of the model, you should at least be able to develop a content brand that helps you land contracts and maybe even becomes a source of income and artistic merit in its own right.

"It is only the modern that ever becomes old-fashioned." - Oscar Wilde

Creative Photography

in 2020

It is now 2020 and after more than 30 years of fashion photography under my belt I do have a few opinions and thoughts on this subject. I have seen and been through a number of massive changes in the business. I was doing my assistant years in a still life studio where we meticulously moved props and objects around to painstakingly shoot 4x5 sheets of film that we developed and printed ourselves in the, for those days, hyper modern darkroom.

Later on I was a young fashion photographer’s assistant in the city that never sleeps, NYC,  in the 90’s - the era of the super models. That meant that we had Christy, Linda and Naomi in the studio every other day. That also meant that I was flown to Rio de Janeiro in first class - as an assistant - Heck, the flight attendants even wore white gloves while serving the champagne. I probably came away with a rather skewed image of what the reality of a photographer was really like.

The one thing that has really changed with the arrival of digital is how images, both moving and stills, are being distributed. With the arrival of digital workflows and digital distribution any one now has the access to the tools necessary to get their story out. I believe that a modern image maker today need to take advantage of that. In my opinion, modern photography today is less about the images, or the style,  but rather how you handle and take advantage of the distribution of your images and videos. It's where your images show up that will make you look modern, or not.

What would that then look like? Well, since it's now possible to distribute all kinds of images, such as videos, gifs, cinemagraphs, on all the new channels it’s increasingly important to master this process since these new channels give you an opportunity to shape their image of yourself as an artist and how your work is perceived. We artists are no longer dependent on magazines, editors or agencies to provide platforms for our work to be seen. These media channels, which sometimes goes by the name of “Earned Media” as opposed to “Paid Media”  Simply put, earned media is media channels where you have earned your viewership by putting out content that resonates with your audience.

At the moment the prevalent style is a rip-off of what fashion bloggers and instagrammers are shooting. It’s a very flat and anti-technical look. Usually the images are shot in natural daylight, with no artificial lighting. I’ve had a few illuminating discussions with some colleagues who decry the lack of technical skills and the “bad lighting” and some of my friends even call it sloppy photography. I prefer to call it technically nonchalant.

When a sophisticated brand like Balenciaga or Chanel employs this look it's because they want to drive home their coolness -  “Look, we’re so cool that we can do whatever…” (Just think of how totally old fashioned images by Ellen von Unwerth or David Lachapelle is looking right now.) There is a nonchalance and I don’t care attitude involved here that is appealing but I think it only works for luxury brands. Of course these looks come and go and I believe that you have to roll with the punches and stay true to who you are.

The word I'm looking for that really describes what modern photography looks like today is authenticity. I believe there's a search for realness in image making today. Readers and viewers are pretty fed up with anything that even remotely smells fake. I think this come partly from the fact that it is much easier for anyone today to publish their own images and get the story out.  So now we see new publishers, brands, smaller producers getting their stuff out in front of readers and they don't play by the old rules so they speak. The images they produce end up looking in a certain way because maybe they didn't have an agency who help them. Or maybe they didn't have enough money to hire an expensive photographer so they shot images themselves. And people like it because it feels real, it feels authentic and that has that has changed things dramatically.

One way to get achieve this is to dispense with the, to me rathert old fashioned idea, that fashion photographers have to tell stories. I'm actually bit allergic to this since i think this notion it's rather silly.

After all we're taking pictures of pretty clothes worn by pretty girls and the idea of trying to make that look like something else strikes me as adding injury to the insult. Fashion photography is about surface - period, and by trying to pretend that it's not you’re just insulting your viewers intelligence.

In short, don't try to make your fashion images look like anything else than images of models wearing nice clothes.

If we move away from fashion photography and into fashion itself, we can find a good example of this aesthetic in Alexander Wang’s  model-off-duty-look MOD. It's glamorous, slightly disheveled but most of all, it’s real. There is never any doubt that these girls are real girls that just happen to be models.  Simply put, earned media is media channels where you have earned your viewership by putting out content that resonates with your audience.

At the moment the prevalent style is a rip-off of what fashion bloggers and instagrammers are shooting. It’s a very flat and non-technical look. Usually the images are shot in natural daylight, or with no artificial lighting. I’ve had a few illuminating discussions with some colleagues who decry the lack of technical skills and the “bad lighting” and some of my friends even call it sloppy photography.  

When sophisticated brands like Balenciaga or Chanel is employing this look it's because they want to drive home their coolness -  “Look, we’re so cool that we can do whatever…” (Just think of how totally old fashioned images by Ellen von Unwerth or David Lachapelle is looking right now.)

There is a nonchalance and I don’t care attitude involved here that is appealing but I think it only works for luxury brands. Of course these looks come and go and I believe that you have to roll with the punches and stay true to who you are. Here an example of what I mean by shooting in a technically nonchalant way that makes the images look modern.

The word I'm looking for that really describes what modern photography looks like today is authenticity. I believe there's a search for realness in image making today. Readers and viewers are pretty fed up with anything that even remotely smells fake. I think this come partly from the fact that it is much easier for anyone today to publish their own images and get the story out.  So now we see new publishers, brands, smaller producers getting their stuff out in front of readers and they don't play by the old rules so they speak. The images they produce end up looking in a certain way because maybe they didn't have an agency who help them.  Or maybe they didn't have enough money to hire an expensive photographer so they shot images themselves. And people like it because it feels real, it feels authentic and that has that has changed things dramatically.

One way to get achieve this is to dispense with the, to me rathert old fashioned idea, that fashion photographers have to tell stories. I'm actually bit allergic to this since it's rather silly. After all we're taking pictures of pretty clothes worn by pretty girls and the idea of trying to make that look like something else strikes me as adding injury to the insult. Fashion photography is about surface (pretty clothes on pretty girls), and by trying to pretend that it's not you’re just insulting your viewers intelligence.

In short, don't try to make your fashion images look like anything else than images of models wearing nice clothes.

If we move away from fashion photography and into fashion itself, we can find a good example of this aesthetic in Alexander Wang’s  model-off-duty-look, or MOD. The look is glamorous, slightly disheveled but most of all it’s real. There is never any doubt that these girls are real girls that just happen to be models.

Here, yet another example of what I believe constitutes the new realness in fashion photography.

Being creative is about “showing up for work.”

Per Zennstrom Photography, Bornholmerstrasse 88, 10439 Berlin.