The fashion industry evolves constantly. If you own an apparel store, maintaining and improving your market standing would involve a lot of strategizing and keeping up with the trend. Your brand should stay relevant amid the rapidly changing trends and consumer behavior.
One way of promoting a clothing brand is through fashion photography. If you haven’t heard of this yet, you may think your clothing brand does this already by photographing models sporting your creations in various angles. While that can also apply to fashion photography, demonstration of the product isn’t its main goal; that’s for product photography.
Fashion photography is rather focused on branding. It conceptualizes your brand by using models, props, locations, etc. By employing fashion photography in your apparel business, you can create a unique identity for your brand. To see some examples, check out the works of professional photographer Rebecca Van Ommen.
Fashion Photography Styles
Fashion photography is categorized into four different styles, namely editorial, high fashion, catalog, and street fashion. For magazine publications, art exhibits, newspapers, and the like, editorial fashion photography is used. The aim of editorial fashion photography is to express a story or statement to the audience by using the current fashion trend.
To promote brands, high fashion photography is often adopted. The models are usually celebrities or well-known ones because they can influence the market.
Catalog photography is also used to sell products, and this what we commonly see in the “products” section of online stores. It features models wearing the clothes being sold as to demonstrate how it looks on certain body types and sizes.
Street fashion photography portrays the current fashion trend as worn by ordinary people. It features models wearing similar styles of outfits in different ways, just like how common people experiment with trendy clothes to be unique.
How It Brings a Brand to Success
The goal of fashion photography is to make a visual representation of your brand rather than to make sales, which catalog photography does. To execute an effective fashion photoshoot, you first need a concept. It can be a short sentence or phrase that describes your brand, and something that can be expressed in photos.
Next is to decide on a location that fits your concept and brand. Most fashion shoots are done in a studio, but if you’re a brand of hiking apparel, for example, then it would make more sense to perform the photoshoot by the mountains.
When choosing models, go for the ones who can relate to your brand. Celebrities can be part of your choices, too, as long as they’re benefiting from the type of clothes you sell. For example, if you’re a sports brand, then a renowned athlete can definitely be your model.
Make sure your chosen models are experienced and are comfortable with the concept. Their personality matters, too. If the concept is a poor match to your model’s personality, the photoshoot could end up being disastrous.
The wardrobe needs to be chosen carefully as well. You’re obviously dressing the models purely in your brand, but it’s the type of clothing that needs attention. They need to suit the concept and location.
Lighting equipment and other photography gear will be handled by your professional photographer. They will direct the shoot and the models and afterwards, they’ll take care of the editing and retouching of the photos. Make sure there’s a professional hair and makeup artist on the set because a well-done hair and makeup are highly important in fashion photography.
You’d see the difference fashion photography makes once you post the photos on your website. Your brand will have a more distinct identity and your website will look more appealing. Customers are always looking for something that will surprise them, so give them satisfaction through effective fashion photography.
