The topic of FASHION TRENDS has been a big keyword in some of my most recent live workshops & seminars so I thought I’d revisit the topic on my blog!
As a fashion photographer you should always have your eye on upcoming trends. In fact, if you are a portrait photographer you probably have already took some inspiration from what you see in fashion magazines! Fashion covers and editorial shoots inspire many types of photography on the topics of lighting, styling, posing & retouching.
Over the past 10 years, the influence of fashion in portraiture has become even greater, with many portrait photographers using fashion photography methods to modernize their work and/or offer their portrait clients a ‘fashion shoot’ experience.
Why are trends important? In the fashion industry, the designers are the tastemakers and this is where we get our inspiration. Paying attention to trends even at a small level helps us keep our portfolio up to date and shows our clients that we are in touch with the seasons. With two main fashion seasons (Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter) and with many designers doing in-between collections (Pre-Fall & Resort) there is a lot of opportunity to take inspiration from what we see on the catwalk or on collection launches.
Fashion trends are not just about clothes & collections - it’s also hair and make up trends. This is equally important to pay attention to because make up & hair stylists also create ideas around designer’s collections.
If you don’t research and keep up to date with collections then your work simply may feel outdated in months or a few years time. Have you ever noticed that heavily trend based work (think 80s fashion!) ages quickly? Have you ever looked at someone’s portfolio and thought “that looks a little dated”? I always say “Keep one finger on the pulse of the industry”. Meaning - always keep yourself up to date with trends. You don’t have to fully immerse yourself in the fashion scene - having an idea of each collection and trends each season helps. It also helps you converse & translate idea to your creative team!
I get a lot of questions on how to create fashion shoots and what fuels the ideas and it always comes back to trends. However, it’s also important to remember that personal inspiration will always be the defining point in finding your style. There’s no point picking out someone else’s favorite trends of the season, it has to come back to you!
When researching these trends - what do you feel connected to? What inspires you? Is it more minimal themes such as minimal shapes or muted colors? Is it trend-heavy such as 1920’s or 1950’s or is it more about the overall feeling and a mood? Perhaps you can pick out some ideas based on your preference of shooting feminine themes or perhaps strong characters? Perhaps it’s seasonal - with a little bit of inspiration from the layering in fall and the florals and pastels of summer? The inspiration can be endless! I highly recommend using www.vogue.com to discover more about designer’s collections each season and www.fashiongonerogue.com for visual inspiration!
Whenever I am doing visual research a specific fashion designer's new collection can instantly trigger a shoot idea! A perfect example of this is when I first laid eyes on the Dior Resort 18 collection. I knew I HAD to shoot it and that was that! A few weeks later we were finally on set creating magic with our perfectly fitting model Bhumika Arora.
In my online course ‘The Fashion Series’ you’ll notice I discuss trends a lot! From posing, styling, lighting and shooting planning. If you’re interested in learning more about trends, how to build mood-boards & how to add a fashion flair to your work then this course is a perfect fit!
Shoot Credits
Model - Bhumika Arora @ The Society Management
Styling - Connie Berg @ Atelier Management
Make Up - Deborah Altizio
Hair - Timothy Aylward @ The Wall Group
Nails by Naoko @ Artlist
Retouching by Solstice Retouch
Behind The Scenes Images - Paul Jun Photography
