Photography is an artistic way to communicate art without supplying long-form text. Such visual components will elevate any brand, especially within the realm of editorial high fashion photography. To diversify and elevate a portfolio to promote your brand, editorial fashion photography can be broken down into a simple, creative concept.
Throughout your fashion portfolio, basic and standard photoshoots will be common. In order to capture the essence of a high-quality portfolio, the tips in this article will outline the recommended steps to take. When you’re equipped with the best team to carry out each fashion photography shoot, the results will be outstanding.
What Is Editorial High Fashion Photography?
In comparison to commercial photography, which features a specific product to sell, editorial photography is less descriptive. These highly popular shoots are at the core of the most prominent fashion magazines, visually representing the creative mind of the photography profession. While its goal is not to directly sell an item, editorial photography still concentrates on a garment or detail of the clothes, therefore driving its appeal to the observer.
Editorial photography seeks to tell a story through inspired visuals which can be discovered in magazines, articles, features, and catalogs. This art form can be broken down into four categories, representing multiple ways to express a story. With more ways to be creative, editorial high fashion photography presents features of clothes and designs in living color—certain photo shoots have a specific theme such as the movement of a piece, functionality, or mood. The four main categories of editorial photography include:
- Catalog
- High Fashion
- Street Fashion
- Editorial
These types of photo shoots will vary when a creative team factors in location, aesthetic, style, and concept. To help bring your creative concepts to life, this guide will introduce you to the tools to create the best images for your editorial high fashion portfolio.
Catalog
Of the four categories, catalog photography is perhaps the most straightforward. Its purpose is to present and sell clothing and products, focusing on the pieces for e-commerce sales. The most suitable catalog photography will feature high-quality photos of clothes fit for a consumer browsing through a product with the goal of purchasing. A standard catalog photoshoot may deliver more basic and simplistic shots than other forms of editorial photography. This is because the overall goal is to keep the audience focused on the outfit. If the clothing has more complex designs, photographers may highlight details such as a custom print, pocket, or zipper through zoom-ins or isolated shots.
High Fashion
High fashion photographers showcase exclusive and unique fashion designs in an upscale photoshoot. There are many elements to consider during these shoots, including the location, lighting, and a choice of model. For these types of photos, it is best to choose an experienced model who can emphasize the intricate details of the luxury garment. As these shoots are meant to be creative and evoke emotion, an experienced creative team and photographer is needed. High fashion can be one of the best ways to showcase inventiveness in the industry and emphasize brand identity.
Street Fashion
Street fashion is objectively more creative and less structured than other forms of photography. It incorporates urban aesthetics of fashion and is very popular today thanks to social media platforms and luxury magazines. Street style will introduce a look into what “real people” are wearing. For example, if they are on their way to work or out in town. This style of photography allows more creativity and candidness, where some elements can be improvised during a photoshoot.
Editorial Fashion
Editorial fashion photography drives a story through a series of compelling visuals. An editorial shoot will feature multiple looks, highlighting vibrant sets and backgrounds to complement a garment. Every photo will vary but will have the same goal of grabbing the attention of a reader to represent the story and brand. With editorial high fashion photography, these images will include the same drama and notion of high fashion while also having a strong sense of story.
The Advantages of Editorial Photography
The best way to think about editorial photography is that it is the ultimate creative marketing strategy. The most effective way to mobilize your brand is to focus on crafting a portfolio specific to your products. Photos are a quick, inspiring way to capture the attention of viewers. Once you begin to build your portfolio, it will open the doors to new opportunities: collaborations, advertisements, and reaching a new audience. When other brands and creatives stumble across your editorial photo, it promotes more brands to network with, ensuring more ad campaigns in the future.
Every editorial photoshoot is an opportunity to promote your brand. Try to remember a specific shoot that once caught your attention. What about the imagery captured your attention? Ask yourself if you were able to understand the brand’s voice through the set of images. Begin with looking at other forms of editorial high fashion photography for inspiration and tips.
Branding
One of the best ways to elevate your brand is to create content that is specific to it. There are many ways to find what your brand represents and photography is one of the most marketable ways to do this. Here are a few questions to ask regarding your brand’s image:
- What is the message you are seeking to get across?
- What media works best for your brand? (Online print, magazine issue, newspaper)
- Who is your audience? What does your audience want?
To determine which form of fashion photography is the right fit for your brand, it is good to start with the basics. This includes promoting the brand’s most unique garments and acquiring a skilled photographer and model.
Rules of Fashion Editorial Photography
Every fashion editorial photoshoot comprises five to six looks. These changes should be planned and prepared before beginning. Each specific look is tailored by a creative team to keep the theme of the current issue. Creative directors may include more exciting or “photographable” garments to include for each look. It is also important to include a team of makeup artists, a set designer (if applicable), and the proper photographer. Seasoned professionals in the field will have more experience turning concepts into imagery, better delivering a brand’s message.
The Spirit of Editorial High Fashion Photography
Editorial fashion photography is an amazingly creative way to express a theme centered around your brand’s products. To start, you must begin with a concept. This includes a basic level of fleshing out—bold backgrounds, a series of colors, or photos that refer to other forms of art. For example, an editorial photoshoot can introduce blue as a concept while attaching this color to the featured garments and backgrounds. With a concept, it makes it easier for creatives to introduce new elements. An editorial photoshoot can swap creative choices by focusing on matching makeup with the garment, hair with the garment, or makeup with the overall theme and background. The choices are unlimited.
After crafting a concept, it is time to get into specifics. As mentioned prior, having a creative team behind you is ideal, but may not be realistic depending on your resources. If you can find a model and photographer, you should be able to start working on the creative concepts on your own. But, creative teams are artists who can assist with brainstorming and bringing your brand’s image to life.
Editorial Photoshoot: Best Utilizations
Whether you are a beginner or a professional, it is best to keep up with the latest trends in the editorial and fashion world. As advertisements and campaigns evolve, it creates more opportunities for you to innovate. Below are a few examples of how to exercise the best editorial high-fashion photography practices.
Seek Inspiration
To flex your editorial fashion photography muscles, being inspired by other forms of art is a great way to begin. Thankfully, such art is easily accessible and can teach you and your creative team about the ever-growing business of art marketing campaigns.
Creating New Concepts
As any creative will tell you, the act of creating is easier than the imagination process. Crafting new concepts for upcoming projects will keep you honed in on your brand’s voice and make planning ahead easier.
Effective Marketing Campaigns
The purpose of any effective campaign is to attract new consumers—photography is a perfect way to execute this. To convey meaningful fashion editorials, the story is behind each photo. Continue to create narratives in future campaigns.
Elevating a Brand Through Editorial High Fashion Photography
While commercial advertisements are a common and effective way to sell a product, editorial high fashion photography stands out particularly. As long as your brand and creative team have an idea, they can transform it into creative photography. The top brands within the fashion industry are notable for their creative imagery, which can further elevate and bring attention to your products. Marketing campaigns that include a series or two to three-page spreads are exciting new takes on how we perceive advertisements. Not only will your brand’s photography portfolio be full of new and exciting work, but your brand will have a voice, message, and appeal to a new and existing audience.
If you’re in need of professional photography for your fashion business, get in touch with SEO Design Chicago today.
FAQ:
- What is editorial photography in fashion?
- What are the 4 different types of fashion photography?
- How does photography relate to branding?
- Who is needed to execute a high fashion photoshoot?
- How do you create effective marketing campaigns with photography?
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