Fashion images [reflect] the moral, social, technological, and economic imperatives of the era in which they were created …” writes Thomas Werner in his book The Fashion Image: Planning and Producing Fashion Images and Films.
This 256-page resource delves into the many factors influencing image creation in this specialty, beyond the clothing itself.
Above photograph © Therese Öhrvall and Joel Jägerroos
Beginning with a history of fashion photography borne out of World War II and passing through such cultural touchstones as the Space Age, Counterculture, Power Dressing, and Hipsters, to name a few, the book’s first chapter establishes the tone of conceptual inquiry that is woven into its subsequent parts.
In Chapter Two, the ways in which fashion can be expressed through concepts such as subculture, narrative, lifestyle, identity, and individuality, among other descriptors, offers a valuable framework for image makers to consider when developing shoot ideas.
A pull-quote by Digital Brand Architects co-founder Karen Robinovitz anchors this section with solid advice that is echoed in the rich variety of visual examples to follow. “Point of view is everything,” she says. “There is a lot of content out there; a truly unique perspective and voice is the only way to build an audience and create a following.”
The relevance of a distinct voice and vision is further evidenced in a discussion of brands such as Benetton, Kenneth Cole and Levi’s, and the ways in which they have coupled fashion images with important social issues to create memorable campaigns.
Successive chapters on The Team, The Client’s Team, and The Fashion Industry map out essential details of how each facet of the industry is structured, from the photographer’s core team to key collaborators such as stylists, modeling agencies, producers, retouchers, and even an archivist.
Filmmaking and videography teams are also acknowledged as essential components for success in the contemporary marketplace. According to Milk Studios co-founder, Mazdack Rassi, “A great fashion photographer today isn’t just a photographer, he’s an image-maker. He has to understand both motion and film. Today photography is not at the center of the fashion language. It is the image, and both mediums are very important.”
In this section of the book, the structure, and subsequent goals, of a client’s team are defined in detail—from the fast pace and accessible content of a blog to the careful planning and discrete roles within a major print magazine, advertising agency or in-house creative team. Similarly, various aspects of the fashion industry are summarized in easily digestible passages treating topics such as Design and Market, and Consumption and Sustainability, and featuring shortlists of Fashion Houses and Firms, Fashion Designers, and International Fashion Organizations.
Chapter Six, Developing a Shoot Concept, expands on the framework introduced in Chapter Two, revealing a rich world of inspiration sources, from practical methods such as constructing a mood board to communicate visual ideas with collaborators and clients, to mining shoot concepts from references found in cinema, theater, music, dance and other arts, or drawing inspiration from the clothes themselves.
“Showing an awareness of current fashion and social trends will make your reel or portfolio feel like it is of the moment,” notes Werner in the text. “You do not need to imitate all of the visual and cultural trends apparent online and in editorials, but you do need to be aware of what makes fashion, and by extension your imagery, contemporary.”
In a chapter on Shoot Production, concept development gets put to the test through the innumerable details of final shoot preparation. Have you checked local regulations about working with children and babies before planning a kid’s fashion shoot? Have you weighed the benefits to hiring a producer to oversee the logistics of a big advertising campaign?
“It is important to create a working environment on-set that will allow you, the model, the client, and your team to achieve your desired results,” Werner points out. This chapter shows you how to do just that, with insights about booking models, submitting bids, negotiating budgets, building a team, and establishing a timeline during a shoot’s pre- and post-production process, plus much more.
These practical pointers are followed by a chapter full of thoughtful commentary on the artist-driven creative decisions that go into planning a shoot and—by extension—fueling a career. Here, Werner introduces the illuminating idea of viewing positive forms of failure as a normal part of the creative process, before exploring the many considerations involved in working with a model and working with a garment.
“Make your choices carefully, in the end it is the images that will make the difference, but every choice you make needs to reinforce who you are and what you and your work represent,” he notes in a passage about building a brand identity.
In the contemporary marketplace, the choices mentioned above extend to a myriad of possibilities for the dissemination of creative content over promotional and social media channels, which are discussed at the chapter’s end.
The mercurial nature of social media is highlighted in a quote from renowned fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti. “I was one of the first people in fashion photography on Instagram and my agent was telling me, ‘You’re crazy, they’re gonna steal your pictures’. Now I just had a meeting with my agent and they said, ‘You have to be more active on Instagram’. I fell in love with social media,” he adds. “I liked that because I thought, this is another way for me to really understand what is happening out there. It eliminates the middle man and creates a direct communication with the world.”
This topic gained further traction in a conversation between Werner and Sorrenti featured during a book launch at Parsons School of Design. While Sorrenti was initially smitten with the power of social media, he admits that he’s had to remove himself somewhat more recently, due to the viral growth of this realm. “Then, it felt unfiltered and more honest, and now it has become something else,” he says. “Now you look and it’s hard to go outside your bubble.”
The book’s final chapter addresses The Function of a Fashion Image in a Global Context, providing individual photographers with a framework for negotiating the complexities of today’s global marketplace for creative content, not to mention the intricacies of the online space.
When discussing the latter, Werner points out, “As an advertiser or image-maker you have never had a greater opportunity to present, promote, and sell your product, nor more competition. So, the question becomes, how do you break through the clutter and deliver your message in an entertaining, informational, and responsible manner?”
This challenge is equally valid for creatives in all disciplines, and the answer is undoubtedly grounded in the type of guidance quoted by Robinovitz above.
Sorrenti shared similar advice during the Parsons event, saying, “You have to have a voice, a personal point of view, an emotion in the work.”
Throughout his conversation with Werner, Sorrenti also conveyed the message that this work does not happen in a vacuum. “The amount of work that we have to produce now is huge [and] there is only so much you can do in a day or two,” he notes. “You need a great support team. Everything we do in fashion is a collaboration,” he sums up. “Managing that collaboration is what it takes to be successful.”
In the last few pages of The Fashion Image, additional resources such as shoot assignment ideas are targeted to each chapter, and an extensive list of relevant movies, books, websites and social media accounts will keep your creative juices firing, extending the book’s usefulness as both a teaching tool and a real-world reference.
Werner recently lectured about The Fashion Image at the B&H Event Space. You can watch a recording of his presentation here. [Please link to YouTube video of Event Space presentation]
To view additional images from the photographers who contributed to this article, click on their names below:
Therese Öhrvall + Joel Jägerroos
Do you have any fashion photography tips to share? If so, please add your voice to the conversation in the comments section below.
