Lighting for fashion photography

[DavidSloan]

Can anyone recomend some book, or another outlet to learn how to light for fashion?

[Guest fstop]

You can't learn fashion photography from one book because every photographer has his own self fascist list of rules- However, when I was at university doing stills I found this book in early days and I had it renewed from the library about a million times:

 

Jack Reznicki

Kodak Book: #PW-2 Studio & Commercial Photography by Eastman Kodak

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...u=175290&is=REG

 

Now this is designed for still photographers who use strobes and flashes but it takes about 20 seconds to adapt all that for moving images- this book is AWESOME because it doesn't just tell you what looks good, it tells you HOW to deal with people and every rule I've learned in here I've put into practice when lighting actresses without any friction. There's an absolute WEALTH of info here and this guy excels so much because he encourages you to develop and research your own style. The guy is brutally honest and deals from everything on how to expose a fabric to dismissing a camera assistant, and his work speaks for itself.

 

From here I'd check out any books of Annie Leibovitz's photography or Herb Ritts, in my mind the two most important and influential contemporary celebrity glamour photographers of modern times. You'll be able to work out how EVERY effect was done thanks to Reznicki's tutorledge.

[Keith Mottram]

The God is Avedon and my personal favourite is Nick Knight.

 

Keith

[DavidSloan]

Thanks guys...obviously I'm not looking for the book that will give it all, but just a decent primer. I just ordered this on Amazon:

 

Fashion Photography

[Filip Plesha]

Fashion has never been my field of work, but I do experiement for hobby with fashion-style lighting..

I find that the best way is to learn it as you go, look at millions of images, try to analise them, take your lights, experiement in your own house, try different styles, try to replicate certain looks from magazines etc. That's how I do it.

[Adam Frisch FSF]

Just frontlight :D - that's all there is to it!

Edited December 17, 2004 by AdamFrisch

[Guest fstop]

I think not: ;)

 

 

 

This is Herb Ritts: This is iconography.

 

Well, pedantically speaking this is portraiture, but the crossover into fashion on Mr. Ritt's part is highly significant. Some think it's post modern pap that has influenced all of this "sell it to me in an instant image" culture- I'd argue there's something beneath that surface far more sophisticated than anything before and certainly after (Leibovitz apart). The photography is technically delicious, but Ritts could send up anyone from Man Ray to Bailey with a touch of irony borrowed from postmodern photographers like Cindy Sherman- Ritt's could take images and scenarios and images we are familiar with pop culturally yet make them the property of his subjects, and with that great wealth for advertising firms everywhere.

 

All these Lachappelle's wouldn't know subtley and suggestion from a loud crowbar round the head...

Edited December 18, 2004 by fstop

[Guest fstop]

Here's a great link anyone interested in Ritt's fashion photography must check out if they haven't already:

 

http://www.modelpix.com/htmlScenes/ferre.html

[Mark Sasahara]

Yes, Avedon IS God. I wish I had met him.

 

Look at the various fashion mags available at your local well stocked bookshop. Nylon, Bazaar, Elle, Cosmo, Flaunt etc. Just get as many as you can carry and play the "where is the light coming from?" game as well as "what light modifier was used?" game. I tend toward more straight up, straight ahead style, like Albert Watson and Avedon.

 

Make it up and create your own style, that's really what this is about.

[Greg Gross]

Basically you have two types of lighting for fashion photography,high key

and low key. I guess one could say that the most prevalent is probably high

key. Its probably the high key that you guys see most often that moves you,

brillant whites and off-whites. I have no problem with Richard Avedon but I'm

not sure that he's the top photographer right now. His work is superb and it

moves me. In the circles of New York City you would probably hear who the

top photographer is right now(whatever top means?). I sometimes do fashion

for wedding gowns both in high and low key,backgrounds etc.,and just some-

times on location with natural background of location site(say a victorian house).

In this case I sometimes use a multitude of lights on the background. I would

much rather be a cinematographer. One of my favorite filters for low key fash-

ion is the pastel filter,sometimes also use soft Tiffen grade #1. You have to shoot

a lot of film to get the look you want,expression,angle to camera,look. Its not

un-usual to have the girls running around in panties and bra. I'm not a dirty old

man and I'm sort of immune to this as they know I'm professional,they are pro-

fessional. I have a beautiful girlfriend. I thought some of you guys might get a

kick out of this. I like wedding fashion photography the most. I'm 56 yrs. old.

My favorite photography is shooting portraits,revealing the character. I once

had a good handbook on fashion photography but I can't find it. If I find one I'll

most info to forum. MERRY XMAS! P.S. Love work of Herb Ritts! Greg

[Tenolian Bell]

I think this guy is really talented also.

[DavidSloan]

Well I got the book and have already finished it...it's basically a Reflections type book for fashion and portrait work. It has some very interesting and beautiful setups...but basically it's all about soft box, soft box, soft box, and walls of reflectors.

[Guest fstop]

C'mon David! :):

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books

[DavidSloan]

C'mon David! :):

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Okay. Okay. I ordered it :) Will post a review after I read it.

[DavidSloan]

This is the stuff that makes me crazy for fashion photography:

 

 

 

 

 

Clean, flawless lighting...superb!

Edited December 20, 2004 by DavidSloan

[DavidSloan]

[Greg Gross]

David,

These ladies are exceptional! I really love a belly button shot and the one

here was well done. The one shot I like the best though is the swimming

suit shot. I can see the the eyelight and it looks to me like a large soft sou-

rce was used. I think it is an outstanding shot! I would do it just a little different

to suit my own tastes,style. I would lower the camera just ever so slightly to

try to make it appear that she's leaning into,coming right at the camera. She's

facing the camera straight on. I would personally shoot it just a tad softer and

I would want to darken the background a little,lessen the DOF back there.

David if we were going to shoot this in 35mm movie film, what stock would we

use?

 

MEERY XMAS,

Greg

[DavidSloan]

Great question...that shot really reminds me of the color renditions of Fuji 500D. 500 EXR would also be sweet.

[Greg Gross]

David,

I was thinking about using Vision 2 250D,what do you think? If Stephanie

catches me previewing these shots you'll be reading about me in the obits. .

All kidding aside, I like these shots they are to me what I call low key. I

think fashion photography is very exciting. I want to make women look

like this on movie film,like Michael Douglas/Sharon Stone.

 

Greg

[DavidSloan]

Vision 2 250 is really warm and saturated...I don't think it would give you this. Fuji 64D is a great stock with a very muted pallete...I swear I would shoot only that stock if I could.

 

Btw, I'm also very interested in adopting this style to cinema. I think Sven Nykvist came close with Cries and Whispers...but it can go much further. Give me huge, huge, soft sources, plenty of flags, and reflectors, and I'll show them fashion guys how to light! :D lol j/k these guys are 1st rate artists.

 

Here are 2 more to wet your pallete:

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2004 by DavidSloan

[Leon Rodriguez]

Beauty Shots from the Pro Lighting series -Alex Laarg and Jane Wood.

ISBN # 2-88046-323-8

 

Some great lighting techniques in here.

[Greg Gross]

David,

These are two fantastic shots,now this is what I call high key fashion and

of course its being achieved here with soft sources. I really love the out of

focus background in the first shot and the straight in to the lens look. Now

to me the first shot has a great camera angle on all axis's. The second shot

I call high key lighting of whites,for my tastes though its just slightly too sexy

and I would want to shoot it so as to make it less sexy. You know the second

shot reminds me of sometihng in white, like Michael Balhaus ASC might do,

like with Nicholson and Keaton (whites) "Something's Gotta Give". He made

them to look gorgeous together in that film. Actually the reason I thought of

Vision 2 250D was because of flesh tones and I was thinking about how I would

love to shoot these models with Kodachrome 25. I would need large light sou-

rces and reflectors. Anyway Kodak says 250D gives great flesh tones so I guess

I was trying to compare it to Kodachrome. I've got to nail down my film stocks

better,its going to take some time yet. Michael Balhaus's lighting really moved

me,he just photographed this film so beautifully. I mean you do not have to hear

them say that they are in love, you see it in images,before you hear them say it.

 

Greg

[DavidSloan]

I'll definitely check that film out, Greg. I love what Balhaus did for Scorsese on: The Color of Money. What stock was Something's Gotta Give, shot on?

[Greg Gross]

David,

I had the American Cinematographer magazine with all the info but I

can't find it. I don't have any other source for the film stock. One of

my step daughters probably has it. I'll post here for you when I get info.

I would love to shoot the swim suit girl in Kodachrome 25. This is how I

visualize the still shot: I would have her turn so that she presents as a

profile to the camera,camera slightly low. The curve of her back and butt

would be in the first 1/3 of the frame(facing left to right,for her it would be

the opposite). She would be leaning forward with her legs pulled up so that

she could rest her head on her hands,on top of her knees. The center of her

thighs would be about center in the frame and her head on top of her hands

would be in the last 1/3 of the frame. As she would face the camera the left

side of her face would be on top of her hands. As she faces the camera she

would be looking slightly to the right at the lens. I would shoot this with diff-

used strobes at various exposures. The strobes can be vaired in intensity.

I have a Nikon 85mm f1.4 which I would use with a Nikon FE2 for this shot.

Angle of view of the lens is 28.3 degrees. This lens is tack sharp!! I would

also love to shoot it with 4X5,T-MAX 100, only with her in white swimming

suit and high key shot. I would use zone system for white suit with detail and

for proper skin look. Greg

[Greg Gross]

David,

I eventually have to shoot a short project on 35mm film with Panavision

camera. I'm in a class of three student cinematographers and we have a

mentor. I was thinking last night of a shot where the girl would have a tank

top on and blue jeans over her swim suit. The Panavision we have is on a

heavy tripod so I would probably have to rent a dolly that the guys could

help me track her with. I would love to do it with an Arriflex 235(rent one)

but am not allowed to use anything but the Panavision. We will be shooting

short ends as I understand my mentor. I was thinking of the girl entering

the set and as the camera sees her,she's taking off the tank top while walking.

Of course we see immediately that she's wearing a swim suit. As she progress-

es(with camera tracking) she slowly drops her jeans to her ankles and steps

out of them. She proceeds to the hammock and sits down facing the camera

and then will have some dialogue. As only short dialogue its important that

the images are strong and lit well. I want the viewer to feel so hot that he

starts sweating! So the images and the short dialogue have to be that good!

Anyway I got the idea from your fashion lighting post. Of course I will start

my reel with this first project and another dv project I dp'd. I'm going to do

it with my girlfriend Stephanie using the PD-170 for a practice run. I have to

find a hot blonde for the initial project. Greg