Above Image: ©Benjamin Kanarek

I would like to describe the process of photo shoots that are done for either a magazine or advertising and what happens in the process. In most cases the steps are similar for all
productions whether it is me or any other photographer.

I will commence from the point at which the whole team has been hired and are present at the studio for the commencement of the day. In all cases there will be a photographer,
photographers assistant or more, sometimes up to three or four, a
fashion stylist, the person who chose the clothing and accessories for
the photo session, the stylists assistant, a set designer, if one was
needed and their crew. In most cases they had built the set the day
before, but there will be someone there in case of changes that need to
be executed, a make-up artist and assistant, a hair stylist and
assistant, the model or models, the fashion editor and frequently the
digital retouching artist, especially if there are going to be elements
photographed to be added later.

In most cases the crew shows up at 09:00. There is always a breakfast waiting that usually includes juice, croissants, cinnamon buns, baguettes, butter, jam and tons and tons of
coffee and tea.

The hair and make up artists set up their material in the dressing room, while the fashion stylist and the assistant start to unpack the clothing and hang them on clothing racks.
This also allows the fashion stylist to present the clothing to the
photographer. As there are always a lot more clothing than will be
photographed, choices are often made in the morning to determine when
they will be shot and how they will work together in a layout. The
steamer and ironing table are set up and the assistant starts to work on
the clothing to remove any wrinkles. Retouching out wrinkles is a major
pain and it is preferable that the clothing are as close to perfect
before commencing the shoot. While the stylist is preparing the clothes,
the proverbial messengers are arriving with accessories from the
different designer houses. These are usually very expensive jewelry and
often come accompanied with a security guard. I have on occasion had
several security guards attend my shoots especially if the pieces are
worth over 50 thousand dollars per item. It is for that reason, that it
is more problematic to shoot on weekends, as it costs a lot more for the
jewelry companies to hire security guards on the weekend. Through out
the day messengers are coming in and out of the studio, delivering items
and picking them up after they are shot.

The hair stylist has already begun and usually starts before the make up artist. This is done to avoid possible smudging of the work that has been executed by the make up artist. The
two of them discuss what they will be doing and then call in the
photographer and the stylist to give us an over all view of what the
model will look like. This is done to avoid any misunderstandings.
Re-doing hair and make-up is a nightmare and will usually take another
two hours of precious time.

While the hair and make up artist, fashion stylist and assistant are in preparation, I am directing my assistants regarding the lighting I wish to employ, color of backdrop
(if that is what I will be using) or the lighting being used for the
set. For this shoot, let’s say that I will be using large accessories
for the set i.e. couch, large chair, bird cage etc. I ask my assistants
to set up the four HMI 1.2 kilo cinema lights in their general
position. I will make the micro changes I require for each shot with
the model and the subsequent clothing changes. I now ask the assistant
to set up the flash unit or units as well as their placement and the
1000 watt tungsten lamp I will also be using for this shoot. I go with
one of the assistants and choose the background color I will employ,
based on the color of the clothing I will use for that background.

The assistants set up the seamless backdrop and I unroll my package of gelatins that I will use on my shoot and decide on which colors I will use for the given backdrop. I ask
the assistant to place the color I requested on to the HMI cinema lights
as well as a full blue gelatin affixed to the tungsten lamp. I have
also instructed the assistants to place two large transparent plexiglass
panels on to the floor for this shoot. They will cover around 9 square
meters. Once the lights have been set up, I place one of the
assistants in the position where the model will be standing and start to
meter the different light sources. Once satisfied I take several
images and view them on the computer screen.

It is now probably around 11:00 AM and the assistant assigned to ordering lunch convenes with the team to determine what we all want. Once the bickering ends and a decision is
made the order is placed.

I get called in to have a look at what has been done by the hair and make up artist and comments are made and some adjustments may occur at this time. Once all is well, the model
gets prepared for her first image and the stylist assists the model in
doing so.

The model steps in to the set and a marker is place where she will be standing, sitting or laying down. The hair stylist adjusts the hair for the initial position. The fashion
stylist is called to adjust the clothing to suit the position that the
model will take from the onset. Adjustments will be made as the model
changes positions. The make up artist waits for the first test shot to
see how the make-up looks under this particular type of lighting.
Adjustments are made to the make up if it does not render well under the
conditions. The look of the make up changes dramatically from the
dressing room make up lights to the lighting on the set.

Once all of the necessary adjustments are made, everyone leaves the set except the model and I fire off another image. I look at it again and make any adjustment needed to get
the effect I am looking for.

I now instruct the model to assume a role based on the storyboard of the theme of the shoot. I usually say, “… Do what you feel is appropriate and I will do my best to capture that
moment…” Once I feel I have captured the image I usually say “Got it!”
and the model leaves the set for her next change. We repeat the process
and usually after a couple of shots, we break for lunch, which lasts no
more than 45 minutes. I prefer not drinking any alcohol with my lunch,
as it makes me want to break for a Nap.. LOL.

I will generally be able to do between 6 and 8 images in a day, if there are not a lot of extreme hair or make-up changes. If there are, I am lucky to get 4 off. Of these 6-8
images we can see around 8-12 pages, as some are double page spreads.

Throughout the day, I will ask the assistants to change the backdrop color as well as the corresponding gelatin colors for my image. By around 19:00 to 20:00 the shoot is
wrapped. The stylist starts to pack the clothing, all of the accessories
that were of value have already been picked up by the messenger
services, the hair or wig is brought down and the make-up removed by the
make-up artist. My camera gear and computer gets put away. Everyone
says their good byes and ask to see the images once the post prod is
completed. The editor has already given me the dead line for the post
production, so we know what the turn around time is.

That is a short description of a day in the studio with a Fashion Photographer.

SOURCE

LINK LOVE:A Fashion Shoot in One Day…The Process

That shirt is so sick! I really don’t like how slashed up his pants are, but I’ll give it to him, he knows how to dress. Birkin bag, hah.

SOURCE: Lookbook.nu