Fashion Lighting
By The EditorsPublished in Advanced Camera Technique
During one week in February and one week in September, you can feel the earth tremble. No, it’s not an earthquake. This movement is caused by camera shutters and strobes catching the fads and flops of Fashion Week. Along with the live action on the runways and the paparazzi in the streets, high-end conceptual fashion photographers take this time to show off their freshest images and to contract new work. Compared with the industry’s designers and models, photographers may have a more silent public voice, but it’s their mastery of light technique that creates iconic fashion imagery that clearly shows each brand’s advertising identity and each magazine’s layout story. We caught up with Alessandro Dal Buoni, Jake Hicks, Lara Jade, Rossella Vanon and Rob Van Petten, who share their techniques to make your fashion shoots stand out.
Rob Van Petten
www.robvanpetten.com
Rob Van Petten shoots fashion advertising images with a futuristic flair. In Japan, at age 10, he borrowed his father’s Nikon and never gave it back. He has been creating award-winning photographs for clients including Nikon, Gillette, Reebok, Ray-Ban and Procter & Gamble. Rob has written a regular column for Nikon World Magazine, and moderates the Nikon Digital Learning Center Flickr site and My Nikon World on Facebook. He was the Photography Program Director at Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts, and is the host of Big Shot Workshops and an avid photo educator. Known for his distinctive lighting, he has a very close relationship with Dynalite flash equipment and Rosco Labs.
What do you like most about fashion photography?
Originally, I wanted to lead the romantic vagabond life of a photojournalist. Then, I discovered the romantic life of a fashion photographer where no one was shooting back at me. But, really, it’s the wonderful world of acting out fantasies and pursuing beauty—rather than documenting reality.
| Equipment |
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| 1 Nikon D800 and D810 2 AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ/2.8G ED VR 3 Dynalite RoadMax 400s and 800s 4 A beauty dish and three heads, with grid spots, colored gels, diffusers and barndoors 5 Sometimes, I mix in a big 71-inch parabolic RiME LITE reflector if the shot requires more fill |
What’s your top fashion photography tip?
It’s a collaborative effort. Lots of colossal egos collide. Learn to skillfully guide the creative energy of everyone on the crew. That makes a happy, productive shoot and the strongest images. Also, the job is to create an illusion. First, you set the stage, then you light the set. Finally, you give the model some scenario to act out. It’s finding that believable moment that makes the shot work. If it’s too much about the clothes or the lighting, it will look stiff. Keeping the models in motion makes it more believable.
What’s your favorite fashion lighting setup?
My lighting is always evolving to keep it fresh. It’s somewhat challenging to pull off and makes the job intriguing for me, as well. I don’t want to do the same thing over and over. The difference between doing it well and doing it great is in the subtle nuances. Keep refining. I use Dynalite flash gear. I use smaller-powered lights in local positions to light up the specific parts of the shot I want to address. I rarely use softboxes or big overall lights.
Thanks for sharing the world of fashion photography from your POV!
Agree on your point about it being collaborative. Good team of talents is key too. Suppose the higher you go up the ladder the more you have access to great people and talent.
Hi John – Sorry this got sidelined for a few weeks as I’ve been sorting out my transition. I think the “higher you go up the ladder” is driven by the quantity of your productions and amount of budget you can afford for better and better collaborators. Of course the quality of your work and reputation has something to do with the willingness of others to team up with you. If it’s an everyday obsession, you meet the right personalities who you want to work with.