Has Digital Destroyed Fashion Photography

Planning, perspective, artistry, and true depth are all features of photography, film photography that is. It is important to explore how digitalphotography has stepped over bounds of film photography in the fashion world and how by waiting a day or two for film to be developed and back to you that digital photography has become so instant (right now) it has lost the concentration true fashion photographs once had. Exploring the topic as a whole can shed light on the advantages of digital photography as compared to its predecessor, film photography.  

While the world moves faster every day, inclined to flit from one thought and visual cue to the next, true art comes through well thought out execution of inspirational ideas. The same argument can be made that just because an artist would have to wait a few days before they could develop their own film, or have a shop do it, does not mean that they made more profound fashion photographs. In some aspects, sure this is true. It could be that if they had mastered all that that technology had to offer, then they could create some fantastic pieces.

Though, really this theory needs to be expanded to encompass digital photography as well. Either way, a successful fashion photographer needs to take out the time out to learn the craft of artistic photography, whether using film or digital methods. That is the main focus here. The parts of photography that were most challenging with regard to traditional, film-loaded cameras, were related to the abilities of the individual camera and the user’s technical savvy. Understanding aperture, knowing what type of film to use say for a track event versus a time-lapsed cloud movement were all factors for those photographers.

While the present digital cameras can remove a lot of the learning curve, it still requires technical savvy to manipulate the fundamentals to work in fashion photography. What this means is that thanks to digital cameras, there are new techniques and abilities that cameras have that were not available with film. There is painting with light, for one, which is created through special features. It allows a photographer to give their work the illusion of big neon words in their photographs.

It requires a little bit of equipment, but nothing too fancy. Actually, just a camera with a super slow shutter speed, a tripod, and a light are the basics. The idea is that the light will move, which can create the look of words, lines, curves, or whatever the creative photographer imagines. This is just one way that digital photography has added to the canon of work that any photographer may create using the tools of the trade. Look to the future and fellow digital buffs the world over for more developments in the world of photography and digital film photography, more specifically. This is where further creative methods will come. Yes, the days of film photography are not dead, just tweaked to cater to the faster here and now. 

When Is Too Soon Or Too Late To Start Modeling

The right age to model can differ from person to person. There are many types of ads and marketing where models are used, so the appropriate age can vary greatly. It’s ideal to have smaller children for ads related to innocence, and likewise, it’s ideal to have a more mature person for ads for medications or to model mature clothing. No matter when you start, it takes real dedication to make it a career, and it’s a valid concern to consider just how modeling will take its toll on someone young. 
 

While some babies are used in ads, they are rarely repeat models until much older, if ever. Many department and clothing store use children for one catalog, and that may be the only modeling experience a child sees. However, a young teenager who is considering a modeling career can get started early on with gaining experience. A young teenager would have the best luck for their future career in learning camera presence and learning how photography works. Becoming proficient in hair, makeup, and wardrobe styling will help a young model build into an experienced model. A young teen who wants to grow into a professional model needs to understand the business more than they need pictures of themselves. 

Teenagers should begin building a portfolio and look for paid work from modeling agencies and agents as soon as they have a good portfolio put together. At this age, modeling on the side while focusing at school will show how much you like the hard work that’s behind all the glitz and glamour. This phase should continue through the college years as a young model does “Time for Pictures” shoots with photographers – an arrangement where they both get experience and pictures out of the deal, but nobody’s paying anyone else. This is invaluable experience that will give you invaluable "in front of camera" experience.
 

Naturally, early to mid-20s will be where a career either takes off or doesn’t. This can be relative to the want of the potential model or indicates a lack of knowledge in the industry. While perseverance will guide a potential model to the tools they need, if the passion hasn’t found a young model at this age, then you know that you gave it a shot and it wasn’t for you. However, as time goes on, you might enjoy modeling part-time by doing specific ads or occasional Time for Prints shoots.

The Perfect Business Portrait

There are several things you should and should not do when posting a good business portrait. These include things such as do you need a professional photographer, what you should wear for the picture and what background and location you should use in order to achieve the best picture of you. Once all of these issues are addressed and executed properly, the end result will be an excellent and professional looking picture that will be sure to attract the correct audience in the business world.

The first step in achieving a good business portrait is finding a good professional photographer who specializes in Business Portraits. Searching the Internet is going to be your best bet, however a search using words like Photography or Photographer can drudge up all kinds of photographers, most of whom don't specialize in Business Portraits. Clicking on the photographers link will usually bring up pictures of weddings and kids. This is not the kind of photographer you want to hire for a Business Portrait.  Try specific key word searches like "Business Portraits" or "Business Headshot Photographers". Avoid mall photography studios and avoid having your buddy's wife take the picture with her new Nikon Christmas present. The picture will look nice to your friends wife, but your audience (potential employers and key business contacts) will see your flaws, an unappealing pose, uneven lighting on your face, loose hairs, blemishes and less than perfect you.

The next step is to find the perfect outfit. Think above the waist since most Business Portraits are photographed from the mid-belly up. When someone looks at a picture of a person, they unfortunately do not have the ability to know more about their personality, therefore they have to make their assumptions about the person solely based on looks. This business portrait is like an interview. It's a first impression, so it is important to look as professional and put together as possible. For clothing, great choices would be neutral colors such as black, gray, brown, white, navy, and other colors that do not cause a distraction for the viewers eye including ties. Stay away from logos and loud Hawaiian type patterns. Since the picture will only be of the top portion of your body, it is important to focus on the shirt, and maybe even put on a nice sports jacket to pull the look together. Another important touch to wear is your smile, because this makes you look inviting and comfortable to work with.

A very important aspect of a good business portrait is the background. Just like the clothing, it is best to use a neutral background either in gray, black or white. Using a distracting brightly colored loud background draws attention away from "you" the subject, and brings the attention to the background. Also, choose a background that works with what outfit you are wearing. For example, if you are wearing a black sports jacket, choosing a black background would blend in with the jacket and wash you out. Choosing a white or lightly lit backgroundinstead would make you stand out, and create a feeling of confidence making for a Perfect Business Portrait.

Social Media Marketing: Photographers New Best Friend

In these days of social media, photographers have a whole new way to showcase their talents. Now, you can use Facebook, Wordpress and professional profile sites like LinkedIn and Pinterest to share your photos with the public in ways that weren’t possible before. It provides a unique opportunity in order to reach out to various segments of the community in easily managed platforms. 

Rather than having to submit to get your photos published, take out costly ads in magazines or newspapers, social media is often free and just waiting for content.

Facebook allows you to connect with people and load up your sites with images that can catch someone’s eye as they scroll through their news feeds. Blogs such as Blogger and Wordpress provide the opportunity to share photos and share larger blocks of textual information that can often be overlooked on Facebook. A profile such as LinkedIn can give you a professional edge allowing you to advertise your resume and give links out to your other social media connections. Each type of social media reaches different segments of the population and allows you to hone in your time and effort to reach the greatest amount of people that might use your services.

However, just having social media sites isn’t enough. No matter how creative, unique and spectacular your photos might be, if no one sees them then how are you going to get anyone's attention? So, you can post as many photos as you like, keep your blog updated on a weekly basis with interesting shots or insightful information, but if no one is looking then you are wasting your time. To be successful in the social media world, you have to make sure you are visible on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. The best way to make yourself searchable is by having key words that can bring your sites to the forefront and give all those viewing eyes a reason to come see what you have to offer. If you are a photographer that does weddings, you need to be sure to have plenty of content on your sites that come up when anyone searches for "wedding photographers". The more key words you have connected to your site the better traffic you can generate.

While being on the searches are important, it is also important to make sure that you have updated content on a regular basis to keep people coming back. It is necessary to show off your work, but just posting tons of random shots without some specific direction won’t get you anywhere. Twitter is perfect for this since you can Tweet then re-Tweet new Blog and Portfolio updates.

 

Be sure to include something more than just pages of photos such as photography tips, perhaps host contests to encourage others to join in with their own shots and above all provide creative and unique photos that only you can bring to the populace to bring in the customers. It is all well and good to get someone to come to your Facebook page or blog once, but by keeping content fresh and updated and having ways for the public to interact with your site can keep them coming back for more. The more often they come to your site the better the chance that you will receive business from them.