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If you have any questions regarding how to become a fashion photographer, please post your questions on this thread.
I will do my best to answer them a well as I can.
What qualifies me to be able to do this.?
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MY WORK
MORE OF MY WORK
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Bruce Smith Fashion Photographer Author Tutor: PROFILE
He began his 35-year career by getting fired as a photo assistant after two years of brewing tea, sweeping the studio floors and fetching equipment for several studio photographers. He decided to go solo and set up my own photo studio, specializing in shooting models’ portfolios, portraits and the occasional fashion shoot.
He was inspired by the photographers from the ‘30s to the ‘60s, including Cecil Beaton, Norman Parkinson, David Baily, Barry Lategan, John F French, Horst P Horst, William Klein, Irving Penn, Richard Avendon, George Hoyningen-Huene, and many more.
His first big break in fashion photography came while setting up a test shoot with a model, he arranged to borrow some Fifties’ style gowns from a top fashion designer that sold her clothes through exclusive stores such as Harrods in London. This test shoot became a commission, and the pictures that he produced were published in Avante Guard, one of the UKs leading fashion magazines, at the time.
He switched to shooting just fashion and set off to London in the early Eighties. Confident and adventurous he was on the ladder to establishing himself as a freelance fashion shooter. The next few years were spent developing his own style and reputation, test shoots with models and endless appointments with fashion editors, art directors, designers and potential clients.
He mailed samples of his work to the couture and bridal wear designers, and was picked up by Catherine Raynor - a leading UK bridal wear couture designer who had previously worked with some of the world’s most prestigious photographers including Norman Parkinson, Terrance Donavan and John Swanell. Raynor commissioned me to shoot her next collection. Her status within the bridal wear industry, and the success of the images that he had produced for her, created a chain reaction with a queue of top bridal wear and couture designers clambering at his studio door to shoot their collections.
The next major step came with a commission from a leading UK bridal wear consumer magazine to shoot two editorial stories for them on location in Tobago. This led to many years of shooting high fashion for some of the top designers, and manufacturers of couture and bridal wear., including Catherine Raynor, Margaret Lee Lyn Ashworth, Eleni Costi plus many other top names in couture and designer bridal wear.
Inspired by some of his classic fashion images, an art director from top London design consultancies asked him to present his portfolio to them, with the view to shooting an image brochure for a leading lingerie company in the UK. This began a long list of lingerie and hosiery and swimwear clients commissioning him to shoot their collections including, Charnos, Lapel, Silhouette, MissKini, Panache, etc etc
He has shot many ad campaigns, image brochures and catalogues, producing fashion shoots in some of the world most beautiful and exotic locations from Alaska to Kenya. Shooting on location, with all of its challenges, taught him to shoot fast with available light. He receives commissions to arrange complete production for major fashion shoots, including the sourcing of the production teams, location managers, catering, location transport, even helicopters and arctic supply vessels.
In the late 90s he began shooting in digital. There are so many benefits, its speed of production for press and post-production regarding retouching, etc, which is now in his own hands, ensuring his images get reproduced how he envisage them to be.
Just published books
Digital Pro Fashion Pro Digital Fashion Photography (uk)
Fashion Photography A Complete Guide (usa)
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Since 2002 I have been teaching beginners, intermediates and advanced photographers how to shoot fashion photography, practically and creatively with energy emotion and sensitivity.
Helping photographers to understand that what the viewers of images respond to is the energy and the content that the photographer inputs into their images.
If you can imagine:
The photographer is the conductor
The model is the orchestra
The viewer is the audience
If you dont direct energy emotion and feelings to your model, they will not project energy emotion and feelings into the images and intern the viewer of the images will not feel the energy emotion and feeling, just as with a badly conducted piece of music.
In order to entertain the viewer of your images, you have to entertain your model to entertain the viewer..
Bruce Smith
Hello Mad Dog; 
Its a bit slow, I have been very involved in other projects.
I will be picking up on the project once I get ahead of myself.
About to set of to USA for 6 week tour teaching studio and location fashion photography master classes.
I will be moving the submission and exhibition date to after I return from USA.
Hows things with you.
Bruce
Glad you are extending it - I did not have time to produce any entries.
I'll be just down the road from you on Friday on top some building on Tithebarn Street doing a pano. Hope it warms up!!
You might ask ephotozine team to advertise your 'Images of People' project on the frontpage.
Give me a call 07904485253 maybe can meet for coffee.
Great idea, I will speak to them about that.
Bruce..
If your interested this is an article / advice for those wanting to shoot fashion on ephotozine
Check it out..
Bruce
Quote: If you have any questions regarding how to become a fashion photographer, please post your questions on this thread.
What advice would you give to an amateur photographer who is thinking of changing of career and moving in to fashion photography full time ?
some impressive images on your site, I may even buy your book
OK question
what percentage of fashion photographer hopefuls make it into the industry?
What is the best way to network/get noticed/get work - assuming you already have a "book"?
Bruce I will throw myself open to you mercy here
have a look at these and tell me where I am going wrong and how to improve
all location un-paid work
Quote: If you have any questions regarding how to become a fashion photographer, please post your questions on this thread.
What advice would you give to an amateur photographer who is thinking of changing of career and moving in to fashion photography full time ?
Research the type of fashion photography you are interested in in great depth.
Taylor your portfolio to match the industry standards and develop your own style of shooting fashion appropriately, aiming your images at the markets that you wish to shoot in.
There are a few of main categories:
Editorial, ie shooting fashion editorials for magazines etc
Advertising, ie shooting add campaigns for fashion and associated industries such cosmetics, health care etc etc
Commercial, ie catalogues, image brochures, point of sale for fashion retail, look books for designers etc etc
With in these categories there are many variations on the lifestyles that they are targeted at. You only need to look through the magazine racks in news agents to see how different fashion photography can be..
Go on a fashion photography course either full time or take one of my classes and see how shooting fashion suites you.. I am not here to advertise my classes but taking a class can fast track your knowledge and skills a lot quicker than finding out the hard way ad hoc..
In order to become a fashion photographer you need to test and test and test to develop your skills knowledge and style;.
You need to network with in the industry to build a team of stylists, hair and make up artists and models to get great images.
Often is the case you need great pictures in your portfolio before you can get great people to shoot with you.. Not easy when your starting out.. A class will help you get on the rung of the ladder re having some great images taken during class...
Let me know if this helps and ask any other questions to help you more..
Bruce
Quote: Some impressive images on your site, I may even buy your book
OK question
what percentage of fashion photographer hopefuls make it into the industry?
Quote: If you have any questions regarding how to become a fashion photographer, please post your questions on this thread.
What advice would you give to an amateur photographer who is thinking of changing of career and moving in to fashion photography full time ?
Quote: Some impressive images on your site, I may even buy your book
OK question
what percentage of fashion photographer hopefuls make it into the industry?
There is a very difficult question that I don't have the facts to give you the answer.
SORRY.
Im not a good guesser..
I do know that a quality needed on top of all of the other atributes needed ligh skill talent business knowledge etc etc IS DETERMINATION:
75% of what you need to succede is drive and determination.. If you have this you dont care re your question..
I have never given up no matter what from day one of starting out to today, my drive and determination have brought me my successes..
Bruce
Quote: What is the best way to network/get noticed/get work - assuming you already have a "book"?
ONLY IF YOUR IMAGES ARE UP TO STANDARD...
A good start is to make an appointment to show your work to a model booker that looks after NEW FACES at a good live model agency (not internet based agencies) A list of these agencies is on whoistesting.com
Before you do this, look at the agencies web sites, main board models and new faces models and see the type of images they use to promote their models are like..
Ask the booker what they think about your work and if they would be prepared to let you test with their models. Your book needs to be of an industry standard to achieve this..GOOD LUCK..
If you do get lucky and they do let you test with their models, they may help re finding stylist and make up and hair artists. You are in a good position to network your work/images through out the serious part of the industry.. With your images in models books, stylists books and MUAH artists books you are networking to the right people about what you are capable of producing.. All of these people your shooting with want work from the same people that you want to work for..
Bruce
Quote: If your interested this is an article / advice for those wanting to shoot fashion on ephotozine
Check it out..
Bruce
Great article! Very informative and helpful, thanks for posting!!
Thank you..
I hope it helps you with your images..
Bruce
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