Fashion Photography: A Complete Guide to the Tools and Techniques of the Trade

Bruce is a force of natural enthusiasm! The way he approaches writing about shooting; he loves it and his energy is infectious. This book is beautifully written and in a very "matter-of-fact" way of how to not only light but to respect the model and on the one hand; take control of the moment but to also let the moment happen. Enjoy the energy/ synergy of the shoot and just... let go. Break the rules and create something interesting!This book WILL fill in the blanks of what you are missing in your studio or location shooting!Google Bruce Smith Photography and check out his photographic work for yourself. This guy isn't a fly-by-night hack. He is a highly respected commercial photographer in Europe whom has worked with TOP models (male and female) and has worked on assignments that you and I can only dream of. And he wants you to achieve the same as well. He wants you to succeed, which is why this book is such a "no-holes-barred/ keep it simple" approach to TEACHING you HOW to shoot fashion.Even if you are not a fashion shooter, I think this book can help you bring a new edge to your daily work: as a portraitist, wedding... or seniors/ high-school shooter. If you photograph people for a living... this is your new "Must Have" reference.The section on retouching in Photoshop... forget what you've been taught before... too complicated, too plastic. The methods that Bruce outlines is far more naturalistic in correcting blemishes, whitening teeth and can even be applied to softening wrinkles before applying Clone Stamp! I'm not kidding. This ONE trick he outlines makes SO MUCH more sense.Bruce also seems to host a series of seminars, both here in the States and in Europe. After checking this book out, I'm really tempted to attend one. The past-student work is impressive to say the least.This book is an absolute MUST BUY.

I've just been reading Bruce's book for the fourth/fifth time having first read it abouut two years ago. I was surprised how much I picked up from the book on re-reading now that I have had some reasonable practice in photographing with models. Bruce outlines what you need to know, what's important and quick steps to getting there. There are tips on lighting (e.g. set your fill 2 stops down) that assume you know the basics about how to do that - and when you do then the quick tip is just the information you need. Of course the book left me wanting more, in fact today I came to this site looking for another fashion photography book that could be as good. I may just have to settle for a 6th reading. A second, more detailed book on lighting by Bruce would be welcome, based on this book which you could call 'Volume 1' I would buy the next installment.

Bruce did a great job. Touchs on everything that you need to do a fashion shoot. Id almost go far enough to say that you could put this book in the hands of someone that has never shot fashion before and they could complete a shoot as long as they know their way around a camera.

The impressive thing to me about Bruce Smith's book is that he doesn't leave anything out. He starts at the beginning with information about equipment and location needs straight thru to post production and marketing your images. This is by far the most complete guide to handling every aspect of a fashion shoot I have ever seen. And the beautiful photographs not only help to teach and explain but also to illustrate his wonderful work along the way. After reading and re-reading... because there is so much information in the book.... you feel that you have Bruce as your personal consultant helping to guide and encourage you along every step of the way. This really is a complete guide and one of those books that I will return to over and over.

Order was just as expected. Was a little disappointed it was not to my learning level but that is always a risk you take.

I took Bruce's online course and learned a lot from the experience, not simply from reading ,but doing all the exercises, planning and shoots required to complete a fashion editorial spread.His direct, to the point book is wonderful as it cuts to the heart of what's really involved in creating and marketing fashion imagery. No fluff, no theories, simply information gained from 30 years in the biz.I've rarely seen any book on the arts that so squarely nails what's essential, in very clear language that leaves no room for misunderstanding. It's very obvious he's a master teacher & photographer.

Bruce Smith covers a very broad range of information in this book. While this is supposed to be 'A Complete Guide to the Tools and Techniques of the Trade'; it ends up being little more than a quick overview. All the information is very shallow and nothing you could not learn from 15 minutes on Google. It has far too many images, mediocre images at that, and not near enough information. I would highly recommend spending your time and money elsewhere.

This book really help me lots because it explain the process to photography the fashion model and ads. Telling us what to pay attentions, what type of fields we can do in fashion, and the things we need to have to make us professional fashion photography.

good book

Fashion Photography: A Complete Guide to the Tools and Techniques of the Trade A Book In A PokeFASHION PHOTOGRAPHY by Bruce SmithWHAT ARE THEY THINKING? The authors, their agents, the editors, and the publishers seem to believe that readers who don't know f/ stop from depth of field know that they want to be fashion photographers. Readers are presumed to know already what makes a fashion photo different from cheesecake, different from product photography, different from editorial photography, photojournalism, and wedding pix. They must assume that their readers already know what GLAMOUR wants that HOUSE BEAUTIFUL does not want, what the daily broadsheet wants that SEARS catalogue doesn't want, what Milan wants that Seattle won't buy, what BLOOMINGDALE's displays that you will never see in WAL-MART or NIEMAN-MARCUS. Why does an editor buy Barker instead of Bailey? They must believe that their readers know all about the evolution of style, what the couturiers are trying to feature, and how to photograph apparel to make socially competitive women want to look so desirable. The publishers must believe readers know all this because the books tell how to operate a digicam, instead. Publishers know that readers want to dream --- so they publish the stuff of dreams.By the time a wannabee knows that he wants to photograph supercilious beauties in threads costing enough to feed a Welfare family for a year, he should know how to expose an image; he should know backlight, flashlight, skylight, and COORS Light(R); he should know gamma, filters, and colour temperature. He wants a book about fashion photography to learn how to portray the distinctive qualities of fabrics, how to drape a cut on a model, how to put a shooting team together, and how to sell what the market is buying.I bought the book because the blurb promised to explain the styles of name photographers. I expected more than four pix from four little known names. I expected a comparison of styles for purposes. I want to know what makes fashion photography distinctive --- and the fine distinctions. When the blurb promises a complete guide, I expect the art is included because style, concept, and purpose are what the market buys. Technically perfect photography is taken for granted.AMAZON's customer service cannot be bettered, but there is no practical way for a reader to browse a book before buying on-line. I'll gamble on a $5 e-book, I am chary of anteing $10 when I could buy tickets on a lottery, but after wasting $100 for three successive disappointments, no more $double-$digit books before browsing. There was a time when I knew what DOVER, NORTH STAR, and AMPHOTO published, not to mention HARLEQUIN ROMANCES. Well, I can still count on HARLEQUIN to deliver what I expect.On-line buyers need a web site wherein a book can be skimmed page by page. Only the publisher can benefit by providing such a service, but can a publisher be trusted to tell it like it is, not sell it like it is something else? Page by page spreads of FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY lists Backlit Sunlight, Interior Sunlight, Interior with Flash, and so on from p.60 to p.80; already, I know that this is not a book I want. When I want to learn photography, I'll start with Ansel Adams. AMAZON's competitive track record for unsurpassed customer service gives me hope that they will tackle the problem of browsing; perhaps they have succeeded, already, but I haven't found it. The 10% sample from the front of the book does not work; I have been disappointed by several samples that provide little more than the front matter. In response, I reorganized my typescripts to put the entire first chapter up front. For a start on this problem, I suggest that authors permit 1/4 of the text be available as sample. Perhaps up to 1/3 of the book can be sampled at random from links in the Table of Contents. Better a satisfied browser who does not buy than a dissatisfied reader who won't buy another $double-$digit e-book ever again.Actually, among my disappointments are a few books that gave me the information I want. When I divide the cost of all books purchased on line by the number of satisfying books, they cost manifoldly more than I counted on paying, but they do give me what I want, and relative to my income, they are still cheaper than the good books I bought 60 years ago. They are not likely to be stocked by any local book store; I should not have found them at all but for AMAZON's e-mail advertising.Having vented my spleen about my disappointed expectations, I shall criticize Mr. Smith's content if AMAZON will let me go on anon for another 501 words.Mr. Smith remarks on projecting the couturier's design into shape. Shape is not to be remarked; shape is the sine qua non. Christian Dior gave us the New Look that shaped women like flowers --- connoting delicacy and fragrance; its purpose was to take women off the assembly line at Willow Run and put them back into the Medallion Homes where they belong. The Tulip Line in basic black signals femme fatale. Not to mention the A-Line, H-Line, and pencil line. During the childishly irresponsible '60s, Mary Quant put leggy girls into miniskirts that aroused every pedophile --- and kept men in control. Then, the little girls grew up into the padded shape of a fullback --- and were put to work to pay the mortgage --- smart move, EX LASsie. Concurrently, men dressed like tousled, prepubescent boys in knee pants, lacking the maturity to get it up. Never mind the iconic shape of Double Arches(C), recently, the cleavage of double breasts slipped down to the cleavage of double buns. These are the shapes the market bought, and sold.Drapery shapes the figure; on the other hand, fitted wear is shaped by the figure. A skeletal runway model gives a bikini the sex appeal of a wire coat hanger. Mr. Smith's illustration on p.43 looks agonized. He doesn't know what to do with the off-side arm; vide pp.76, 83, 89, 118. Where was the artful dodger on p.10 to soften her clavicles; why did he fold over the model's pec and leave the underwear fastener dangle? Why didn't he paint out the folds of underarm flesh on p.136? And the cavernous shadow on p.67 makes the model look hollow. Not to mention the bones on p.45. I can't believe that a nationally regarded photographer selected those illustrations. I can't believe his models would let him make them look clueless by publishing such pix. When pronouns don't agree with antecedents, I wonder what his copy editor was reading. Smith's beautifully produced, medium format, soft cover book testifies to the quality of low-cost Chinese printing, but his editorial team failed him.I can't believe that his personal courses are composed like his book. I expect that he teaches a course for photographic technique regardless of specialty, another course for pictorial composition, and a business course for racing rats. No student should be accepted in the fashion course before his photography is perfect because the market won't look at faulty pix. No teacher can provide adequate education to more than 20 students at a time in France, Italy, Stateside, and on the i-NET, too, as the blurb advertises; any school teacher knows that preparing lessons and analyzing the work of just one class is a full-time occupation when done thoroughly. Besides, artists teach only when they don't have enough sales to pay the rent; those who can do cannot teach.Among the atrocities are some exciting photographs that will surely build a career. The final pose on p.168 is a striking composition of chiaroscuro, couture, and character; notice how Smith tilts the plumb line so that hair and necklace hang at an impossible angle --- lo and behold a pix of genius. His shape on p.165 is exquisite; the highlight lost detail in my offset print, but I am sure the original silver or glycee photo shows the fine texture of the fabric. (So much texture is burned out of highlights that I don't know whether Mr. Smith and his clientel have a fancy for blown lights or whether the Chinese printer lost the fine contrast.) The model grabs you by defying gravity in the contact spreads beginning on p.142; I suggest painting the backdrop in homage to THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI as seen in the '60s CASINO ROYALE. The gowns on p.139 play the folds of the cut eloquently; notice how the lines across the model's lap whirl into the floral ornament and flow out in loops, in contrast to the texture of the bodice. The wan doll face on p.91 grabs; it would grab harder by more texture in the fabric and hair. The shapes and contrasts on the spread of pp.74-75 are like WOW! but the best is lost without contrast along the starboard leg. The textures of the gowns on pp.68-73 are palpable. The aggressive pose and shadowing on p.59 is typical, but always saleable. The winsome catalogue shot on p.102 is delightful --- Daddy, buy me one of those!The most important fashion photograph is the cover. So why did Mr. Smith make the cushion almost as bright as the face; is he selling cushions? The model's neck is wrinkled like an old lady. O Granny, what big ears you have! He should have covered the ear with hair to frame the face. One might surmise that he burned out the face to bring out the black-lined eyes. Well, just crop below the hairline and see how those eyes jump out from the cover; point her finger at her eyes, and the photo jumps into action. Her right eyebrow needs thickening to balance the left, the shadow line of her nose needs straightening, and those wisps of hair on her cheek and neck are no-no. Her upper lip line needs widening, and printing the lips in scarlet will rock on a monochrome cover. Crop the otiose fingers of her left hand, and the bright cushion is also eliminated along with the arm rest. There is no typography for this haute arte book; the letterspacing isn't so even as it could be. If AMPHOTO decided the cover pix, Mr. Smith has grounds for action to recover damages to his professional reputation --- and so has the model.The blurb promises that the reader can live in a higher tax bracket by getting into fashion photography. Actually, the chances of anybody making a living on pix is the number of openings divided into the number of qualified wannabees, regardless of study and diplomas --- like the chances of becoming President. Friends of friends are hired before graduates; make friends in the business. How you make friends in the business will tell how you will work in it.FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY is an object lesson in the inability of the readers of How-To books to review them. They think the book is good if they think they understand it; they don't know enough to understand it. I did not buy this book because I wannabee, but for reference. At the end of the book, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY is not for wannabees who really want to be, but for dreamers who fancy ogling the skinniest women in the world.If AMAZON will allow me yet another 501 words, I'll tell you more useful information than I have found in any book. These considerations might enable real wannabees to judge the practical information in other titles on the subject.1. Buy a $50 point 'n' shooter; it doesn't have to be new. A $50 camera can make pix quite as professional as a $5000 instrument, only they can't be enlarged to professional size. Study the photographs in VOGUE and SEARS, and copy them. Persuade your squeeze to model for you --- if you don't squeeze women, there is men's fashion. Anyone not smart enough to copy the masters is not smart enough to make a living in the most competitive business since the Colisseum was shut down by the SPCA.2. Study the published fashion photos to understand how style has developed and where it is going. To make edgy pictures, you must know where the edge is.3. Find a tax-paying fashion photographer who will accept you as an intern. You will be more trouble than you are worth for the first three months, so be prepared to commit yourself for a year. An intern not smart enough to carry out instruction told once will last longer by entering the profession as a janitor. Ask for a work order. Something simple. Sketch your concept with pencil on paper. Explain the motivation to the model --- like, Method acting. Set up a back spot, a broad main, a fill, and a hair light. Not to worry if the photos are no good; your master wants your assistance, not your talent. You will be judged on how you rap with the model and set up; that is what you should have been learning with your squeeze and cheap digicam. Address the job as if you know what you are doing, and you will be taken on the team. Do it in 15 minutes without hurry, and you might even get paid. How do you do it in 15 minutes --- even 5? You do it in your mind before anybody sees you are thinking. It always worked for me.4. Fashion photography is a team business; the most important player is not the cameraman --- look at the client. Entry can be gained by way of the ancillary services. My most expressive model learned make-up as an AVON lady. A seamstress can turn her skill to dressing. A young man who could not do anything right made himself indispensible by connecting supply with demand for props. Anybody who thinks he can be a fashion photographer all by himself will have to master all the ancillary skills by himself.5. Make copies of garments modelled in magazines. Take apart clothes found in thrift shops. Learn how fabric is cut, gathered, and stitched. Drape your model to see how the material is supposed to fold and fall; you want to photograph telling lines, not a rag. Learn how to make (faux) fur look rich, velvet look soft, organdy look crisp, lace look sharp, and knit cling to the body. Practise until you can make photos of leather, serge, cashmere, and rhinestones, that glow. When the models arrive with dressers, at $300/hour and 84 hours to printer deadline, is not the time to figure out how to photograph tulle. Photographing fashion without understanding couture is like swimming without ever getting wet.6. Find your own vision of shape, drape, and crepe. Practise until you hallucinate. Hallucinating is what your artistic vision is all about. You photograph your vision, not what is there. You push the model, you pull the developing, and you literally twist the view camera to force reality into your vision. Then, it is not Hamilton, not Horst, not Helmut Newton, but YOUR vision.7. Study the cosmetic art --- only surgery is sexier. If your model doesn't know, teach her how to lift her weight from her tush so that her bottom flesh does not spread over the hard seat (n.b. on p.88, the model's tush squeezes the soft seat, not the other way 'round), pin clothes and tape boobs, wipe oil over leather to make it gleam; before PhotoSHOP, I dabbed poster paint on pallid food for an appetizing pix --- like dabbing lip gloss on the model. If your model does know, beg her to teach you how to make her 26" legs look like 36", how to make her 26" waist look like 20", and how to make her 26" bust look like DD. Nothing is as it appears in the illusion biz; all is vision.8. Cash must flow like the Columbia in flood at VanPort. You can go broke owning $50,000 of studio and hardware. Don't. Almost everything can be borrowed or rented. Even money.9. If you want to run a business, you will do precious little photography. Business is people. So is fashion. If you are not a people person, engage a partner or agent who is. If you are not happy to coax a chronically hungry model with chronic PMS, plead with a tax auditor, explain copyrights to a client who believes he owns them, and go-see a dozen cold prospects, find a job retouching, and let your employer dun the clients for payment.10. Know WHY you want to photograph fashion instead of portrait, travel, architecture, sport, porn, wildlife, technical, or disaster zones. Do you go ape over tall, drop-dead gorgeous, expensive, narcissistic and bulemic women --- who are liable to be stoned? Do you like the company of swishers? Does dressing up light your fire? Are you a concept illustrator? Does your emotional drive find fulfillment in your market? If you only want to make photographs for an income, you can snap passport pictures without refilling your prescription for Valium every week. Then, you can find a cheap camera and start learning how to make photographs from Ansel Adams.With a bit of luck, a model scout will put your squeeze on the cover of HARPER'S while you drive taxi to pay rent --- don't quit your night job.TP Fashion Photography: A Complete Guide to the Tools and Techniques of the Trade

Il libro in se stesso e' fatto bene, spiegato con foto e testi chiari.Tuttavia, avendo gia' questo mi sono accorto che e' solo un duplicato a cui hanno cambiato la copertina.Questo modo di procedere (cambiare la copertina e rimetterlo in vendita) a mio modo di vedere e' commercialmente scorretto.

Ein wundervolles Buch, in dem viele Sachen bis ins Detail erklärt werden. Von der Planung eines Shootings, Auswahl der richtigen Models, Equipment bis hin zu Printmedien ist alles vorhanden. Bilder mit Lichtführungen, sowie Anleitungen zum Bearbeiten von Bildern sind ebenfalls zu finden.Das Buch ist in Englisch geschrieben und erfordert einen erweiterten englischen Wörtschatz oder ein kleines Wörterbuch für Fachbegriffe.Mir hat es an einigen Stellen weitergeholfen in Bezug auf Ideen für Shootings und Planung eines Shootings.

Perfect, thank you!