Glamour, Beauty & Fashion Photography Tutorial

Fashion Photography  •  Photography Tips

Getting started in glamour or fashion photography and need a few pointers? The team over at Tony Northrup‘s studio have put together a great video tutorial that walks through a full spectrum of things ranging from lighting, modeling tips, and post production. Even those with no plans for a future in fashion photography may learn a thing or two to use in other styles. Take a look at the video, here:

Gear & Lighting

For the picture below, the team used a rather uncomplicated lighting setup. Here are a few highlights discussed in the video:

• A beauty dish with a grid was used as the main light and they used 1–3 additional strobes in the background to add ambiance. 
• If you don’t have the same equipment, experiment with what is available to you and find a setup you like.
• Keep the beauty dish on axis with the camera—meaning aim it at the model in the same line.
• When facing strobes in the background, arrange them in an interesting way so they look nice in the finished portrait.
• You don’t need the most expensive gear to get the nicest photo.
• Use a low ISO, a moderate aperture, and a fast shutter speed.

Working With a Model

If you plan on working with a professional model or enlisting a friend, there are a few things you should both be aware of beforehand to help you get gorgeous shots:

• Lighting will wash out a face so your model may need more makeup than usual—especially the cheekbones and the finer details of the eye.
• Don’t push an inexperienced model to be something she isn’t. Use more encouraging words and avoid telling them “don’t do this”.
• Have your model get into different poses in a rhythm so you can more easily predict a movement.
• Make sure model’s face is always in the light!

For more tips on post processing and editing your photos, in both, Photoshop and Lightroom, be sure to watch the entire video.