Karina Chancey is the owner of Karina Chancey Photography. Born in Brazil she grew up dancing ballet, playing jazz, and acting. She is BFA Journalism and MA Fashion Photography, an Art director; Film Producer, Ballerina and a Yoga Mentor. She worked for SBT (Brazilian System of Television) as a producer, for Diario da Manha newspaper and Radio CJ as a reporter.
The best part about fashion photography is the limitless ability to express whatever you want; to be outrageous, daring, shocking, and even ugly. So
, clothing and posing are keys to create the fantasy. Also, mua and hair plays a big role especially to boost confidence to tell a story, convey a mood, or even sell an entire lifestyle.
She Adds,
In this post I am going to highlight some ideas for clothing and poses for your next fashion photography shoot – regardless of whether you’re the model or the photographer
Prepping For Your Shoot:
Pick Your Clothing
I believe that having a fashion stylist involved in the production of a high fashion shoot is extremely important and can elevate your photos. Depending on your aspiration and vision you must know that you can only have access to certain types of clothes through a stylist, especially when high brands are necessary.
If you are producing a cover of a magazine you can gather a great team to collaborate with you in the creation of a masterpiece. But if this is not the case and you are on a budget give it a go yourself.
First, Create A Mood Board.
What is your overall vision for the final images? This will enable you to clearly plan what you would like to achieve. Sketch any styling ideas for the still photographs and think about poses to focus on. Top Tip: Think through how and where you would be using the images. Style and location must match. And don’t forget to ensure you have portrait and landscape variations.
Styling that involves a swimming suit and athletic clothing does not require as much thinking but it must be fit because it gives a lot of exposure to the body. On the other hand if the most importance is placed on the clothing,
Here Are Some Tips For Finding Extremely Cheap Fashion Shoot Attire On Your Own.
Find a Consignment Shop
Hop on Google or take a drive around town like I do. When I pick a local shop at random to check out I end up finding the most amazing pieces. I love spontaneity. Goodwill is great if you have time to sort through a lot of stuff to find a complete high-fashion outfit. I like consignment and thrift shops because they’re usually more selective with what they put on their racks, very high fashion.
Search Around For The Craziest Clothes You Can Find
There are no rules in fashion but to make styling it a bit easier I usually find a top first. The blouse is the piece of clothing closest to the face and generally the half of the photograph our eyes are drawn to. Another reason to start with the top: you can crop the images if you don’t get the rest of the outfit quite right. Also, avoid logos as this will draw the eye to it not the photo as a whole. And when envisioning your final outfit, don’t feel too constrained by measurements, you can easily pin clothing to fit if you find something that’s a winner besides the size.
10 Ideal Poses to Shoot
I usually see poses in my head as I’m selecting the outfits. And this is how I bring the vision to life.
says photographer, Karina Chancey, and a mother of four. She has worked for magazines like MAXIM, FHM, Esquire, Bazaar, and Glamour, to name a few.
The poses must work to showcase the garments and accessories as well as the subject. So, whether you’re in front of or behind the camera, having a wide repertoire of poses up your sleeve will help. One of the beautiful things about fashion poses is that they can be more artistic and exaggerated than those you’d find in other genres (such as portrait photography). Let’s run through some poses.
- The three-quarter turn is the most casual and elegant: put one foot behind the other and turn the hip away from the camera. Face and shoulders face the lens.
- Standing with arm up (soft). This is one of those photography poses that crosses genre boundaries (it’s certainly a favorite for glamor and boudoir photography). The model stands, front on or turned three-quarters, and raises both arms above their head. Stretching the arms up has the effect of elongating the torso and flattening out the abdominal region.
- Standing with a hand on a shirt or jacket. This is a great unisex pose. It’s simple and strong and the model and clothing are very much the focal points of the image.
- Shoulder forward. This pose also works great with the face turned toward the camera, with the chin right on top of the shoulder.
- Walking. A little movement helps to keep the subject natural and fluid. The model simply walks towards the camera.
- Exaggerated leaning pose. You can have a lot of fun with exaggerated poses where the model is arching or leaning back, extending their limbs, or making otherwise unrealistic shapes with their body.
- Sitting and looking toward the camera or away.
- Sitting with legs wide. This position has a cool and nonchalant vibe.
- Crouching. It’s all in the attitude of the people and clothing you’re photographing.
- One hand holding hair. Give a simple twist to the hand-on-hip pose by adding the model’s ponytail into the mix.
The psychology behind a fashion photograph as a selling device is the viewer’s willingness to believe in it. No matter how artificial the setting or how crazy the clothing appears, a fashion photographer must persuade individuals that if they wear these clothes, use this product, or accessorize in such a way, the reality of the photograph will be theirs.
Adds in Karina, to whom Fashion Photography happened because of her desire to find out about who she wanted to be, not who she was.
Her message:
The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life – mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.