A fashion photographer is a professional photographer who specializes in photographing models and other subjects with the goal of highlighting clothing or other types of fashion accessories for publication in fashion magazines and journals. Models are frequently the subjects of fashion photography, and fashion photographers are typically in charge of overseeing hair, makeup, clothing, lighting, and other aspects of a fashion photo shoot in order to ensure that the final product is satisfactory to a client. A fashion photographer is usually a highly skilled photographer with an eye for natural design and an understanding of how to emphasize individual focal points within a scene.
The majority of fashion photographers work for magazines as freelancers or as hired on photographers for the publication. Fashion and beauty magazines are common examples, but a fashion photographer could also work with other types of publications if desired. A fashion photographer’s typical responsibilities include supervising a photo shoot, ensuring that everyone else is contributing to the creation of the final desired product, taking photos, editing and selecting photos, and then selling the work to a magazine.
A fashion photographer will usually supervise all of the action at a photo shoot, making sure that everything runs smoothly and on time. Working with makeup and hair artists to ensure the photographer’s and client’s visions are realized, as well as creating a lighting scheme for a shoot and ensuring that it is lit properly, are examples of this. While a client may choose the clothing for a photo shoot to highlight a specific clothing line or piece of apparel, the photographer may be able to choose the model or models as well as any accessories that go with the clothing. A fashion photographer’s job entails having a vision of what a client wants and then making sure that vision is realized in the final images.
Many photographers will use the camera and take the pictures themselves, though some will work with assistants who will physically take the pictures. After that, a fashion photographer will usually select a final image or images from dozens or hundreds of photos taken during the shoot, and may edit or touch up the images. Once this is done, the photographer will show the images to the client, who will either publish the images in a magazine or use them as publicity or commercial work to sell to fashion magazines.