Bluff it as a fashion photographer

Whether you're interested in a career in fashion photography, or just want to take impressive portraits of your friends, this is your essential guide to the latest techniques that photographers are using to get their work noticed.

Want to learn straightforward techniques to shoot photographs that could be used on the cover of Cosmo or GQ? We'll teach you how to use a basic light meter to correctly expose your photos, how to direct a model, and how to turn a good photograph into an exceptional one using the latest readily available post-production tools.

1. The idiot
So, this is you, a clueless fool with a basic digital camera. You don't look like much in your silly hat, do you? Who's going to let you shoot the next Kate Moss extravaganza? We need to shape you up. In this feature we'll show you straightforward techniques to shoot photographs that could be used on the cover of Cosmo or GQ.

We'll teach you how to use a basic light meter to correctly expose your photos, how to direct a model, and how to turn a good photograph into an exceptional one using the latest post-production tools like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and Apple Aperture.

You don't need an expensive SLR to shoot fashion. A quick browse through i-D magazine proves that a point-and-shoot camera with a crude flash can sometimes be enough to capture a compelling image.

If you do have a digital SLR, such as the Nikon D80 or Sony Alpha DSLR-A100, you'll be able to take advantage of a range of interesting effects that these cameras can produce. You'll also be in a much better position to shoot a style of photography that's suitable for high-fashion magazines. This is the type of photography we'll be concentrating on here.

Photography has become astonishingly accessible, and a very capable digital SLR is more affordable than ever -- certainly under AU$2,000. If you're serious about photography, we suggest you get your hands on one. If you don't have a digital SLR, you can still follow our tutorial, but you'll need to be more inventive with your technique.