Bluff it as a fashion photographer

By Chris Stevens on 21 December 2006

1.  The idiot
2.  Using flash
3.  Stay relaxed
4.  Be creative
5.  Pick and choose

6.  Tweak the image
7.  Choose the style
8.  Use Photoshop
9.  Print it
10. You're a pro!

7. Choose the style
There, that looks a bit more dramatic. We've added a sepia tint to the photo, blown out the highlights a touch and crushed the black range a fair bit using the 'Blacks' slider tool. Choosing a monochrome style has emphasised the model's shape.

It's unusual to have a front cover where the model is not looking directly into the camera -- some people believe that you're more likely to buy a magazine if it's 'looking' at you -- but we're not here to appease these people, we're here to break aesthetic boundaries. Fashion magazine is going to love this cover.

Again, it's conventional to white out the background for front covers, but we've decided against this because the light shadowing behind the model gives the shot character. It also hints at a kind of spontaneous approach to the shot which makes it seem more alive.

If you did want to white out the background you have two options. The first would have been to flood the backdrop with sufficient light when you took the shot in the studio.

As long as your white background is exposed by around two stops more than your model (use your light meter) it will appear white in your photographs. Alternatively, you can use Photoshop to cut around the model.

The sepia effect gives the model's dress a classical look, but there's an almost infinite range of alternative possibilities. Some of them involve reshooting, others can be tested inside Lightroom by manipulating sliders.

Fashion magazine probably wants a bolder look than we've achieved here. Although the model looks very elegant, this sepia tone isn't very attention-grabbing or fresh.

In this second picture we've tried a different approach. We've used a 'Direct Positive' preset to give the photograph some added punch. However, the flesh tone looks a bit strange: the model looks too pink.

Some of this could be filtered out using colour controls, but it seems as though any colour whatsoever is going to distract from the simple geometry of the figure.

Instead of Sepia or Direct Positive, we decide to opt for a clean, powerful black and white with heavily crushed blacks.

< Tweak the image Use Photoshop >

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