Bruce Weber Photographer Discusses the Varying Fashion Photography Categories
2 min readThe fashion industry is pretty extensive, and involves multiple aspects of production and design. Fashion photography itself is divided into several sub-genres based on the target client, budget, type of images involved, and more. The approach maintained towards all these styles does differ to an extent. Look-book and catalog photography are obviously pretty different from editorial fashion photography. Prominent industry professionals like Bruce Weber Photographer usually work both on editorials and ad campaigns. He has done exceptionally impressive celebrity portraiture and fashion work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, and more.
Among the diverse fashion photography types, catalog photography can be considered to be the simplest one. Modern commercial fashion photography is no longer limited to just catalogs. It has become an imperative aspect of ecommerce stores that depend on images to appeal to their consumers. Catalog photography can be a great way for newbie fashion photographers to get their foot into the door before they work their way up to more complex fashion photography styles. Look-book photography is also closely related to catalog photography, but tends to have a more casual feel. Look-book is a domain of catalog photography that is infused with lifestyle photography. Under look-book photography, one usually captures images of models wearing clothing in a manner that feels natural and authentic. The advantage of this style is that it allows consumers to visualize what clothes may look like in everyday situations.
High fashion is a classic fashion photography style, and is known for its dramatic approach. High fashion photographs are what one may see on the covers of leading fashion magazines. Even though the purpose of this style is partially to sell clothes, the photographers also try to tell a story of aspirational glamour through it. High fashion is the opposite of look-book style in terms of relatable nature. Through high fashion photography, photographers try to showcase flawless images.
Editorial and high fashion photography do have their similarities. However, editorial photography does provide more freedom for artistic license. Editorial fashion photographs can be found in newspapers and magazines. It typically is a part of an article that can be about diverse topics. Editorial photos are likely to be more conceptual than high fashion, and have a suggestive back story. Fashion photography editorials commonly use a particular designer brand or model to depict a narrative.
While editorial photography can be challenging, experienced professionals like Bruce Weber Photographer are pretty impeccable at it. Despite its complexity and challenges, editorial fashion photography has a lot of scope for creative expression. Through this photography approach, one can create a visual theme and experiment with fashion.
Street fashion photography is a style that has become pretty popular in recent years. It involves taking snapshots of people on the street. Street fashion comes in stark contrast to the heavy stylization of high street or editorial photography. It is renowned for its raw and pared-back approach. Street fashion photography is largely driven by youth and urban culture.