An eye for beauty
There’s more to fashion photography than glamorous models and expensive clothes. Ben Hawkins speaks to Rossella Vanon to nd out what happens behind the scenes
Fashion and photography enjoy a symbiotic relationship. When a designer or cosmetics company launches a new range, imagery plays a key role in promoting the garments or products and their associated lifestyles. These images could be designed to glamorise, provoke or inspire, and are by no means limited to the pages of glossy fashion magazines – shop windows rely on striking promotional imagery to encourage shoppers to step inside and browse. Fashion and beauty photographers, therefore, have an essential part to play.
As genres they’re subtly different – one sells clothes, the other cosmetics – and each requires a subtly different skillset, but one photographer who has mastered both is Rossella Vanon. London-based Rossella is renowned for her use of vibrant colours and precision lighting and loves the creative freedom fashion and beauty allow. ‘There are many different elements that I can plan, mould and change until, like pieces of a puzzle, they all work perfectly with one another and a beautiful final image is obtained,’ she says.
From makeup, hair and clothes to lighting, sets and accessories, there are many different elements to a successful fashion or beauty shoot, and it’s a process that often involves a team of stylists and creatives. With so much to consider and synchronise, we teamed up with Rossella to bring you a unique behind-the-scenes insight into how important the planning, shooting and editing stages are…
Planning
Studio photography is an anomaly in the sense that the photographer has full control over every aspect of the end result. With landscape or wildlife photography, for instance, you can plan for the location, time of day and technique, but you’re still at the mercy of the weather and/or the subject’s personality or