Fashion photography tips: Lara Jade on perfect lighting and simple compositions
In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue, world famous photographer Lara Jade steps in to share her best fashion photography tips with our apprentice.
Meet our professional photographer
Lara Jade began her photography career aged 14, taking fine art and self-portrait images. At just 22 years old, she has an mpressive client list including Elle, Harper Collins, BBC and Schwarzkopf. Her unique romantic, gothic style of imagery has built a strong following and earned her a place in the fashion photography elite. See more of her work at www.larajade.co.uk, or book a photography workshop at www.larajadeworkshops.com.
Meet our apprentice
Nicki Fairall is the owner of Uber Beauty Rooms in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. As well as being a talented beautician and businesswoman, she’s also a keen photographer with a love of portraits. As she is coming to the end of her photography diploma course, she’d love to add some high-fashion images to her portfolio, but is unsure how to get the right lighting and find a willing model.
Technique Assessment
Manual mode for models
“Like many people, Nicki had been using Av mode for her portraits, but Manual mode gives so much more control,” explains Lara.
“Being able to set both the shutter speed and aperture means your exposures will always remain consistent, highly important when using studio lights. It also enables you to maintain your depth of field, so everything from the tip of the nose to the final strands of stylishly coiffured hair is in focus.”
Maximise detail with raw format
“I always shoot in raw format – it gives me the best quality images. I love using Photoshop to manipulate my shots and add a fantasy element, so I have to ensure I have as much colour and luminance data to play with as possible,” says Lara. “I got Nicki to shoot in raw too, so she won’t be losing important detail and introducing artefacts when she edits her shots later.”
PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Fashion photography tips for during the shoot
PAGE 3: Final fashion photography tips from Lara Jade
PAGE 4: Lara Jade’s recommended gear
PAGE 5: Shot of the Day
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