Getting ‘the look’ when you are working with a model is every bit as important as getting the lighting and poses right.
Styling can make all the difference between achieving an amateur or a professional image, and an image that quickly dates and one that goes on to become a classic. I am lucky in having a great team of professional stylists and makeup artists working for me, who have taught me a lot, but when you are starting out as a glamour photographer you often need to take responsibility for styling decisions.
Past and present
Modern glamour photography tends to borrow from classic looks of the past (think Marilyn Monroe or Brigitte Bardot) and give it a contemporary twist. Big hair, sexy curves and the highlighting of beautiful features are all a mainstay of most talented glamour photographers’ work.
Less is more
Where a lot of amateur glamour photographers tend to go wrong with styling is in focusing more about the details than the model they are photographing. A great rule of thumb is that, whereas fashion photography is all about the clothes, glamour photography is all about the woman. Your job is to make your model look as great, sexy and timelessly beautiful as you can.
Back to the future
I spend a lot of time going back to classic glamour looks for inspiration, and try to distinguish between contemporary trends that work with those looks, and ones that will quickly appear outdated. You only need to look at a lot of glamour photography from the recent past to understand how quickly this can happen if you make the wrong styling decisions. I also avoid clothing that distracts attention from the natural beauty of the model. Much of this is an instinct that you develop over time as a photographer but it is important, even when you are starting out, to be aware of the pitfalls.
If you’d like to find out more about glamour photography in London, or are interested in attending one of my Introduction to Glamour Photography courses, please contact me, Mick Capture, on: 07526 439 946 or email me: ukglamourphotovideo@gmail.com