Visual Direction for Editorial Beauty Portraits
Wiki Article
I start the editorial shoot with an idea of how to present it as I see it visually. There are many ways of determining this, and I have my own method that enables me to have a creative foundation from which to build the entire shoot and stay focused on the same throughout the process. While beauty photography focuses on the facial aspects of the subject, there is still so much more to this genre of photography, and it requires more preparation than one would believe, as there are numerous other small details that play a role in determining the success of your final images. For example, the model's skin texture, colour contrast, and feelings/emotions and moods all play a part in determining how your images will look. If you do not start with a strong direction at the outset of the process, it will not be as easy to create the image in your head and make that image a reality. The image will likely be technically correct, but it may not be able to be related to the story of your shoot.
As I envision the concept for my shoot I try to think of the story that will be told through the model's eyes. What is the emotion? Is it calmness, strength, fragility, mystery, and so forth? That emotion will provide me with the basis for creating everything else in the shoot. After I have decided on what emotion I want to create for the viewer, I begin sourcing visual references that represent the same emotion and mood. I find my visual inspiration in magazines (fashion and beauty), classical portrait paintings, and movie stills and close ups.
What attracts me to a look is not only how it looks but also how the colors look in relation to one another, what type of lighting creates what kind of texture, and how the model feels emotionally. The more references I collect, the better the tone for my session becomes.
As I continue to define the direction of my concept for the shoot, I will create a visual guide in one concise piece by combining my reference images. To the outside observer, my visual guide may appear to be nothing more than a random collection of images; however, to me, it is a blueprint for telling the team a story that words cannot. Makeup artists will have an immediate understanding of whether a look will be more "glossy" or "matte." Hairstylists will have an idea of whether they want to create hairstyles that appear sculpted, relaxed, or not very manipulated at all. The model can intuit before I raise my camera to my eye what type of mood she should convey. Having this collective understanding among the members of the creative team is what builds a collaborative spirit in the studio and ultimately gives a “life” to the images captured through beauty photography that will continue for years to come.
The lessons that I have learned in beauty photography are that minute details are of utmost importance. In the field of photography, it is often the case that minor adjustments in the hues of a photo or an angled eyebrow can change the entire emotional effect of the final picture due to the disruption to the natural flow of visuals (the "visual rhythm"). Therefore, I have developed the visual direction concept to remind everyone involved what is most important to achieving success. When the day of the photoshoot starts to stray from the original visual direction concept, I refer back to it for direction.
In certain cases, I have also utilized digital tools such as Visboom to experiment with new and creative ways to explore how different makeup looks or different lighting environments will interact with the model. While this will never be the sole determining factor, it can be very effective in terms of visualizing potential concepts before actually making a commitment and executing them on set. By doing so, I often find myself inspired to take new creative directions and increase the depth and breadth of my final concept.
On the actual photo shoot day, if the photographer has an established creative direction for the photoshoot, the atmosphere created by the camera has a significant impact on the models' performance. The makeup artist and hairstylist have a clear understanding of how to execute the job, and they work with a great deal of fluidity in completing their respective tasks.
When I'm focused on capturing emotion through the subject's eyes, the image itself becomes secondary to the emotions being captured. The shooting process becomes very fluid, effortless, and instinctive.
At the end of the shoot, we have created a congruency between what we conceived and what we executed. The subject's skin appears luminous, the colours of the image are harmonious with one another, and the overall mood of the image is exactly as the team had intended it to be. This is not by chance, but rather due to painstaking preparation that took place long before the first studio light was turned on and long before any photographer or other crew member set foot in the studio.
Creating a clear visual direction gives your shoot its spirit. It turns fragmentary thoughts into a narrative that you and your crew can journey through collectively. If you're planning your next beauty portraits session, build that groundwork first. Allow your intuition to provide the inspiration for your shoot, and compile image references that support your visual concept. Ultimately, allow the story of your beauty portrait shoot to unfold organically. The more solid your direction is during the shoot, the more memorable your portraits will be over time.