An Introduction to Fashion Photography

By Tara Giancaspro
I have experience with just about every type of photography you can think of. I have snapped concerts, sporting events, portraits, plays and musicals, still-lifes, speeches and presentations. I have photographed the President. I have photographed the Vice President. I've photographed Bill Cosby, twice. But I had never before photographed a fashion spread, and to my own surprise I found the experience, at first, a bit daunting. The fashion industry and its players are strong-willed people with forceful and creative ideas. I saw these same traits when I worked with my classmates on my first shoot, an Old Hollywood "behind the scenes" display. My classmates had clear ideas and a clear vision. When I am hired or asked to photograph, I am often given little or no direction. And while that freedom is appreciated, it also leaves me at risk to wind up with photographs that those involved do not love. With the direction of my classmates, I was able to secure that their vision and their goals would be represented, and hopefully enriched by my own stylistic touches and shooting style. I feel that this shoot was educational. I taught myself how to focus on the clothing and accessories, and how to frame, light, and position a model to best accentuate their features and the outfits they wear. With the retro styles we featured, it was important to find the best way to capture the flow and sweep of the beautiful dresses we worked with, to give the pictures lively movement. This photoshoot was supposed to convey a sense of the accidental. Sophie, pictured above, accidentally broke her strand of pearls, creating a funny moment for us to capture, resulting in photos that I believe will be featured in the final layout for the magazine. The shot above was also an accident of sorts - the models were simply waiting around for direction, and I liked what I saw. I did not think that so many ideas would come to us on the fly, but they did, and I am grateful for that. I think that this shoot was one of my favorites that I have ever done.

Fashion Show 2010 "Pre-Selection"

For Drexel's Fashion show, deciding which clothes make it to the runway is a challenging process. We hold a two-day evaluation event called pre-selection in which a panel of professors view students' collections as a whole. The garments must be as close to finished as possible by the time pre-selection rolls around (which is a little more than a month before the actual show).

The garments, just as during model selection received a Yes, No or Maybe. Maybe's and Yes's got numbers to help us create the order of the show.

The D&M fashion show crew was in charge of orchestrating the event for the designers. We dressed mannequins, catalogued the garments and made sure the day ran smoothly and that everyone remained calm during what could be a stressful time.

Here is an exclusive sneak peak at some of what you might see in the show!

Fashion Show Model "Go-See's"

The International Modeling Guide defines a "Go-See" as "simply an appointment arranged by the model (or agency). It is an opportunity for the model to interview with [potential] clients."

Drexel Fashion 2010 held its own go-see in the Main Building earlier this month.

The D&M Fashion show team watched men and women from various agencies including Reinhard, MMA, Expressions and Wilhelmina. The models were asked to show us their "walk." Many brought along look books with head-shots and other photos so that we could get a better idea of their overall style.

We weren't looking for any specific type of person, as we had not seen the clothes that would be shown yet. The models we chose heavily depend on the look of the clothes that are being shown. If there are a lot of "girl next door" models and the clothes end up being very futuristic looking, there would be a disconnect in the show.

Male models generally needed to be on the slimmer side, as men who are too "bulked up" often can't fit into garments created for the show.

We gave all of our attendees a Yes, No or a Maybe.

Those who are a Yes were chosen for their strong walk across the stage and their amiable personality.

Final decisions still have not been made.

Take a look at some of our possible models as well as a few D&M's checking out the look books.

NYC Fashion Week may be over but...

Plans for Drexel's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design Fashion Show are just beginning. The show, set for Saturday, June 5th, will take place inside the corporate headquarters of Urban Outfitters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for the second year in a row. Last week the D&M Fashion Show Production team visited the venue. Here is a sneak peak at the super cool space.

The show is the largest it's ever been with 42 fashion design students showing collections that feature evening wear, men’s and women’s wear, sportswear and swimwear, children’s wear, lingerie and more. Students presenting their collection compete for industry awards sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lily Pulitzer, Destination Maternity and Joan Shepp.

There will be two showings, one at 4 pm and another at 8 pm with a reception to follow the latter. Tickets go on sale on April 23rd and are $25 for the 4 PM show and $50 for the 8 PM show (which includes an exclusive gift bag and entrance to the reception that follows). They will be sold in Chapman Court in the lobby of Nesbitt Hall (33rd and Market Streets).

And if you just can't wait, view a video of last year's show here for a taste of what's to come.

Philly Fashion

Philadelphia, though it possesses its own unique charm, does not currently have a reputation as a fashion mecca in its own right. Within the United States, that honor has been given to a few cities, but Philly’s fashion scene has always fallen short of recognition. But this Fall, all of that stands to change, as Philadelphia stages a daring attempt to ascend to the status of an east coast center of fashion.

Philadelphia Fashion Week, a movement that has long been attempted and not yet seen success, delivered on its promise something more this year. Under the guidance of successful buyer and manager Michael Anderer of Matthew Izzo fame, the three day event consisted of shows, parties, and concerts designed to show off Philadelphia’s local talent and entice the locals to show some brotherly love to their “phashionable” fellow citizens. While in years past many individuals and organizations have held similar events, Anderer and his team added a new level of style and prestige to the event, two very necessary ingredients when hosting a fashion event of any scale.

In addition to the local fashion renaissance, Philadelphia will also host an international fashion event later this October. The Arts of Fashion, an international organization born in France and dedicated to promoting the advancement of fashion innovation and education, will be hosting its annual symposium at Drexel University with the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. The five-day event consists of master classes, lectures, film screenings, and it culminates in a fashion show displaying the talents of the best fashion students from around the world, as well as former students and emerging designers. The Philadelphia Museum of Art will host the finale show for the symposium, further tying in Philadelphia’s own artistic treasures with their emerging interest in fashion. (Visit arts-of-fashion.org for full details.)

With these two events under its belt, and an abundance of local talent ready for the spotlight, things are looking up for the fashionable people of Philadelphia. If the buzz about the fashion scene is any indication, the city is well on its way to establishing its own reputation as a city of style.