Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

Photography lighting for catalogs is different than lighting for advertising or an editorial.  You rarely get the chance to get creative because the objective is to make the clothes look good and show details in the fabric.  Many fashion designers use some very nice fabrics and the designers goal is to sell their clothes to buyers of department stores and get them seen in magazines.  Therefore the photographer doesn’t really have the freedom to use radical lighting ratios with dramatic shadows.   So what kind of lighting is recommended for shooting catalogs ?  Well I like very nice Rembrandt lighting.  This is where you see the triangle of light under either the left or right eye.  The reason I like to use Rembrandt lighting is because it isn’t flat and it isn’t too dramatic and shows the details of the clothes at the same time.   Now for this shoot you can see I did a little variation of Rembrandt.  It’s not a perfect typical triangle of light under the eye.  You can see the shadow is more opened up so there is a little more light on the model’s face.  I chose to do this variation because when I originally showed the designer the actual Rembrandt set up, she felt it was a little too shadowed.  As you can see in the images that the model’s LEFT side is in a light shadow.  Look at the tighter shot and you see her LEFT cheek looks sculpted and my variation of Rembrandt lighting.

I accomplished this by placing a black V-Flat close to the model about three feet away from her.  This gives you a negative fill.  What’s happening is the large soft box is feathered away from the model a bit and some of the light is actually bouncing into and off of the white wall that is to the left of the soft box.  Then that light hits the model, then hits the black V-Flat which soaks up some of the light giving you the negative fill and a nice shadow.  You control the darkness of the shadow by moving the V-Flat closer into the model or farther away.  Closer in gives you a darker shadow and moving it away lightens the shadow.  So what’s cool is I only used one light for this !  I combined the natural light and one strobe to create a lighting scheme that isn’t that flat ugly typical catalog lighting like you see in JC Penny.   Please ask me questions and comment ! Click the lighting diagram and you will see it larger.

You can learn techniques like this and much more when you take my  two day one on one private fashion photography work shop. Click here for more info.

I want to talk a little about how colors affect mood in a fashion photograph.  Oftentimes I see that photographers over look this fact and it is very easy to over look.  Your wardrobe stylist should not over look this however, as fashion photographer we must also be aware because ultimately we take the blame and also take the praise no matter what.

Now I’m not talking about the color of the photograph.  For example if the photo has a blue tint or a sepia tint or a red tint etc.  I am talking about the clothing that your model is going to be wearing for the shoot.  I am also talking  about the color of the make up, the shades of make up, the colors of the accessories, shoes, scarves, jewelry, earrings etc.

So when you are choosing the clothes and accessories for your shoot you must keep in mind the theme of your shoot and what emotions you want to convey.

For example: the color BLUE = patience, trust and wisdom

Green = calm, soothing, and refreshing

Red = power, strength and passion

Yellow = warmth, happiness, and optimism

Orange = confidence, creativity, and cheerfulness

Black and white = elegant, sophisticated and classic.  I think the color gray falls into this category as well  

Look at advertisements you see all around.  Take notice of the color scheme in the shot.  And if you are using props these guidelines also apply.   If you are going to shoot an advertisement for Target Spring collection, you certainly are not going to dress the model in black clothing or shoot the ad on black asphalt under a cloudy ominous sky. Your fashion model will be wearing the colors of Spring which say to the viewer fun, happiness, optimism, cheerfulness.

No, you’re going to shoot with green grass, yellow outfits , orange accessories or vice versa.  Maybe some red balloons etc.

If you have an assignment to shoot a famous football player drinking a refreshing sports drink even your lighting scheme comes into play as well as any props.  The main colors will be green, Orange and red.  Green for the refreshing sports drink, orange for the confidence of the football player and red for the power and strength a football player represents.

These are guidelines not exactly rules.  Every situation is different.  I just wanted to point out that color scheme plays a huge  role in the making of a photograph whether it be an advertisement or an editorial or even a catalog.  Don’t over look anything.   Remember to observe everything around you and take note of why that photograph works.