Our fashion photography tips

Hi everyone! I do hope you're all doing well.We often get asked what camera and lenses we're using for our pictures, and I thought it would be interesting for my fellow bloggers to know some of our tips and tricks to taking pictures in the best possible way! I hope these tips may be helpful, Please feel free to add your own advice in the comments :)

1. Wake up super early

One comment I get ever so often is "how on earth do you manage to have such big cities like Paris or Milan all to yourself in pictures?" We don't Photoshop our pics (we just don't want to), so the only way is to get to out when nobody does! Carefully choosing places that are not crowded or waking super early are the best way to avoid people in the background. Bonus, once your pictures are done, you'll get to enjoy the place without worrying about the shot you'd like to get!

2. Check the sun

Sun can totally make or ruin a picture. In general, we only take our pictures really early in soft light. During the day, we make sure there isn't any direct sun rays by taking pictures in the shade of high buildings. We recently tried taking pictures in back light and we love the effect! The technique is pretty difficult though, but by trying again and again you'll start to improve!

3. Move and turn around

I like moving, turning around and walking a lot in pictures. The trick is to go slowly and strike poses between moves. When standing, just slightly move the hips and rotate the bust from side to side just to look more "tonic"!

4. Take your time !

Observe the surroundings, try different angles, explore around your initial picture spot, start again... Being nervous and impatient hardly ever makes good results, so taking time to stop and watch the pictures you already took and comment on what you'd like to improve is the best way to get a shot you'll be happy with.

5. Place the person carefully

The place of the subject on the background is really important. The famous "lines" can help you to get the perfect picture composition, but make also sure you're not too close to your background to create an illusion of depth.

6. Choosing the right background

When taking pictures of an outfit, picking the right background really makes a difference. First, I'd say forget about lawns ! It hardly ever makes any outfit look good. I always try to pick a place which colors either complement or clash with my outfit, so that it may make the colors stand out. When wearing an outfit with lots of prints and textures, I like pose in a cleaner and sleeker place. When wearing a more toned-down outfit, I prefer a background with more colors and elements!

7. Try different distances

Just as for trying different angles, we like to take pictures of the same outfit from various distances : from far to show more of the background, from a more classic distance to show the overall outfit and lots of close ups to show details. This helps bringing interest to the overall outfit article!

8. Edit carefully

Editing will help you define elements you want to stand out in your pictures (contrasts, textures) and correct luminosity or saturation. This often is the difference between a nice looking photo and a truly standing-out picture! 

If you don't want to spend ages editing your pictures, presets can be a good option.

9. Crop your picture

Cropping your pictures will not only help removing unwanted elements (bins, road signs, people walking) to achieve a cleaner-looking picture without using photoshopping tools, but also balance out the composition.

10. Communicate!

The most important of all is for the model and photographer to communicate and not to be afraid of trying what the other suggests. We sometimes swap roles so that I can show Maxime which distance/frame/ detail I'd like! Taking pictures for a blog is a team work so relax and try to listen and explain carefully!