How to be a runway success

PATHFINDER

Sandesh Jayakar confesses that it was a gorgeous camera — not a glamorous model — who lured him into fashion photography.

“An SLR camera gave me focus in life,” says the Mumbai-based photographer. “Everything I focused on looked beautiful. After a visit to a photo exhibition, I was hooked,” he gushes.

Fashion photography is essentially about selling a brand, a label or a trend. The essence is in shooting images that grab the eyeballs. If your images have recall value, then you can call yourself a success.  Fashion photography largely involves shooting for advertisements, posters for clients, catalogues of new collections, etc.
 
Where to study

There are several photography schools in India and abroad. There are diplomas and short-term courses as well as regular, full-time courses on offer. Fashion schools also offer fashion photography as an elective subject. Another way to learn the art is to assist an already established photographer on his projects.

Some Diploma and Certificate courses available in India are offered by:

Film and Television Institute of India, Pune

*JJ School of Art, MG Road, Fort, Mumbai

*National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi

*Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad

*Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi

*Academy of Photography, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata

*National Institute of Photography, Mumbai

*Shari Academy of Professional photography, Mumbai

Career scope

Fashion photographers usually begin their career as assistants to established photographers. You could also approach magazines, newspapers, fashion houses and garment and textile industries. Finding work as a freelancer is a common trend in this field. Your income could vary depending on the size of the project. Insiders say Rs. 9,000 for a catalogue shoot is a reasonable fee, to begin with. Freelance photographers, who take on projects that stretch up to a few weeks, charge Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000 a day.

Required skills

Photographers must be skilled when it comes to lighting and body angles.

A strong visual imagination, an eye for detail, attention to colour, shapes and shadows are important too to create the right image.

Varun Rawat, a fashion photographer who works in Delhi, says: “You must be able to translate a client’s artistic vision into a photograph. You  must also possess strong interpersonal skills because a fashion photographer is often called upon to lead teams of stylists, make-up artists and other fashion professionals.”

Making a portfolio is very important. Madhur Shroff, a Mumbai-based fashion photographer, advises freshers to build a portfolio by test shooting friends or aspiring models.