Top Tips for a Fashion Photoshoot

We shot our AW23 campaign at The Wensley, which is located behind the Great Ocean Road in Victoria in the rolling hills of Wensley. Shoot day is always so much fun, it's when all the hard work comes together and this is your opportunity to make the brand's vision come alive and to communicate with your customer. 

Our AW23 shoot was a result of years of learning and testing the best way to get the most out of our photo shoot days.  Whatever your budget (and yes you should have one) it costs a lot so you need to maximize the work that you can do before the big day to ensure the results are the best you can achieve. Think about a wedding day, how much work goes in before the big day, this is kinda the same. Preparation is key and so are the people you surround yourself with. 

1. Pick your team wisely.

It is so important you have a team, that you can lead that can all communicate well and understand what is the end goal. 

You will need: 

• Photographer (they may bring an assistant) 
• Model 
• Hair and Makeup ( they may bring an assistant)  
• Assistant 

Maxted has been working with Jess La Frankie, since our second collection in 2019! During our first collection, we worked with someone that didn't quite work for our team, so we searched and we found Jess. The key here was that we spent a fair amount of time with Jess before our first-ever shoot, discussing her work, our vision, and what we wanted to achieve. We also talked about personalities, approaches, and the best way to communicate with each other. 

Tip- don't go cheap on the model. I know it seems like a lot of money, especially when you go through an agency and they start adding fees, but these images are what is going to sell your brand. Think about how often these images will be used, and how quickly people click and scroll. You need to select a model that reflects your brand values. 

A model with experience will seem more expensive, but when you are shooting and the photographer keeps going until you get 'the shot' if you can get the shot in 5 clicks as opposed to 105 clicks you are saving a lot of time, maximizing your day by adding more value as you will have more content you will be able to use. 

We worked with Emila Skuza from Giant Models. She was so professional and made everything look great. With any model you need to: 

• Set a casting date and meet 3- 7 different models 
• Check the fit of your products 
• See how they move in front of the camera 
• Check how you will work together, do you gel?  - personality etc
• Specify what you expect;
• Nails painted? 
• Underwear-  Bra- do they need one? 
• Hair- When were their roots last done? What will this look like on the day? You need to communicate this with Hair and makeup artist. 

Hair and Makeup

You don't need to be good at everything, this is why you hire a specialist. The key is you need to show them what you want. Sharing a mood board, and images of the model when you liked their Hair and makeup really helps.  You also need to let them know who they are working with, and how many models. 

We have worked with a few different Hair and Makeup Artists, but since shooting on the Surf Coats (YAY we don't have to travel to Melbourne anymore) we have been working with Tess Holmes. Tess is top of her Industry, we trust her to create the perfect look for Maxted, and while we shoot she is their checking to ensure the look translates through the camera and can tweak as we need. 

For our second Shoot, we worked with Sarah Grigg... another Geelong girl whom we love! Sarah always delivers above and beyond what is expected and we always have a giggle!

Assistant 

The right-hand man/woman! Caroline usually brings one of her closest friends. Someone she has worked with in the fashion industry, someone who can speak honestly to her. The other jobs they do are; 

• Unloading the cars- you will be surprised how much stuff you bring with you!
• Steaming - did the clothes get crumpled on the way to the shoot? 
• Clock watching - how many shoots do we need to achieve by what time
•  Checking everyone is fed and watered. Coffee? 
• Help the team and keep everyone smiling. 

2. Be Prepared 

Check the location out beforehand

If it's possible to check the location out beforehand we highly recommend this, and if your photographer can come with you even better. You can really envision your shoot and plan some shots, while understanding what the venue has to offer. 

Communicate what you expect 

This is a great way of preparing yourself and the team on what you expect and will be achieving out of they day. We create a document that is a guide, in the doc we include; 

1) A recap on who we are

• Maxted's mission 
• A quick customer profile 
• Brand personality ref
• Brand Pillars 

2) Details of the shoot:

• Team- so everyone knows who they are working with 
• Location 
• Wifi Code- great to only answer questions that are needed on the day. 
• Call times
• Looks to achieve

3)  Model Details 

• You can add the Hair and Makeup references here

4) Shots 

• What do you want to achieve? 
• Front shot, side shot, sat down? 
• Landscape, portrait
• Image asset size

5) Highest performing shots from your last photo shoot. 

This is something we have just started including, it really helps the team to understand what you want to achieve more of. Communicating your vision through imagery really helps! 

If you would like a copy of our document to reference please email us at info@maxtedclothing.com

 

Styling Outfits 

 

Styling outfits and documenting is something that should ALWAYS be done before the shoot. You can of course make last-minute changes on the day, but the majority of the work needs to be done beforehand. We are selling knitwear, but these are all the questions that must be answered before the day; 

 

1. Is there an undergarment?
2. What Pants/ Jeans
3. Shoes?
4. Shall we tuck it in? 
5. Any jewelry? 
6. Do we need to add an accessory 
7. Should this be shot standing up or sitting down? 
8. Do we have any inspirational images of how this should be shot. 

 

 

You can try the outfits on yourself or hire and fit model. We had 27 looks so that meant we need to answer these questions 27 times and then make sure these looks would complement each other. 

This is a great time to work with other brands that your brand aspires to or aligns with. Brand relationships are GREAT! We worked with;

1) Scout for Vintage - for all your denim needs

2) Department of Finery (DOF) for boots 

There are always a few bits we purchase as well, which talk to our customer's wardrobes, like our Converse Chucks. 

 

Get the Product ready!

We always ask the venue what is available, so we have some sort of understanding of how and where we are going to hang the clothes.

• Does the venue have rails- if so how many?
• Do we need a steamer? Is there any good? Tip- we always pack our own as we know it's a good one! 
• Is there a space where we can dress the model and hang the clothes? 

We steam all the clothes before the shoot, then once at the shoot we hang the clothes with the accessories needed in the order of our shoot list. It makes everything so much quicker.  Finally, we go through all the clothes and see if anything needs steaming or do we need the lint roller?

Food and Drink

It's vital to prepare this, as this is something that can take your team away from the job you require them to do. This is the fuel to your day! 

If you can pop out for lunch locally, this is a lovely break to the day and a great way of bonding while showing your team you value them. We always book the location before the day, and share the menu around so when we walk into the restaurant the food is already prepared, wasting no time. 

If there are too many of you to do this, you can organize a catering company to drop off some food. 

Or like us at the Wensley we took our lunch with us, we filled up on local yummy produce from Peaches in Torquay while taking in the beautiful scenery. Check before you get to your location if there is a kitchen on-site you can use. 

Tool Box

A box of equipment you might need, a 'just in case box.'

• Lint Roller
• Scissors  
• Tape 
• Spare USB
• Safety pin
• Note book 
• Pen
• Clips 
• Laptop Charger
• Hard copy print outs of all your notes 
• Clip Board
• Nipple covers
• Needle and thread