Small fashion brands have it tough. The competition isn’t just massive. It’s global. Not only that, but if you make any sort of wave in the fashion world, you can almost always bank on one of the top fashion suppliers swooping in and copying your design. You can’t do anything about that, but you can work on your styling and originality. Here are some tips to get the most value for money when styling models for a photoshoot for your brand.
Change Up Their Look
If you’re a small brand that wants its photoshoot campaign to feel larger than it is, the easier way to do this is to change up your models’ looks. You can easily adapt how they look with different makeup, and especially with quality hair extensions. Not only will switching up how they look by styling each model differently help visually expand your catalog, but it’s also a great way to match the mood for each piece. A model with short blonde hair can be paired with simple, bright makeup for a beach day look. Clip in some extensions, doll her up in a red lip or a heavy eye, and she’s ready for your eveningwear collection.
Start Light and Get Heavier
In terms of makeup, start with your lightest looks. Shoot models in your daywear with natural makeup, and then move on to bolder looks for your statement pieces or evening wear. Remember, it’s always easier to add than take off. The same applies to hairstyles. By using this approach, you can make styling faster and get more looks out of each model before the day is up.
Shoot Catalog, then Editorial
You can get twice the value out of every look by having a plain white backdrop set up and the editorial set within easy reach of one another. If your editorial setup is in a beautiful venue, then set up the white backdrop in the least interesting corner or even the stairwell if it’s large enough. The goal is to take the simple catalog photos and then send your models to your second team for editorial.
Prepare Editorial Positioning In Advance
There’s always room for spontaneous creativity when it comes to editorial photoshoots, but getting gold can take time. If you need your models to quickly get into position, do their shoot, then head back straight into hair and makeup for their next round of looks, then you’ll need to be prepared.
A good way to do this is to have your team create mock-up images of the poses you want in advance. Take photos of the general position, and give them to your models to help them get into the general pose you need and take it from there.
Leave Room for Creativity
The goal with this approach is to shoot as many different looks as fast as possible, so you only need to hire your models and sets for a day rather than a week. That being said, you will want to give your models and stylists some room for creativity. For your editorial shoot, for example, leave an extra five minutes for the models to come up with their own poses. Doing this last means they’re likely full of ideas since they’ve been given some poses to work with from the start. On your part, encouraging them to stay mobile and then prompting them to switch up their ideas is all you need.
