Fashion Photography

How to become a fashion photographer
Setting up a portfolio

A photographer's most important tool is her portfolio, and this is particularly true for beginners who don't have an established reputation. "Having been around, I know how hard it is to get in the door," says Allure magazine photo editor Clio McNicholl, who receives around 50 unsolicited portfolios a month. Conde Nast's Allure, with a monthly circulation of almost 900,000, is a prime target for beginners wanting to get their work seen. "If I don't know who the person is, I ask them to send me some promotional material. Generally I only see people who are coming with a direct recommendation from somebody I know," she says. Many photographers find that websites offer an inexpensive way to showcase a relatively large quantity of images. Eva Mueller (www.evamueller.com), a Munich-born fashion and beauty photographer who has been living and working in Manhattan for ten years, points out that computer editing is also a method of keeping down retouching and printing costs. But despite the medium's advantages, most industry professionals will still need to see an old-fashioned book before they hire you. By all means use the web as your calling card, but have something to show them when they call you in for a meeting. Many fashion photographers find the sharp, bright imaging of 4 x 5" transparencies show off their work to best effect. Tear-sheets (literally, pages ripped from a magazine) are great if you've been published, but good quality, 8 x 10" prints are also OK. Have at least 20 in your book, and be prepared to leave them for at least a week. "I like to see a common thread throughout the book," says Clio McNicholl, who says she can tell within three images whether she likes a photographer's style. "Tell a story: not necessarily having all the pictures relating to each other, but I like to have some sort of sense at the end of it that I've seen that photographer's personality come through in the pictures." The images you choose to showcase in your portfolio should be thematically linked to the job you're trying to get – still-lifes or product shots if you're going for an advertising gig, for example. But also throw in one or two other images to demonstrate your range. Strong portraits are always a safe bet, as they tend to stay in the mind of the viewer. Once you've got your portfolio together, the next challenge is to get the picture editor to use you.