The Politics of Fashion Photography Part 16-Do You Know When to Shoot?


Maria Carla Boscono for Loewe Spring 2011 Campaign by Mert & Markus

Do you know when to do a fashion shoot?  This is a vitally important issue. Because if you do not know when to shoot your fashion story, chances are you won’t get the stylist, model, hair, make up artist or manicurist for your very important shoot. Now most of us who have been in this business for some time know this to be true and have learned this lesson the hard way and have suffered the consequences for not knowing the answer to the above question.

Oscar de la Renta Spring Summer 2011 Collections with Model Coco Rocha

The Fashion Business is seasonal. The Fashion collections are shown in several major centers around the world. Not only is it seasonal, the market influences are shifting and as a result, new centers are opening that only a few years ago were inconsequential.

All of the major talent from these major centers especially the models move from city to city acting as the icons representing the major designers from these centers. They walk on the catwalks for Dior, Oscar de la Renta, Tom Ford, Prada, Loewe, Vivienne Westwood, Marc Jacobs, Dawid Tomaszewski, etc…

Dawid Tomaszewski Spring-Summer 2011 Collections Berlin

I cited several designers who are featured in cities like Madrid, Paris, Berlin, London, Milan, New York, etc., to illustrate that these designers represent their headquarters of origin for their collections.

Now if you do not know when these collections take place (as they happen everywhere around the world) and you are seeking a specific model for your shoot, you better know when they will be available for yours. In most cases it is best to get them when they are in your town for the collections and if not, you may have to pack your bags and go to where they are.

Prada Spring-Summer 2011 Collections by Steven Meisel

The same rules apply to top tier fashion stylists, hair and make-up artists and that rare breed of manicurists.
So, if at some point in time you are commissioned to do a shoot or are planning on doing a submission with a credible upper tiered model and team, know where your talent is.

You can find out when and where he collections are by typing in Google “Fashion Collections Schedules”

More “Politics of Fashion” Coming Soon

About Benjamin Kanarek
Fashion and Beauty Photographer. Some of the magazines I have shot for include: VOGUE (China, Portugal, Brazil, Italia, Paris and South America & Mexico editions), RG VOGUE Brazil, Harper’s BAZAAR (China, en Español & Latin America, Hong Kong, Italy editions), L’Officiel Paris, ELLE (Spain, Portugal and Greece editions), Madame Figaro (France), Cosmopolitan (France and Italy editions), Glamour (France), Votre Beauté, Jardin des Modes, Dépêche Mode, New York Daily News, Fashion District News, New York Times Magazine, W (British edition), WWD, Fashion Magazine (Canada), Flare (Canada), Oyster, Tank, WestEast…