Fashion

Need a costume for Halloween but don't think you can knock one out of the park DIY style? Ossain Brown created a collection of terrifying vintage photographs of costumes of the past. These costumes are mostly homemade and have a back woods horror more spine tingling than the Deliverance banjo. Honestly, what are nightmares made of if not a child in a burlap sack mask...Warning: images not for the feint of heart.

Just last week we opened the Fstoppers Store. At the moment we are working to get our hands on the best digital photography content on the web but in the future we will also be adding physical products. I'm excited to say that today we have just Added Lindsay Adler's fashion tutorial "Designing An Image" to the store and it is available for instant download.

Cameron Davis is a photographer, cinematographer and creative director based in New York. Growing up in Southern California, Cameron has developed a style that blends East Coast with West Coast, adding in flavors of London and Paris. Focusing primarily on shooting editorial fashion imagery, Cameron's work has been published in treats!, GQ Italia, Fault and S Magazine.

If you’ve ever wondered how much time a good make up artist can really save you in post on your stills images, you might want to take a look at the absolutely stunning before and after shots in this article. Believe it or not, no Photoshop was used in the making of any of these images, this is all done the old fashioned way - straight out of camera.

In the competitive landscape of fashion photography, Charles LUCIMA stands out with fashion-editorial images and videos that have graced magazines and televisions around the world. We caught up with Charles after his three-day, Destination MARS workshop and right before shooting a new line of cosmetics.

After reading the comments on the Miley and Terry article I wrote the other day, it made me realize how many people are in the dark about Terry Richardson's talent. I am a huge fan of Terry, mostly because he has an 'I don't give a damn' attitude but he turns out some pretty glorious images when you aren't paying attention. Most people when they hear the name Terry Richardson they think creepy, old, incredibly lucky photographer who gets to see a lot of boobs. But in reality he is highly talented and brought in millions last year for doing much more than mediocre white wall shots.

We've all seen behind-the-scenes videos before right? Most are quick little tidbits showing how much fun a shoot is and how amazing the life of a photographer is. Some of them even give you some amazing insight into the techniques used by some of the top pros working today. Well, this is NOT that kind of BTS video. This 16 hour (yes, you read that right) marathon of a video is by far the BEST BTS that I've found that really shows you what the elite in the fashion world actually do to make those amazing editorials we all love.

I've got a fun little DIY light modifier for you today. I call it the High Fashion Specular Reflector or "shiny board" for short. In my travels, I have to carry a LOT of gear. Especially when the trip is on my own dime and I don't have a budget to rent the cool toys I want to have. I came up with the idea for this reflector through experimentation and just obnoxious luck. I wanted to create a very hard light (in addition to the sun) to use on my model while on location.

Urban Hippie is an award winning fashion-short film that is also a Vimeo staff pick. I was immediately engaged by the visuals that depict a girl's journey into her imagination. There is so much energy and life in the video that it's a must watch. The way each moment was shot was meticulous and every frame could be a photograph of its own. It recent won the the best experimental film at the LA Cinema Festival and the best visual effects award at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival.

Kesler Tran is a photographer based out of Los Angeles and New York specializing in fashion, editorial and beauty. Of the three, one will probably find his beauty work resonating the strongest; it teems from every pore of his images. His eye for light and shape, as complex and trained as it is, seems effortless when one browses through the images on his tumblr. With the sheer amount of content, it's also hard to imagine him ever taking a break. Thankfully, he took one for us.

Steve Fischer is a Los Angeles based fashion photographer specializing in shooting women for the fashion, high fashion, lingerie, swimwear and beauty markets. Steve started shooting about 15 years ago, taking a minor hiatus to write and produce television commercials. Not too long ago, he was in a car accident that nearly killed him and left him physically unable to shoot for several years. He returned to his love of fashion photography about four years ago and is here to stay.

Whether we shoot stills, video or both, better utilizing light is probably the single quickest and most effective way to boost the quality of our work. I recently came across the beautiful work of cinematographer and DP Matthias Koenigswieser. If you love to shoot natural or ambient light and want to see just how beautiful applying lighting to achieve a natural light look can be, you’re in for a treat.

When I first started shooting, I would spend absolutely no time planning my shots. I would focus tons of time and energy into every other aspect (location, wardrobe, mood, etc) but in some weird turn of events, it must have slipped my mind that the end goal is "The Shot." How that slipped my mind still baffles me. Instead of putting in the effort to plan what my actual finished images would look like, I found a model, found a location and showed up on shoot day with a plan to wing it.

Peter Lindbergh is one of my all-time favorite photographers. I often refer to his work for inspiration not only for the technique but for the amazing beauty that exudes from his work. Not too long ago I found this little clip of Peter shooting Amber Valletta (a legend in her own right) for Vogue Italia. What I've found interesting about this video is the level of production that goes into a shoot like this, when the final image appears so effortless.

Lilah Ramzi, creator of Part Nouveau, had a great idea. With art and photography, many of the great images we see today are concepts that are borrowed from the past. She found the potential source of inspiration for many of these images and put them together. The result is a great lesson with a concise history of where they also originated from.

Fashion Week in New York is coming to an end today, and is largely considered the Grammys for the fashion forward and fashion photographers of the industry. It’s not too uncommon for fashion to get its share of criticism from the public, looking largely like a marketing con for “What’s New For Fall”. So what happens when Jimmy Kimmel decides to play some pranks on those at fashion week in New York?

Because most of us fear rejection to some degree, speaking to a complete stranger and asking them for something, let alone asking if you can photograph them, tends to be pretty challenging. I’ve never been one of those naturally confident people but over time I’ve developed some techniques that have provided me with the confidence to work with strangers, which has brought additional benefit when communicating with paying clients.

Keeping your models and clients happy on set is vital to creating images that evoke the full range of emotion. Part of your job as a photographer is to bring everyone on set to a mind space that is calm and comfortable. Here are a few tips on how you can play the good host.

A few weeks ago we featured an interesting project by Casey Neistat: The CLA Project. Casey was hired by Mercedes Benz to create a new, fresh and creative approach to the typical stock car commercials that you've seen on television for the past twenty years. The final commercial for the new Mercedes Benz CLA has finally been released. I have to say it is definitely creative and unlike any car commercial I've seen before. I love the patriotism and the fun, light-hearted vibe in the commercial.

"VICE Meets: David LaChapelle" goes inside David LaChapelle's studio in Los Angeles and sits down with him to talk about his early days in New York, what he did in art school and why photography is the parameter that prevents his head from exploding. It's always amazing to get a glimpse into the mind of a great artist and begin to see what makes them tick.

Joey Wright is a swim and lifestyle photographer based in Florida. Despite only picking up a camera a few years ago, Joey is a already regular contributor to SI.com with clients ranging from Callaway Golf, the Atlanta Falcons and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and is recognized as a Wescott Top Pro. He's also really, really likable.

When you think of fashion photography, you typically think of women being the main subject. It's not without reason because female models typically dominate the fashion scene. When it comes to shooting male models in fashion, there's a lack of information out there for aspiring photographers. I reached out to my friend and colleague Chris Davis who was happy to share a few tips on shooting male models in specific.

There is a fine line between having a well defined photographic style, and constantly putting out the same stale, boring work week after week. A fine and dangerous line. A line that can make the difference between being a successful, inspiring photographer and a photographer who has lost his audience and has even lost interest in his/her own work.

A few years ago we featured photographer Kevin Kozicki in a behind the scenes video using pointsettias for a beauty shoot. Kevin is back with an amazing glamor photo and video shoot with filmmaker Christopher Park in a beautiful pool location using the Phase One IQ180 that was featured in Sessions Magazine. We had the opportunity to speak with Kevin and get his insight on the shoot.

Alright, So you've made it past the hard part, making contact and getting the ok from the agency to work with their talent (As discussed in Part 1). Now what? Well now you book your first model!

A few years ago when I was still new to the world of beauty photography and digital photo retouching, I prided myself on the ability to "fix it later in Photoshop." I would welcome retouching challenges as I was still learning, but things changed forever after I started working with professional teams and shooting for commercial clients.

There are a few unarguable reasons for getting it right in camera.

You've all seen these images. It's the knob-and-hanger set up that has become the signature style for many kids retail sites such as Zulily. What you do not see, however, are all the tools that go into creating these minimalist images. The bulk of my work as a commercial photographer is with product, one of which is children's clothing for sites like Zulily, so let me give you a sneak peek into my personal tool bag that I could not work without.

If you are into photographing people, the idea of working with professionals has probably been on the agenda at some point in your career. Whether an editorial photographer, fashion and beauty shooter, or just someone who likes creating awesome fantasy composites, the use of professional models will invariably improve your work. So how do we go about working with these gatekeepers of the people photography industry?

I'm glad you asked!

This is the second part of the article on how to learn to "read" lighting in photography. If you haven't read the first part yet, please start here: How To "Read" Light In Photography - Part 1.

And for those of you who have been waiting for the second part, let's jump right back in and see what other cues we can use to breakdown lighting in other photographers' work.

We can often get swept up in the world of digital video. Topics like 'What it will mean for the future of photography when we can pull stills from video?' occupy a lot of time and thinking.

Discussion like this is relevant but I sometimes think we miss the most important element of all. The single biggest contributor towards great video is actually making sure we understand what it is that makes a great still image in the first place. To go faster, we should actually slow down. Maybe even stop.

Finding the right light for your images can be a daunting task, especially when shooting outdoors and with unpredictable lighting conditions. Professional fashion and portrait photographer Lindsay Adler, is here to give you her list of the worst lighting conditions outdoors, and how to correct them in camera, to give you the best possible photos.

One of the first very important skills I acquired in my Australian Photography course was the ability to breakdown lighting and determine approximate camera settings in images taken by other photographers. If you understand how the direction of light and its degree of diffusion are controlled and how they affect images, it should be easy for you to train yourself to "read" lighting in the images you see in magazines, on billboards and in your favorite photographers’ portfolios.

Nick Suarez is a beauty and fashion photographer based out of New York City. Early in his photographic career, he has already developed some pretty impressive skills. It’s that visual competency combined with his high level of photographic literacy that give him an edge with the next generation of photographers.

When we talk about on-location mixed lighting we usually mean shooting with light sources of different nature, such as natural ambient light and artificial, or shooting with lights of different color temperatures (tungsten, fluorescent, flash, etc.).

There are dozens of cool effects that one can achieve when mixing ambient light with controlled lighting, but today I would like to talk about mixing lights in studio - impulse (i.e. strobe or flash) and continuous. I love this technique and hope my article inspires you to try it out too.

There are times when I find myself shooting the same stuff or using the same lighting setup over and over again. Repetition helps to improve and fine-tune my skills, but sometimes it just feels boring and degrading, let alone useless for my portfolio.

But as much as I dislike feeling stuck and repeating myself, I now realize how such times in fact help me to become a better artist and shooter. It's usually the desire to entertain myself and experiment that leads me to new personal artistic discoveries. It's when I'm bored and want to "spice it up", I start searching for new lighting ideas, tricks and techniques.

In what is another phenomenal documentary from the BBC program Imagine..., we are given the chance to view the world and lives of iconic photographer William Klein as he is preparing for a retrospective of his work. Klein is one of the pioneers of street photography (more raw, up-close and personal than Henri Cartier-Bresson) as well as the creator of some of the most iconic fashion images of the 20th century. He is an artist and a filmmaker - making over 20 films, including the first ever documentary of Muhammad Ali.

We've featured Lindsay Adler before - and with good reason. At 26, she is already an accomplished photographer and has been published in magazines like Popular Photography, Professional Photographer, Shutterbug and others. She's also a great educator, and this video is no exception. In this episode of [FRAMED], Lindsay talks about her 11 year progression as a photographer - everything from how she started to the specific steps she took to get where she is.

Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that has seen a spike in exposure in the United States the past few years making it a perfect subject for a photoshoot. Follow Jay P. from The Slanted Lens as he takes you behind the scenes of his latest shoot featuring a model dressed up as a Calavera (sugar skull) posing in an eerie cemetery backdrop.