I'm Katty Barysheva, I am a fashion photographer.
I shoot lookbooks and campaigns for clothing, jewelry, accessories and cosmetics brands.
For almost 5 years I have been turning down projects that do not align with my vision. Those kinds of shoots left me dissatisfied with the result and I always felt guilty about it. And that's not what I shoot for!
I shoot in order to help brands sell their products through my creativity. As an artist, it is very important for me that our understanding of beauty coincides with the client's.
The topic that I will cover next is interesting because you will not learn about it in photography courses. Nevertheless, it is useful for photographers at the beginning of their journey to know, at least in theory, how the industry works.
I shoot lookbooks and campaigns for clothing, jewelry, accessories and cosmetics brands.
For almost 5 years I have been turning down projects that do not align with my vision. Those kinds of shoots left me dissatisfied with the result and I always felt guilty about it. And that's not what I shoot for!
I shoot in order to help brands sell their products through my creativity. As an artist, it is very important for me that our understanding of beauty coincides with the client's.
The topic that I will cover next is interesting because you will not learn about it in photography courses. Nevertheless, it is useful for photographers at the beginning of their journey to know, at least in theory, how the industry works.
How the process of communication between a photographer and a major client happens:
The client cooperates with an advertising agency
After they make a creative strategy, they hold a tender to choose the right person for the shoot. They make a brief (goals, tasks, references) and send it to the production agency. Each production agency bidding for a shoot proposes several photographers who, in their opinion, could suit the client in terms of aesthetics and have similar shoots in their portfolio.
On what basis does a client choose a photographer?
Treatment - a well-designed mood board with extensive information of the photoshoot
Each photographer sends a treatment with a detailed description of the shooting idea and how he is going to bring it to life. This document allows the author (photographer / director) to get a client, win a project in a tender/ to get a job.
The client evaluates the creativity of the idea, how it meets the tasks set, and the size of the estimate for implementation. They take into account which clients the photographer has worked with before, and also look at the presence of editorials and covers in the portfolio.
The client evaluates the creativity of the idea, how it meets the tasks set, and the size of the estimate for implementation. They take into account which clients the photographer has worked with before, and also look at the presence of editorials and covers in the portfolio.
The person responsible for doing the treatment is the photographer, but it could also be a producer. Sometimes they ask a designer to draw up the file. The designer briefed by the photographer makes the structure of the presentation and arranges it in such a way that one can visually consider the aesthetics of the shooting in advance. If necessary, the photographer makes his edits, and the document is sent up the chain until it reaches the client.
The treatment should be coherent, have a clear, understandable structure and look like a well-printed magazine
A treatment is a PDF document of 20-50 pages, which includes the following sections:
1
Description of the idea
2
Moodboard for the shoot
3
Location with a description of why it was chosen
4
Описание типажей моделей с референсами
5
Cast / Models. Description of the types of models with references
6
Moodboard for styling
7
Makeup and hair moodboard
9
Storyboard
8
Advice for the team (stylist, makeup artist, set designer)
What to do if big clients are still "too tough"
Small clients can search for photographers on their own. You can send emails to the brands with a proposal for cooperation, attaching a portfolio or linking them directly to Instagram (if the brand is small). You can search for producers and establish contact through them.
When you have received interest from the client, the preparation of the treatment does not lose its relevance, but rather allows you to present your idea to the customer in the most accessible way.
When you have received interest from the client, the preparation of the treatment does not lose its relevance, but rather allows you to present your idea to the customer in the most accessible way.
To compile a short treatment, the photographer does not have to involve third-party specialists, he can easily cope with this task himself. Moreover, it will add value to the photographer, saying that he takes his work seriously, and not just sends a moodboard with a text description of the shoot.
Remember that when choosing a photographer, the client also looks at the portfolio. If you are just starting out, it makes sense to take 2-3 shoots for free, but at the same time get a shoot in the client's portfolio and editorial.
Remember that when choosing a photographer, the client also looks at the portfolio. If you are just starting out, it makes sense to take 2-3 shoots for free, but at the same time get a shoot in the client's portfolio and editorial.
With this approach of the photographer, the chances of getting an interesting project are greatly increased!