P#11 Q4A: How Do I Get More Glamour in My Fashion Photography Photos?

Interpreting the Word Glamour

Bruce Smith: This is an interesting question because the word "glamour" means different things to different people. I'll talk about "glamour" from the perspective of your listeners -- as in the definition of glamour having to do with being glamorous.

The word "glamorous" is all about movie stars and elegance and style. To put glamour, elegance, and style into your pictures, there are a few things you have to do.

The first way to achieve glamour in your fashion photography photos is to make your subjects glamorous through styling. You have to have great makeup for your subjects' faces, especially if it's a female. You need to have the hair dressed properly and looking fantastic. You have to have exquisite style in the clothes that are being worn.

Lighting is Key

We need to think about lighting next. If you look at the pictures from the 1940's and 1950's, you look back and think, "Well, that was a very glamorous period of time."

You have to interpret these things for yourself with your lighting and decide how you want to do it. Look at the old masters like Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson, Irving Penn, and so on. These people took very, very glamorous fashion photography photos.

Lighting wise, if somebody said to me, "I want this picture to look glamorous," I would light it in such a way that my model's face was glowing with bits of light hitting certain parts -- perhaps on the gown or perhaps on the hair.

Everybody's interpretation of glamour and style are different. If you're looking at classics, that's how I interpret it to be. I interpret the word "glamour" as being the classics. Even modern style -- I think modern styling can be quite glamorous. Especially if you are using the right clothes on your subjects.

In Closing

If you want more glamour in your fashion photography photos, you can take a cue from the masters of decades past.

While everybody's definition of glamour is different, Bruce Smith looks back to the 40's and 50's for direction, and uses proper lighting techniques to achieve the effects he wants in his fashion photography photos.