TRIUMPH Lingerie Fashion Editorial & Photography Tips

You would think by now that both Jess and I would be so comfortable with each other, and no challenge would ever deter us. Well, lingerie was definitely one of our most recent, challenging and new experience for the both of us. It was Jess’s first time getting in front of the camera in lacey bra and knickers (wait, wasn’t she one of BONDs Boobicon Ambassador?); and my first time directing her body in a way that her curves were accentuated in all the right places for the entire 3 hours. We had 5 different looks to nail, and by the end we were pretty chuffed by our efforts. Hard work, but was all worth it.

Even though this shoot was no different to any of our usual fashion editorials, but I thought I’ll share a few handy tips to take away when preparing for a blog or editorial shoot, especially if it is your first time as a fashion blogger working with the photographer, other team members or client.

  1. Know exactly what you want to achieve, ie, colour and theme
  2. Pull together your favourite reference images whether it is the poses, expression, locations, hair, makeup and wardrobe styling. It will give your team a sense of your direction. We called this the “mood board”
  3. Prepare your outfits/looks well in advance. It’s useful if you could show them to your photographer so he or she can finalise the location of choice
  4. Brief your team so everyone in on the same wave length, and an opportunity for every to collaborate and suggest ideas
  5. Have your brief signed off by your client before you start shooting. This will avoid later disappointment or any misunderstandings
  6. On the day, bring all your outfits (steamed and pressed), any props, food and great energy
  7. Anything can happen on the day of the shoot, so be prepared to be flexible and try different things. It’s all about having the collaborative spirit!
  8. What normally helps is to go through a few images on the back of the camera (or better, tether the images to the computer screen) together so you have the opportunity to adjust any clothing, props, expressions before fire gunning another set of useless images.

What Photographers should do:

  1. Photographers should always be a part of the creative process, so make sure you are given updates and provide feedback where neccessary
  2. Scout and choose locations in advance that would match the theme and outfit styling
  3. Don’t be trigger happy on set. Compose the shot in camera, and wait for the moment before snapping
  4. Make sure all the settings (ie, exposure, lighting) is correct before shooting
  5. Give verbal direction, even if it means using your hand to guide them. If you want to move their body, always ask for permission before making contact.
  6. Make your client happy and comfortable in front of the camera, including your team members. Never demand but have an energetic and collaborative spirit
  7. Never over edit your images ie, skin smoothing to the point where the it starts to look like a plastic doll
  8. Always go through your images, cull and select only your top favourite images for presentation. Trust me, your client won’t have time to go through 1000s and 1000s of images
  9. Choose filters wisely if you intend on using them. If your client wants to keep the images clean and have clarity, then don’t use filters with lots of fade that will wash out the detail of the clothing.

Lastly, have fun on set even if it means braving the cold and stormy weather.

I hope some of these tips will be useful, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.

Ok good night sleeping beauties and enjoy what we have created for Triumph Australia. xxx

 

makeup and hair // AIMMEY PHAM
talent/styling // JESS DEMPSEY
lingerie // TRIUMPH AUSTRALIA

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_009-Edit-Edit

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_061-Edit

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_041

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_033-Edit

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_018-Edit

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_037-Edit

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_078-Edit

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_133

karenwoo_triump_wwkd_089-Edit

lingerie-triump-fashion-photography

MBFWA2015 Day 4 Street Style & Tips

What a week of fashion and style spotting at MBFWA this year. A lot of denim flares, simple whites, monochromes, wearing their coats as capes, chanel bags but few dared to stand out and play with fashion. I was expecting more layers and colour combinations, but I think we were super safe with our styling. Nevertheless that’s who we are and there is nothing wrong with that. Let’s just say, “wear whatever makes you feel good about yourself”. That is one great advice from Leaf Greener,  former senior Fashion Editor of Elle China and now freelance Stylist.

I’ve also changed up my shooting style at MBFWA. I normally shoot with an 85mm Nikon Lens, but I knew it was going to a lot more chaotic and less opportunities to pull people out to shoot front-on so I ended up shooting candidly and using my 70-200mm Nikon lens. I thought my arm would die from carrying this long lens but thankfully enough my arm and wrist was good throughout (all thanks to my kick boxing training). One tip: please do some wrist and arm stretches and rub some “muscle ease” oil from Elemis. It really works a treat and you can go on shooting for hours. Another big reason why I ended choosing this zoom lens is because I can quickly and dynamically zoom in and out for detail shots and full body shots. It was certainly a good choice for fashion runways too, no flash required but shoot with high ISO (around 1200 to 1600, depending on how much room light) and at 4.0 to 4.5 aperture. The more detail the better, and have it on AL SERVO settings for focusing. I’m a manual shooter, but sometimes having your settings on auto is handy because there is less to worry about it (jumping from harsh sun light to under sheltered areas). I also shot most of my images in landscape (which I never used to do). I figured that it would be easier to crop the images into a square format when I post them on Instagram to show the entire outfit. Win!

Lastly but not the least, fashion week may sound incredibly fancy and glamourous to you, but honestly there is a lot of hard work that goes into it. It takes a lot of appreciation to really understand what goes on behind the scenes as a photographer/videographer/journalist at fashion week. There is so much planning, and strategy to produce the best coverage and to stand out from all the competition. There’s also starvation and 4:30am sleep time (no sleep ins) which all seemed to be the norm during fashion week. Regardless it’s all worth it. It’s all part of the experience and I can sincerely say that I loved every part of it. It was the people I met and was surrounded with, that made my day more fun and interesting.

So thank you. Thank you so much for giving me the privilege of stopping and shooting your street style look because if it wasn’t for you, I would have absolutely no content to produce, and I’ll be sleeping early every night, now that won’t be fun hey?

All images are copyrighted to Karen Woo, please email hello@karenwoo.com.au for permission and credit where appropriate on all social media platforms. Thanks so much for your support x

KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_045KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_043KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_018KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_069KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_071KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_008KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_005KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_002KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_167KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_166KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_160KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_164KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_165KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_157KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_154KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_143KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_152KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_124KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_121KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_120KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_087KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_095KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_106KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_108KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_009KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_075KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_080KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_076KARENWOO_MBFWA_D4_082