1. Consider your photographer
– When planning the photo-shoot the photographer is so important. You need to have a photographer that understands you and your vision, what you want to create and who discusses with you the perfect way to achieve this. You can also discuss with your photographer lighting and background and theme for the shoot, which are so important and can create real emphasis on the hair, as well as the mood you want to create with your imagery. I always work with Tony Le Britton, and we have such a great relationship, we just understand each other and everything runs so smoothly. He advises me and really brings my vision to life. It’s so important to have this in a photographer and to be able to truly trust them.
2. Take time selecting the best models
– Models are also crucial when creating a photo-shoot and they can be the biggest challenge when you are creating a collection. Finding the best models take time, usually months, as you need to get the right models for the right looks. In 2019 I street casted some of my models and I really loved this way of finding them. A couple of the street casted models were actually my favourites! Tony helped with this and together we picked the best models that would work perfectly for the looks I wanted to show and would stand out on the camera.
3.Have a vision for your shoot
– I always advise creating mood boards with your thoughts, inspiration and visions and how you want to shoot to look. This ensures you have a vision for your shoot rather than turning up on the day and doing random hair. If you have a specific theme in mind you can also include this here and it will allow you to determine more of how your shoot will look and what you will need in terms of styling etc. To gather this inspiration you can look everywhere, whether it’s Fashion Week, magazines, social media or interiors, textures and architecture.
4. Think of how you want your finished images to look
– when choosing a pose for my models, I also always tend to go for tighter crops. For me, these work incredibly well to showcase the hair and the work that’s been involved to get the look and I also find that they stand out more and help to captivate the audiences attention – which is key when creating a photo-shoot, especially if you are interested in entering this into awards. Also think about if you want your images to be in colour or black and white. Both look great and it really depends on what you are doing to the hair. If you are colouring your models hair, you may want to shoot in colour to allow you to really show of the colour. Personally, I love shooting in black and white, as I feel it looks very strong and it really allows you to focus on that image and the hair.
5. Selection of images for collections
– this can be hard, particularly if you’ve shot a lot of images throughout the day. However, you want to select the images that show your skills and that draw your eyes to the model and the hair. I always think including a few images eyes to camera is beneficial, as these really draw you in and look very strong. Have a combination of face on and side on profiles to show your different looks and ensure they all show the different skills, techniques and styling you have done to the hair.
