by Fashion photography is a limitless world. We have a slew of photographers, each one with their unique sense of fashion and the idea to capture that fashion or beauty in their own way. There’s no dearth of ideas anywhere in the fashion industry, you just got to open up your mind to it. Now, talking about fashion industry, one of the driving wheels of this industry is fashion photography, without a doubt. What is it’s worth if not captured and portrayed enticingly? There’s no fashion if it’s not displayed in an outright and courageous manner. Here fashion photography plays the lead with showcasing each and every nuance of the fashion world and bringing it in an altogether amazing light. This brings out the magnificence of the fashion world and presents it as beautifully as possible in front of the viewers, mostly admirers. People tend to look at these fashionistas admiring their confidence and beauty, all in awe of their glory. Getting this projection out to the world is no child’s play. You have to have the perception to see that beauty. You need to have the eyes to behold the beauty in its pure or raw form. Well, what helps this beauty to reach the viewers? What plays the most important role in helping project the sheer excellence of the fashion industry? Apart from the photographer, obviously, we have the camera lenses next in line. These are integral cog in the wheels of fashion photography. The right kind of effect is crucial to portray the essence of the photographs. The kind of mood you want to set, the kind of image you want people to perceive etc. are possible with the right effect, which is ultimately achieved with the help of the right camera lenses. Professional photographers are the way to go for the perfect pitch in fashion photography. As we know that professional grade photos definitely stand way above their amateur counterparts, it is really essential to incorporate the professional edge in fashion photography as well. Most of these photographers swear by the best of the best camera equipments for obvious reasons. They have to deal with a whole lot of different requests regarding kinds of shoots. The versatility and experience teaches them a lot, after their formal training, about the different photo setups, be it lighting, camera lenses, tripods, backgrounds etc. With reference to a fashion shoot, professional photographers have to be on the same equation as the model and the brand they are going to shoot for. It is really important to be on the same page as there are so many different factors that influence the way a shoot is going to go. You need to understand the image of the brand, the message that you want and many other such aspects to give out and the highlights that you want to have in your shoot. The use of camera lenses varies with the choice of these additional factors. You also need to finalise the location and they would also determine the kind of lens that would be perfect for an outdoor shoot. So, having the model and wardrobe, makeup is not all, you have a slew of matters that you need to take care of. And a whole bunch of considerations before actually going ahead with the shoot. So, now, let us look at some of the most popular choices among professional photographers regarding the lenses they opt with their high quality camera.
- A good 35mm lens, a really cinematic lens. It gives a nice wide angle so you can shoot the environment along with the subject. Mainly for outdoor shoots as it is wide. It is not so preferred for studio shoots because of its wide aperture.
- 24-70mm lens if you have a portrait shoot. You can’t go wrong with it especially if you are shooting on location where you never know what you might capture. You have a good compression for portrait, it’s going to be nice and wide. You want to shoot something with the background in it. Do not use anything wider than f2.8 with this lens as you might have to worry about things getting in and out of focus. Also, if you don’t want your background to be super blurry. You can literally do everything that you can ever run into. Whether you are shooting tight portraits in the studio or tight portraits outdoor or wide shots in any location. It captures razor sharp images and works perfectly well even in low light. This is good for full length shots also. If you are doing a catwalk shoot indoors then you are going to swear by this lens for its amazing crispiness that it captures in the photographs.
- 70-200mm, f2.8 – it is a telephoto lens. It is an amazing lens, especially for headshots, portraits and for beauty and hair shoots. It is really great to create bokeh effect if you are shooting outdoors. You can create blurred background effect with this one in a really effective way. The photographs will have a good depth of field.
These are the main types of lenses according to the focal length and aperture preferred by professional fashion photographers. As is evident from the features of these lenses, that there is no single best camera lens for fashion photography out there. There are a lot of lenses that cater to a variety of needs of the photographers. Hence, the style of the photographers also matters a lot when we talk about the choice of lenses. If the photographer wants to shoot blurred backgrounds or bokeh effects, then you would opt for 70-200mm, f2.8 lens. But it totally depends on the style and choice of the photographers. There is no outright wrong or right choice in this matter. So, it is pretty much left on the photographer to choose the best effects and deliver the best of what he/she can do. This freedom of creativity adds even more layers to the fashion photographs as you can see the beauty spreading everywhere, which is what is intended.
