Fashion - Aphrodite by Nags Journey.fashion education

Fashion Photoshoots and Collaborations (Collabs)

Any product developed has to go through a process of marketing through various presentation techniques and other strategies! But for a creative product, the Fashion/Collaborations Photoshoot is probably the prime step towards presentation of the product.

Now who doesn’t like to present the product? In all it’s glory? Rhetoric question, right? We all create exciting products and the best way to market it is through a fantastic presentation of the product. And, the first step towards doing is is to have a photoshoot of the product in all concept thought at by the designer/creative team.

Now, with the advent of social media, the demographics of attracting the right customer and teasing his/her interest has changed! Photoshoots are no more just billboard or catalogue material, Of Course! they still are used in these forms of media but their usage has varied far more than these traditional sets of media!

Some forms of presentation in today’s world are:-

  1. Still Photos – Creative Shoot
  2. Still Photos – Catalogue Shoots
  3. Video Shoots – Creative
  4. Video Shoots – The making of the shoot
  5. Video Shoots – Candid
  6. Video Shoots – Product Presentation
  7. Other forms of presenting using the above techniques

I will start by explaining each of their modes of operation and their usage, the marketing aspect I leave it to the creative heads to decide how best to use these.

Still Photos – Creative Shoot

Showing in some simple creative shoots images of my very first collection Circue de folie. Although these were studio shoots, you can see the distinction in terms of the make up and also the focus in more than just the dress, rather the whole composition.

Many design schools/colleges/universities do not teach the distinction between creative and catalogue shoots, creative shoots are usually location/studio based which works around the entire composition of the product, model and background. They can be shot to work with the theme/concept of the designer or just as a beautiful composition. It is an artistic render/composition to put forth a beautiful rendition of the product/concept. The movement of the eye goes all around the composition and not just the product. The dominant factor of the composition sometimes need not necessarily be the product itself. Sometimes, if not as a composition it can be used to portray the usage of the product as well. For example: a milk product is not to showcase the milk rather to showcase the benefits of drinking milk, similarly many brands showcase the casual wear as summer wear or winter wear and how the product could by styled and enjoyable. Lately with concepts such as collaborations between models, make up artists, video loggers, photographers/videographers as a give and take between the whole team is gaining popularity.

Usage: It’s usage primarily revolves around magazine advertisements, magazine profiles of designers, billboards, social media, advertisements, etc.

Still Photos – Catalogue Shoots

Some images from my catalogue shoots of my collection, ‘The crow, the sparrow and the dragonfly herald‘. Do understand here that the whole focus is on the product as the other factors such as make up, background, etc. are minimal or almost doesn’t exist.

Catalogue Shoots are usually meant to purely present the product as is. Think of it as a study material, wherein the consumer/buyer understands the product as it is and the focus is given to the product. That is the reason not much is worked upon in the background; and the model/presenter does not/is not supposed to present it with creative postures/presentations. The postures are simple, aesthetic and presentable. The best example I can give here are the imagery we see when we browse e-commerce sites such as Amazon wherein, when we click on a particular product, all we see is the product in all it’s glory with a (usually) white background, and sometimes even different views of the product such as top view, side view or straight view.

Usage: Presentations towards buyers, portfolios of designers, e-commerce websites, sometimes social media as well.

Video Shoots – Creative

A small look into one of my old videos which is used as a creative as an introduction about my brand. Understand that the focus is not just on the product, but also the mood, the set of images with backgrounds, etc. which create an entire composition.

Creative video shoots like creative still photos are a composition of backgrounds, usage, presentation, mood, composition of all the elements that is concentrated on making the buyer/client understand the beauty of the product and it’s possible usage dynamics. Like creative still, they need not primarily concentrate on the beauty of the product, rather on how to make the product perceived good looking and attractive by the buyer/client. Lately with concepts such as collaborations between models, make up artists, video loggers, photographers/videographers as a give and take between the whole team is gaining popularity.

Usage: Again, like creative shoots, they can be traditionally used for Advertisements on all possible media or social media. Sometimes, can be used in e-commerce platforms as well.

Video Shoots – The making of the shoot

This is like a candid view of one of my collabs which I did with a wonderful team. It gives insight about all the action that goes behind making of the shoot.

The making of the shoot is probably candid view of what happens in the background or like the details about making of the product in a more aesthetic and creative presentation, need not necessarily be a detailed shoot of each every moment of what goes on behind the dressing rooms (pun intended) but could be just a birds view or a short summary; or sometimes can be detailed as well in a well explained manner.

Usage: Sometimes when buyers/clients need to understand a product and it’s intricacies or sometimes it can also be used as a creative shoot to show the wonderful events at the backdrop/behind the curtains (metaphorically speaking) that shape up towards the making/presentation of the product/exercise.

Video Shoots – Candid

Candid Shoots are similar to creative shoots but focuses primarily on the mood, it could be the mood of the product or to showcase the mood of the user/wearer enjoying the product.

Usage: Most often, candid shoots/videos are used as part of a bigger video either as introduction/credit score/to compliment the video in between; sometimes can also be used to showcase as an advertisement.

Video Shoots – Product Presentation

This is a relatively new concept especially used in the e-commerce platform or video platforms such as youtube, tech-geek reviews, etc. This is a far more plain video wherein the background/composition does not matter, rather it is more narrative about the product. With new age concepts such as social media aggregators, reviewers, etc. wherein the conscious buyer wishes to understand the product/service he/she wishes to use/buy would like to understand about the product and the opinions of other users, he/she browses through the product reviews and narratives to understand his/her usage of the product so that he/she can make a better decision towards investing in the product.

Usage: Media streaming platforms such as news, youtube, e-commerce, etc.

Other forms of presenting using the above techniques

Other than the mentioned above entities, there are other forms of presentations as well such as blogs such as this, virtual ads, websites and other entities as well wherein creative shoots come into the forte. Gif Images with short videos, Video presentations, etc. are taking mainstream too.

With so many options to choose from, the presentation techniques used for marketing these days are endless and limitless, the sky and one’s mind is the limit, but I would say it is best to study what works for the brand and go about with a clear direction in mind towards the approaches of marketing.

And what would the future hold? It is yet to be seen and played around with!

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