Photoshop & Photography - The Beginning

With not having much experience with a camera i'm actually quite ashamed with the outcome of my first piece of photography work.

After giving instruction on how to change the camera settings to change:

> Shutter speed
> Aperture
> ISO

We were then asked to go off with the cameras and photograph an image that represents a letter of a name.

C- Car
H- house
L- Lamp
O- Oxo cube
E - Ear

After having a small lesson on photoshop we then edited the pictures to spell out our name - you can tell I wasn't very good and the pictures came out horrendously.

However, this week were in the studio learning about lighting and as a group we were asked to explore different lightings. Using a light meter, we learnt how to adjust the camera settings to match the lighting setting on the light meter. I thought this was so good to know as it really changed our final images, simply by adjusting the lighting and camera settings, you could already have what I would personally call a great photo. 

We were introduced to three different lights, spotlights and LED lights including boxes and reflectors and were encouraged to gain experience with them all.

This lesson was so much fun, finally getting some hands on experience as I haven't been exposed to cameras very much - however being the 'in your face' girl that I am I couldn't wait to jump in front of that camera and pull some faces.

Horst P. Horst Review

Horst P Horst Review at V&A, London.

‘Fashion is an expression of the times. Elegance is something else again.’ 

Horst, 1984

Being famous for his work with fashion and the human body, Horst P Horst was a German-American fashion photographer. Horst’s created images I absolutely loved gracing the publications of the respected Vogue and House of Garden. 

Mainbocher Corset being his most famous and my favourite piece of his work, capturing the elegance and curves of the female figure. To Horst, the human figure, both male and female was more than just a body it was seen as a sculpture of beauty, in which he portrayed through out the show with his graceful models being captured with ultimate delicacy. 

I did form a relationship between Horst’s work and the show, however I didn't feel excited in the show like I have others, the dim lights and dark walls creating a relaxing feel for me which personally I don't think you should feel during a show. It was amazing how it was like going on a time machine of Horst’s work it not only captures his spectacular view of the human form, surrealism but also his travels and his imaginative use of patterns.

For me, the most exciting part of the show was how the show featured high-end designer clothes such as Elsa Schiaparelli, encouraged the audience to picture themselves at the shoot with Horst himself. It was so exciting to see the clothes in real form, seeing the fabrics, I just wanted to touch them.

The show, for which I was very grateful, did not just stick to Horst’s photography. Including a video of a young Horst on a shoot enabled me to feel as if I knew Horst, breaking up the show, keeping me interested in what I will see next.

I have become more intrigued by Horst’s work however that was because I enjoyed his actual work - not necessarily because the show did his work justice. In some areas, I was suffocated with the amount of work that was featured in the show and actually less of his work would have encouraged me to study his work in closer depth - However Horst’s immaculate work did make every movement around the show more interesting.

Mainbocher Corset - image from the V&A website

Blogging

What makes a successful Fashion blog?

This is a question I've been eager to find an answer to, especially now I am an owner of two blogs - my fitness and Fashion one (Vous L'avez) and this one - my work blog. After many hours of research I've noticed many different ways that makes a successful fashion blog:

• Have a USP - a unique selling point is important as it makes you different from the rest of the fashion bloggers out there. In the words of Charlotte Jacklin (Editor of Betty Magazine) 'Find your corner of the internet', meaning whatever you're into focus on that... for me that would be fashion and fitness.
• Stay connected to Social Media - Twitter, Facebook & Instagram etc are great platforms to advertise your blog and gain followers.
• Post regularly - This will keep followers entertained and keeps your blog current.
• Good photography - If you look at the most successful bloggers, they have tonnes of pictures and very little writing. Blogs are visual and people want to see, not necessarily read.
• Join blogging communities - Bloglovin' etc are amazing ways to stay connected with other bloggers and increase your following.
• Consistency and imaginative layout and posts will keep your readers and followers interested.

Successful fashion bloggers.

Sarah Ashcroft is a 20 year old fashion blogger who started off blogging as a side line in hope to become a fashion PR. Her page is simple but effective, the use of pink suggests her audience is primarily female. She offers marketing to large high street companies. She uses mainly current high street brands, again suggesting her audience is your 'everyday normal girl'. The photography is incredible, its clear that a lot of thought goes into her pictures and editing them. Sarah's posts consist on mainly photographs, with perfect hair and make up, again she really goes into detail. She ends her posts with an informal short paragraph of her outfit and her life, this engages with the audience, making them feel as though they are her friend and they know her.

Emma Hill is the owner of EJSTYLE, a fashion blogger that mixes high street with designer clothes. Due to this I'm suggesting that her audience would be young professionals that may be able to afford the more expensive designer goods but also love the higher end high street stores. Her blog is very sophisticated featuring fashion, beauty, culture and lifestyle. Like Sarah Ashcroft the photography is incredible and with small amounts of writing featuring her lifestyle as well. Emma relates to her audience by including things that happen in the audience's everyday lives as well, for example she mentions about the Secret Escapes advert that the audience would know about - suggesting her audience are TV watchers as well.

Milly is the owner of Pearls & Poodles, a beauty blog that is extremely girly and pretty. She is unique in the way that she types in a poetic form making the reading side more interesting for the readers. Her blog is factual, elegant with great photography showing the products in a great light. Again, Milly offers advertising space, and makes her posts personal so the audience can relate to her and see her as some kind of friend. Her audience would be girly girls into beauty and looking for the next best products to buy, asking questions at the end of her posts is encouraging her readers to stay in contact with her - making her 'friend like'.

Style Bubble is the blog from the mega famous Suzie Bubble - over the years she has become more of a socialite however her blog offers reviews, intelligence of the fashion industry and extremely amazing pictures. Those who are incredibly influence by fashion industry would be the readers of Style Bubble - this could be students, professionals, bloggers or those generally into fashion. Her blog is like a magazine, holding large advertising space and offering large article reviews. Her writing is extremely descriptive and story- like in a way. She offers different sections in her blog such as 'Suzie's faves', as Suzie is so well known now many people aspire to be like her and therefore want to know what is interested in.

Kate loves me is a male written blog offering two languages - this is expanding his audience. On his whole blog there is not a 'about me' section so he is quite reserved in that way, however his writing is very personal and allows his audience to have an insight in his lifestyle. He features reviews and outfits in his blog and therefore his audience would be both male and female. His photography is sharp and crisp, like other bloggers with a short amount of writing and he sometimes features videos. His writing is informal offering a more personal touch for his readers. 

What's trending through the blogs.

• Lot's of good photography
• advertising space
• product reviews 
• making the blog personal
• short amount of writing
• links to social media
• LFW catwalk reviews.

Who are your favourite fashion bloggers?

CHLO HODGKINSON

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