After 15 years I still get a real buzz from photography every single day. 

I’m an avid reader of photography books.  I am constantly striving to improve my techniques and style.  I am never fully happy with any images I capture and am always looking to the next shoot to do better.  My favourite photo is usually the last one I’ve taken.

Reading an article about young fashion photographer Lara Jade recently prompted me to buy her book ‘Fashion Photography 101: A Complete Course for New Fashion Photographers’.

Lara is a British photographer now resident in New York and has become a bit of a phenomenon at a young age.  She began posting portraits and fashion images online at age 14 and soon became acclaimed on sites like Flickr and DeviantArt. Now in her early twenties she is regularly commissioned for fashion and advertising shoots by the likes of Schwarzkopf, Sony Music, Lavazza, Elle Magazine and The Observer. 

Her book is an excellent introduction for the aspiring fashion photographer, or for anyone generally looking to work on their people pictures.  Buy it on Amazon.  

It is well laid out in easy to follow chapters, with information on:

– Selecting lenses
– Preparing your shoot
– Finding inspiration for your shoot
– Working with models
– Shooting in natural light
– Shooting with flash
– Studio lighting setups and diagrams
– Shooting editorial fashion and beauty
– Copyright, model releases and image licensing
– Post-processing and retouching
– Marketing your work

Inspired by the book and Lara’s work I ventured outside with Melissa.  I’m pleased with the results, but I know that I need to work on bringing in more variation.

Feel free to comment… (click to enlarge)