The mission of my Concept Photography book (upcoming), is to describe my process for going from concept to completed photograph. It’s also an introduction to the wonderful group of people who were an important part of the process.

While there are many ways to get from A to B, I hope you’ll find this book valuable for inspiration and as a reference. It’s intended for photographers and artists working in a variety of fields (Examples:  Music, painting, and sculpture).

For a behind-the-scenes journey of avant-garde photography, set in locations including Peter Gabriel’s studio in England (Real World), I’ll be sharing excerpts from the upcoming book here.

To learn more about my books and classes and to receive a discount, you’re invited to subscribe to my List by clicking HERE.

Lookbook

Visual references to help form the basis for your concept photography

In the four articles preceding this one, I covered the overall photography process, how to cast an actor or model, how to write a briefing for your creative team, and how to use nature photography for key and support color selection.

For this article, I’ll focus on creating a Lookbook.  It’s a critical step following your briefing and involves all the artists on your team.

A Lookbook is a collection of images that helps to develop the overall mood and add details while your team plans your photoshoot.

In this example, my overall story was inspired by early 1900s industrialists, particularly those in the automotive industry.

Inspiration for the costume’s texture, colors, and shapes is from camouflage used on pre-production vehicles to hide their form while being tested on public roads. It makes them difficult to view and very difficult to photograph.

One of the questions that this photoshoot was designed to answer:  what if camouflage is the point of future fashion?  With the advent of so many inexpensive devices incorporating live video feeds, future fashion could very well go in the direction of being used to hide or disguise us while in plain sight.

In this video, a camouflaged 2022 Corvette C8 Z06 is being tested in Germany.

 

Photography Process Overview–Lookbook

Finding photos

The first place to find photos is by taking them yourself.  Similar to taking your own nature photos for key color selection, inspiration is everywhere around you.

There are also websites with collections of photographs available to use at no cost.  One of my favorites is Unsplash.

 

Organizing

I admit that Pinterest is my go-to Lookbook organization tool. It allows for collaboration on private boards and enables each user to add notes about specific visual aspects within the photograph.

Dropping images into a Google folder or Dropbox is another easy-to-use set of tools.

Once everyone has reviewed photos and notes, it’s helpful to whittle down photographs to a dozen. Then organize them, with key notes, into your briefing document.

Since the briefing is a living document, expect to update it and circulate it to your team 5 to 10 times before the photoshoot. The final version will become the playbook for your photoshoot. It’s also the document from which you’ll develop your shot list.

 

Summary of Tools for your Briefing and Lookbook

Documents

• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Google Slides

Sharing

• Pinterest
• Dropbox
• Google drive

 

This story is an excerpt from my upcoming book on Concept | Photography.  To learn more about my books and classes and to receive a discount, you’re invited to subscribe to my List by clicking HERE.

 

For more information:  Click HERE.