What do they do?

Senior fashion photographers with a good track record and those who have consistently produced great work shoot big campaigns for brands, both domestic and international. 

Their work also involves a lot of travelling given the nature of the work. They also shoot a lot of portrait-based campaigns and beauty campaigns. For this, one needs to have an understanding and develop a keen sensibility of the subject. Budding fashion photographers shoot a lot with younger fashion designers.

During the initial part of his career, a fashion photographer gets to work a lot on look books and catalogues. The better ones end up shooting campaigns for designers, which help a great deal in portfolio building. The best way to get ahead is to assist a senior photographer for some time.

Skills Needed

An eye and passion for photography is vital. The language of a photographer is images, so have a vision and believe in your sensibility Teamwork skills, which are required at the later stage of your career perseverance, as establishing oneself is hard work.

How do I get there?

There are no formal fashion photography degree programmes. However, to learn basics, one can do a degree course in photography. Currently, degree programmes are offered at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels.

There are exceptions, but as a rule you need to know photography well before specialising as a fashion photographer. Some institutes have courses in fashion photography and some hold workshops from time to time. Aspirants can also do a one-year fashion photography diploma course and then work or specialise further.