Planning and executing a fashion photography shoot

Fashion photography shoots require careful planning – from the choice of models, clothes, make-up and overall aesthetic, to the specific cameras, lenses and accessories used to capture proceedings. What are the key creative and practical steps that pros take to progress a fashion shoot from concept to final images? Here, professional fashion photographer Evely Duis mentors young pro Killian Jouffroy through the process.

Belgium-based Killian is nearing the end of a cinematography course in Brussels. Although he's passionate about the moving image, he also has a long-standing affection for stills photography. "I'm a photographer first, and then a cinematographer," he explains, "but both worlds help with each other. In stills photography you have to freeze the moment, whereas in video you have to capture more but still control your focus and framing."

Killian started his own portraiture and lifestyle photography business three years ago and has found himself increasingly busy. Working alone through the Covid-19 pandemic has had its drawbacks, however, especially for a young photographer eager to keep developing his skills and knowhow. So, when seasoned professional Evely offered Killian the chance to experience a fashion shoot for the first time, he leapt at the opportunity.

Born and based in the Netherlands, Evely runs her own fashion photography studio and has worked with some of the biggest fashion brands in the world. Renowned for her meticulous planning, creative flair and penchant for introducing pre-loved items into her imagery, Evely was excited to give Killian a glimpse into the world of fashion photography.

Evely met Killian early one morning in her photography studio for the shoot, but preparation for the day actually began weeks before. "I like to plan the shoot ahead of time to make sure we have a clear direction on the day," Evely explains. "I start by gathering mood boards for styling, checking models and their availability, and looking for fashion trends."

The two photographers spent a few weeks putting together mood boards of different ideas for the shoot, settling on the boy-meets-girl 'Tinker, Tailer look', which appealed to the pair as a male and female duo working together and suited both of their photographic styles. Evely says she likes to create one main mood board full of trends, lighting and composition inspiration, with several smaller referential mood boards for areas such as clothing, styling choices, models with particular looks, and so on.

This long-term planning is very different to Killian's usual prep, which he says focuses more on the technical aspects of photography and lighting. "I mainly shoot portraiture and lifestyle images, so I put emphasis on finding the right location and lighting day-to-day for my business. My knowledge is more basic in terms of clothing, so it was interesting to learn more from Evely in that respect," he says.

After sharing screenshots and image inspiration, Evely and Killian got together for the day's shoot. As a full-time pro, Evely shoots with the Canon EOS R5, with her most-used lens being the Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM. This L-series lens has incredible image sharpness, as well as a wide constant maximum aperture and 5-stops of image stabilisation for performance in all lighting conditions. She also uses the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM due to its flattering compression and ability to produce a shallow depth of field.

Evely and Killian began the day taking test shots of each other to check the lighting – something Evely rarely does with her model, as it saves time and money to have everything set up in advance.

In terms of styling, combining pre-loved and contemporary pieces is a constant theme in Evely's fashion work. By mixing a modern jacket with a vintage scarf (as seen above), she showed Killian that it's not all about the latest items when it comes to creating original images. Evely prefers starting with simple looks and working up to more complex setups as the day progresses. "She told me that it's easier for everyone this way," explains Killian. "The make-up artist can build their work in layers rather than continually stripping things back. Hair can be styled more quickly this way, too."

When composing images, Evely points out that there are distinct differences for shooting editorially and in print compared with capturing images for online use and social media. Shots where the model is larger in the frame – perhaps just a head and shoulders crop, such as the one pictured above left – would work better on social media because the size of the photo on the smartphone feed is bigger and more powerful when viewed on such a small device.

"For social media I use a 4x5 crop, however, when I shoot for magazines I must take into account the negative space around the model, where copy will appear over the images," she explains.

Killian finds his more successful photography sessions are those where the subjects take the lead, with him just giving gentle suggestions of moving the body and face to fine-tune the final look, rather than telling them a specific pose to strike. Interestingly, this isn't dissimilar to how Evely works.

"Professional models are usually great at translating my suggestions into their own style," she explains. "My directions are led by the styling of the clothes. A big flowing dress needs to be shown with movement, so we may shoot in a standing position. I'll talk to the model to discuss their thoughts on how they would naturally interpret this."

After the shoot, both photographers took some time away from the camera before getting together again on a different day to go through the images and make selections before editing.

"I'll take half an hour to edit an image, and if I have 10, 20 or more images to edit, I just can't fit it in at the end of a long day's shooting, so I take a break and edit on another day. I also find I get too involved with the shoot to do it straight after so, if possible, I prefer to edit a week or two later," says Evely. "I'm doing this all the time so while it might take me half an hour to edit an image, someone with less experience would need longer."

Killian and Evely first did a sweeping edit of their work, selecting their favourite images by making a series of passes to edit groups of good shots down to the very best. They gradually became more critical with each pass, checking for smaller details each time, until, finally, they had selected a few favourites that they would be proud to present to a client.

Killian's side-on portrait of the model in a printed blouse (above right) was one of Evely's favourites from the shoot. By moving in closer with a longer lens, Killian was able to isolate the model from the set and create an intimate portrait. "The contrast of the strong expression mixed with the cute clothing works great and provides a well-balanced image," says Evely. "The pose and expression will still be on point even 10 years from now, that's what I really like about it – it's timeless."

Killian adds: "For the lighting in this shot, Evely had a great idea to use a piece of cardboard to act as a light modifier. It took some time to get it right, but when every flash was set correctly, the lighting was insane. It is very different in each part of the picture. That, for me, is what makes the contrast in this image and the contrast is everything for me."

Shoot credits: Jet Rooswinkel, hair and make-up; Zohra Sabbahi, model