Mood Boards; that White-Gold Blue-Black Dress Internet Phenomenon & Contemporary Fashion Photography..

A few weeks back while talking with a model about shooting a fashion/portfolio test I was asked if I could supply a mood board for the shoot. Now this may seem to many quite a common and reasonable request; but considering our conversation and that the model had seen my shots of the location, shots from previous shoots at a similar location and as confirmed to me, a good slice of my website; I was a little surprised (but not shocked) to be asked for a mood board. To which I replied "it will be something like my pictures you have seen only with you, and at that location".

And the reply was, "but everyone uses mood boards"..

So what has any of this talk about mood boards and shooting on location (or anywhere) got to do with the; is it white and gold or brown and blue dress, the picture that took the internet and social networking by storm? My answer as to why I do not often use mood boards is in part due to a/the similarity with this whole dress/colour photograph fiasco; and to be fair I suppose if I was in conversation with a client I may have been a little more subtle, but here was my response about supplying a mood board for the planned shoot.

"Mood boards are for the visually illiterate who don't actually know what they are looking at; especially when looking at pictures." Ouch! Well keep reading below.

Mood boards? Location test shot books for use on editorial fashion shoots.

This was very well demonstrated with the The White-Gold Blue-Black Dress internet phenomenon. Visual people were able to look at the dress and the OTHER information the picture contained.. Washed out, Overexposed, Backlight (bright behind), and extrapolate out what was really going on both in and with the picture including an ability to read the correct colour. Black and Blue. (Unattractive dress? Well that's another story)..

So what does that have to do with Mood Boards?

The colour perception issue with that dress and an ability to read what is happening to make up the picture is just the tip of the iceberg. I lay the blame for the popularity of mood boards on the ease of digital photography. Ease of access to information, the lifting/collating of pictures you like and ease of publishing does not equal an ability to create great pictures or visual literacy. And many, very many 'Mood Boards' that I have seen do not communicate a mood at all. Their main use seems more akin to an IKEA instruction sheet for a series of parts (made from pictures one loves) to be assembled into a "new" and "Original" picture.. Of course Slicked Back Hair and Big Hair; dark moody light and bright sunshine.. (Conflicting visual themes have often been the main theme of many mood boards) don't laugh! Don't convey the same moods and usually can't be contained in the same shot/shoot/series of pictures. A Frankenstein approach to image creation is very likely going to give you a Frankenstein result, and if you don't know the Frankenstein story let me tell you, it does not end well for poor old Frankenstein!

I am all for being inspired by great work and I have my heroes of photography who have inspired me by their approach to image creation and the pictures themselves. Well made mood boards; which are more about mood than detail; and mood, you can play with vs detail which is pretty explicit; can be a great guide. But; the mood board really does need to be made by someone who understands the nature of visual language and how to interpret and show the feeling they are after through visual representations.

Notebook with Polaroids and drawings for studio swimwear shoot including inspiration postcard of
Australian champion swimmer Miss Beatrice Kerr.

While all artists work differently I think it would be fair to say that most working photographers are highly visually literate and are working on pictures and the art of looking every single day. Personally I am constantly photographing locations and situations that interest me with a view to future projects.

When it come to photo shoots where I need to have a real feeling for the location, the lighting, the time of day, how the end result will look. I go on technical scouts, sometimes with the client; pre-shoot the location; and on occasion make the little photo print books (mini-lab prints taped together) as a guide to the shots I am after. These pictures are often shared with the team via email, the little book brought on location as a guide, an inspiration, not an instruction manual.

My second ever fashion editorial for Mode magazine (way back in the day) was inspired by a picture postcard of Australian champion swimmer Miss Beatrice Kerr. In collaboration with fashion editor Kate Stead I designed then painted our huge backdrop for the shoot incorporating sea and sky. All from one inspirational picture.

It's important to grow your visual literacy through the actual process of creating, successes and failures. It is important to trust your team and the way they work; original work comes from original ideas not from a cut and paste approach to creativity. Look at what has been done; be inspired; experiment, don't be afraid to fail (not everything works that's OK), create something new. Be in the moment and go with the mood that takes you!

The final drawing for a painted backdrop for a swimwear fashion shoot.

Model and painted backdrop for a swimwear fashion shoot by Kent Johnson.

From 'Alice's Dreamtime'.

Title page, model and painted backdrop for a swimwear fashion shoot by Kent Johnson.

Fashion shoots made from the 'location' photo notebooks.
Alice's Dreamtime
Midnight Cowboy
Knitwear On Location

Telling Stories in Pictures all over the world..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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My Behind The Scenes Beauty Video for Glow By Beca.

I love great stills photography, after all I am a stills photographer. I also like classic cinema, well made films, and occasionally I like a behind the scenes (BTS) video. But not often. To be honest I often find them very boring and in many ways seem to undermine the advertising message being made on the shoot via the stills photography. Jealous? I wish! I think a good BTS should help grow the anticipation and excitement around a range, a product, a launch. Not let the cat right out of the bag or steal away the mystery. Because when you want something, it is more than just a product, it's a journey, desire , love, hope!!! Many many things; and certainly not just a group of people standing around taking pictures... So I was very happy to put together this video which is made up of stills from the shoot and footage shot with my old G10 camera which I was able to have around my neck the whole time we were working on the stills. This gave me the ability to shoot brief clips from my point of view without breaking the tempo of our photo shoot or getting in my own way! Hope you like it; Part 2 out now as well..





And BTS with Watson x Watson at fashion Week Sydney.

http://glowbybeca.com/

Call or email to book you photo shoot today.

Kent Johnson,
Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Lifestyle Photography for the Glow By Beca marketing campaign.

Having just photographed the second campaign for Glow by Beca (GBB) I thought it might be about time to blog about our first campaign. GBB is a sunless tanning range available as a spray tan or as a  mouse you can apply yourself. The product was formulated by Sydney beautician Rebecca Colalillo and this shoot was done in time for the products launch in December 2014. Rebecca decided to model as the face of the brand which was immediately popular with her established beauty network and clientèle.The brand has already had a slight name change from Becca to Bec to avoid possible future conflict with an overseas cosmetics company. The website and labelling have also been redone though some of the shots you will see here retain the original spelling.

Still life by GBB.

The brief was for lifestyle images that showed the colour of the product which tends towards a natural tan. The majority of the marketing has been done via social networking, Facebook and Instagram. The new shoot extends to a low res image library to help feed the hungry beast known as Instagram, more high quality lifestyle images and a two part video, the first part of, which will be my next blog post. http://glowbybeca.com/

Call or email to book you photo shoot today.

Kent Johnson,
Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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The Hedge Fund - Shooting Fashion at a Garden Location.

Last December I found myself photographing fashion on location for a label that caters to the over 30s fashion market. Our location was a beautifully manicured suburban garden in Sydney's 'Hills District'. The range itself crosses over from smart casual to mother of bride or, a day at the races, in more formal styles with suitable up market fabrics. While I have worked with the label twice before it had been four years since our last collaboration with the label only shooting once in the interim period. The photography budget has remained roughly the same and does not really allow for any fancy production to take place - so this shoot was all about delivering good quality, clean files that require a minimum of post processing. My biggest concern coming into this garden shoot was how to manage the light and keep a green cast out of the pictures to prevent our model and our garments from having a green colour cast through them.

While all the pictures you are looking at right now are fully edited pictures, toward the bottom of the page there are a few camera direct shots and details about the retouching used (mostly the garden) to achieve the result you are now looking at.

Should the location look suburban?

While we all have plenty of pictures taken in and around our homes; I was concerned that the look of a grand hedge and well manicured, country garden feel might be a bit at odds with the house, even a beautiful Federation residence; was still a house, a house, a house... I felt the grander country style look of the grounds needed an extra careful framing of the scene to keep visual and emotional conflict to a minimum. Aside from these issues, it was not really possible to place the model at a distance away from the hedges (in most cases) that would allow me to optically blur-out details with the camera such as the patchy nature of nearly all hedges (not just these). The holes in the hedges would need patching in Photoshop as part of the post processing which provided a significant lift to the look and feel of the final images.

Here is the backyard of our suburban home, and while large by inner-city living standards we are still looking at a suburban back yard in terms of scale and not much open shade for the soft light I required. Below is the fabulous tall hedge out front; this hedge would cast enough shade for us to get through quite a few shots while I implemented some very simple techniques (time and cost effective) to minimise the wash of green reflected light onto the model and garments.

Un-retouched image top with a nearly finished version below 'During'.

For many years I did not 'Proof' the direct-from-camera files but after one client sent those JPEG files not the retouched files to the printers.. I decided this was the best and safest approach for all parties.

A Rainbow Lorikeet in the Jacaranda tree on location.

Thank you to my client and the homes owner for their faultless hospitality and to my wonderful team.

Model - Gillian Cooper
H&MU by Kaori
Photography & post-processing by Kent Johnson.

Call or email to book you photo shoot today.

Kent Johnson,
Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Bondi Beach - Men's Fitness Style Folio Shoot.

Dawn breaks, here comes the sun, our man is ready, the grooming is done, my camera clicks, morning light, lots of fun, we are enjoying ourselves and great pictures are made. It has been way too long since I have been at Bondi at the crack of dawn. For this photo shoot, the first booked through my Instagram @Model_Portfolios I had a great time photographing the very fit and toned Scott from Peak Altitude Training. Great natural light, yes you need an early start but you just can't fake it! Thanks Scott, and thanks Tara for a great job with the grooming.

Scott Reynolds
Grooming Tara @missmurphy_mua

Call or email to book you photo shoot today.

Kent Johnson,
Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Monica, on the Sydney Harbour - Rocks.

Read the title any way you please. Monica is on the beautiful sandstone rocks that dot the Sydney harbour foreshore. And I always think the harbour rocks and Monica does too! This is our third shoot together, two folio shoots and one commercial shoot. This is of course a folio shoot for use back in Italy where Monica does most of her modelling and where a woman's shape is both very much desired and appreciated. This harbour beach photo shoot also ticks my "shoot more beach pictures" box; with this style of Black and White image being very much the kind of beach location pictures I love. The entire shoot took much less time than you may imagine as we were well prepared and on the 'same page' as the saying goes; we did meet quite early to grab the great early morning, natural light for which there really is no substitute. So here she is, Monica looking stunningly beautiful, on the rocks and in the water, I hope you love the shots as much as we do.

Call or email to book you photo shoot today.

Kent Johnson,
Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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