Teamwork

Learning goal

You will be able to know who works beside the photographer in a fashion shoot and which part of the frame each of them is responsible for. You will tell apart the jobs of the stylist, who chooses the clothes and arranges them on the model; the hair and makeup artist, who prepares the hair and face for the shoot; the assistant, who carries the light; and the model. Before the shoot you will gather on a single page where, when and with what everyone will be ready. You will see who holds the decisions on set, and that a single voice directs the model. Before the shoot you will try together how makeup looks under flash on different skin tones.

The question

On the morning of the shoot everyone on the pier is doing something, but who is doing what isn't clear. The designer is straightening the sweaters' collars, your friend is setting up the light on one side and trying to tidy the model's hair on the other, and the models are getting three different instructions from three people. The red scarf has been forgotten at the workshop, and the person who came for the makeup couldn't find the pier. By noon not a single usable frame has come out. Model, stylist, makeup artist: who does what?

Context

In the lesson on communicating with a model you worked on talking with a model before the shoot to put them at ease, and keeping direction short and clear (Lesson P.3). In the permissions lesson you also learned about the written consent a recognizable person gives for their photo to be used for certain purposes, the model release (Lesson 29.2). And on this track you built the shoot in advance on a board, in a short concept and in a few colors (Lesson F.2).

In a portrait shot alone, the photographer can do everything themselves. In a fashion shoot, though, the fit of the garment, the state of the hair and face, the light and the model's movement must all be flawless at the same time, and one person's eye can't take them all in at once. The team shares this load; the photographer's job is to bring it all together in a single frame.

Simple explanation

Who is responsible for the clothes?

A fashion stylist is the person who chooses and puts together the clothes and accessories for a shoot and makes sure they sit right on the model throughout the set. Before the shoot they read the board and the concept, group the clothes, and plan which sweater will appear with which scarf, on which model. On set, before every frame, they check the collar, the fold, the way a pocket sits; they pin a sweater that is too loose from behind, in a way that won't enter the frame.

The stylist's eye is on the garment, the photographer's on the whole frame. That is why when the stylist sees a problem with the garment, they must be able to stop the shoot: if a fold has fallen in the wrong place, fixing it later can take hours, fixing it now a few seconds. On a small shoot the stylist can be the designer themselves or someone from the workshop; what matters is that a person thinking about the garment is on set.

Who handles hair and face?

A hair and makeup artist, often just called the makeup artist, is the person who prepares the models' hair and face for the shoot in keeping with the concept and refreshes them throughout the set. On a windy pier the hair comes apart every few frames, in the cold the nose and cheeks redden, the face sweats or shines; the makeup artist tidies these between frames, and depending on the concept sometimes leaves the messiness on purpose.

The relationship between makeup and skin matters most in this role. A makeup artist should know the models' skin tones in advance and bring products in a range that suits each of them; a foundation in the wrong shade turns dark skin gray, into an ashy look. Some powders and sunscreens reflect too much light under flash and leave a whitish patch on the face; this isn't seen with the naked eye, it shows only in the frame. That is why before the shoot begins, a test frame is shot with each model, using the light that will be used, and the makeup artist looks at the screen together with the photographer.

How is the set organized?

A call sheet is the document sent to everyone on the team before the shoot that gathers on a single page the shoot's location, the meeting time, the time each person must be ready, contact details, the weather, and what they need to bring with them. A lost scarf or a makeup artist who couldn't find the pier usually comes from not having this page.

On set, too, an order is needed. The assistant carries the light and the reflector, holds the stand in the wind, and keeps track of the cards and batteries. The model is a team member too: they carry the garment and produce the movement, but take instructions from a single person. The only voice that talks with the model is the photographer; if the stylist or the designer sees something, they tell the photographer first. Who holds the decision is also discussed from the start: on the garment's look the designer has the final word, on the frame itself the photographer.

Permissions are the team's job too, and are settled before the shoot. The models' release forms, where and for how long the frames will be used, are signed in writing before the first frame; a form handed over in the middle or at the end of the shoot puts the model in a difficult position. If who holds these documents is also written on the call sheet, no signature is missing at the end of the day.

Visual evidence

A week later a new attempt is made on the same pier, this time with a call sheet. On the sheet everyone's time is written separately: the makeup artist and the models early in the morning at the workshop, the assistant and your friend an hour later at the pier. The red scarf is checked off on the stylist's list.

The stylist from the workshop is a young tailor who works with the designer. Before every frame they look at the sweaters' collars, and pin a loose sweater at the model's back with two clips. The makeup artist asks for a test frame to be shot with flash with each of the two models, a light-skinned and a dark-skinned woman, before the shoot. On the screen a whitish patch shows on the dark-skinned model's forehead; the makeup artist changes the powder in that area and the patch disappears.

Throughout the set only your friend talks with the models. In one frame the designer sees the scarf has fallen wrong and tells your friend; your friend stops the shoot, and the stylist fixes the scarf. By noon half of the series is done.

Common mistakes

Summary

A good fashion photograph is a team effort: the fashion stylist carries the clothes, the hair and makeup artist the hair and face, the assistant the light, and a call sheet brings everyone together in the same place at the same time. A single voice talks with the model, and how makeup looks on each skin tone under the light is checked together with a test frame before the shoot.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will plan a small fashion shoot like a team; if you can't put together a real team, you can share the roles among your friends.

1. Prepare a call sheet: location, meeting time, the time each person will be ready, contact details, weather and what everyone will bring.
2. Write a person or a task for each role: who is responsible for the clothes, the hair and face, the light; who will talk with the model, who has the final word on the garment and on the frame.
3. Before the shoot, with each one's agreement, shoot a test frame of two people with different skin tones in the light you will use, and check the makeup or the face's shine together on the screen.

Check yourself

• Could someone reading the call sheet be ready in the right place at the right time without asking you anything?
• On set, does every task have a single owner, and does the model take instructions from only one person?
• In the test frame, does each person's skin look natural, or is there a patch or a gray tone?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. Who arranges a sweater that is too loose on set?

• A) The assistant
• B) The model
• C) The fashion stylist
• D) The makeup artist

2. Who talks with the model on set?

• A) The photographer; the others pass on to them what they see
• B) Everyone, telling the model at once about any problem they see
• C) Only the designer
• D) No one, the model works alone

3. How is a whitish patch on the face under flash caught?

• A) By looking carefully in the mirror
• B) By shooting a test frame before the shoot in the light that will be used
• C) By waiting for it to be noticed in retouching
• D) By turning off the light

4. What does a call sheet prevent?

• A) The model getting tired
• B) The wind messing up the hair
• C) The flash's reflection
• D) Forgotten items, and team members who don't know the place or the time

Answers

1. C — Making sure the garment sits right on the model throughout the set is the stylist's job.
2. A — A single voice keeps the model from being confused about whom to listen to.
3. B — The effect of some products under flash isn't seen with the naked eye, it shows only in the frame.
4. D — Everyone reads from the same page where, when and with what to come.

Summary card

• The clothes with the stylist, the hair and face with the makeup artist, the light with the assistant.
• Call sheet: location, times, contacts, weather, what to bring.
• A single voice talks with the model; the others pass things on to the photographer.
• On the garment the designer, on the frame the photographer has the final word.
• Check the makeup on each skin tone with a test frame in the light that will be used.

Bridge to the next lesson

In the afternoon the wind picks up and the designer wants the models shot as they walk along the pier, swing their scarves and look back over their shoulders. In the first few frames your friend catches either an odd leg in the middle of a step or a half-finished turn. How do you catch a pose in motion? The next lesson takes up building walking, turning and an unbroken flow together with the model.