How can brands communicate with their audience through photography? How to form a first impression, convey the mood of the brand and create an emotional connection with a potential client? Fashion photographer Anna Danyshchuk tells us.
Working on a fashion shoot
From 2012 to 2017 in Ukraine, Anna worked as a casting director at LS Models School in Kolomyia. There she scouted models, worked with both children and adults, and helped them prepare for photo shoots and stage appearances. She also helped organize beauty pageants and other events, working with contestants on their preparation and running castings. Over her years at LS Models School, Danyshchuk selected around 500 models. She prepared contestants for Top Model of Ukraine, Mini Mister World, Miss Western Ukraine, and Mini Miss Ukraine, and co-organized Miss Kolomyia, Mini Miss Kolomyia, Princess of the Carpathians, Mini Miss Kosiv, Miss Sniatyn, and Mini Miss Nadvirna. The photographer says that working in the modeling field, she gained extensive experience working with people in front of the camera and understanding posing. Later, this experience became an important part of her work as a photographer.
Anna is convinced that modern fashion photography plays a key role in shaping a brand’s image and its perception by the audience. Today, it is important to convey emotion, mood, and a certain brand message through a frame. This helps to attract the audience’s attention and be remembered.
She begins her work on fashion photography with a dialogue. She asks the client to tell as much as possible about the brand: how it sees itself, who its audience is, what its values are and what impression it wants to leave. It is also important to understand where exactly the photos will be used – on social networks, on the brand’s website, in advertising campaigns or printed materials. This can be a starting point when creating a concept for the shoot.
The model’s look for the shoot, in addition to demonstrating clothes or accessories, should convey the character and positioning of the brand. This is usually the stylist’s area of work. However, for Anna, as a photographer, it is important to understand what emotion this image should convey. The model’s work in the frame should also help show the mood of the brand and its visual concept. Through posing, facial expressions, gaze and movement, she should convey the state that the brand seeks to evoke in its audience.
The photographer says that in commercial fashion photography, it is important to clearly show the product itself. Therefore, posing should be appropriate and help demonstrate clothes or accessories, rather than drawing all the attention to the model. The main character of such a shoot still remains the product. And the photographer’s task is to preserve the aesthetics of the frame and make it visually compelling: to think over the composition, angle and details of the frame. The key role of a frame in fashion photography is to attract attention, interest a potential buyer and at the same time clearly show the product.
Anna says that each brand has its own mood and character, and for her it is important to preserve them in the photographs. To do this, she selects the light, angle, and composition so that they support this mood and help the product look as flattering as possible.
How to combine brand objectives and creative vision
The photographer explains how she manages to combine a creative approach with the brand objectives. She can always offer her client her vision, advise what, in her opinion, will work best in the frame. However, dialogue is important to her. Therefore, in the process of preparing for a fashion shoot, there is a joint discussion of ideas and making a decision that meets the brand objectives and at the same time leaves Anna room for a creative approach.
In commercial fashion photography for a brand, the main emphasis is on the product, while in portrait photography the main character is the person. Today, notes Danyshchuk, a photo should evoke emotions in the person who sees it and convey the values of the brand. “Just a beautiful visual is no longer enough. People want to feel a connection with the brand, understand its character and see something close to them in it. This is what most often influences the decision to make a purchase today,” – says the photographer.
When it comes to the mistakes that brands most often make when preparing for a fashion photo shoot and how they can affect the final result, Anna highlights unprofessional preparation. The photographer says that she tries to think through all the details in advance: location, weather, looks, shooting time, light and general mood. After all, the better prepared the process is, the more opportunities she has during the shoot itself to focus on creativity and get the maximum result.
Modern fashion photography becomes part of the brand’s communication with the audience. Therefore, the accuracy of the photographer’s understanding of the brand’s task and its embodiment through the frame affects the final result of the photo shoot.
In her shoots, Anna Danyshchuk tries to combine a commercial goal with a creative vision, creating a holistic visual story that helps the brand be recognizable and establish a connection with its audience. She is convinced that a strong fashion shot should simultaneously present the product, correspond to the brand positioning and evoke an emotional reaction in the viewer.
Anna continues to grow as a photographer in the US, working on new creative projects and refining a signature style all her own. She’s constantly chasing new ideas and testing fresh visual approaches.
