Professional Hair Photography
Professional hair photography brings the styles and textures of hair design to life. I specialise in commercial, editorial and awards photography, working with some of the best talent in the hair and beauty world. Salons can showcase their work in a number of prestigious awards and I shoot commissions for the British Hair Awards (BHA’s), with collections through to the finals of the 2010 BHA’s, L’Oreal Colour Trophy and Wella Trend Vision competitions. My portfolio also includes the first UK shoot for KMS California hair care products.
Before the shoot
Every successful shoot needs a concept and a story. I encourage clients to be creative from the start with a moodboard of magazine cuttings for hair, makeup, clothes styling, backgrounds and posing styles, as this will establish a visual direction for the shoot.
Most collections require eight shots and it’s important to have a coherent theme throughout. This video of the recent shoot for KMS California shows the power of detailed advance preparation.
Budget and team
A photoshoot can be expensive but there is no substitute for vivid, professional images that capture the detail and skill of your work.
The stylists from your salon should be reliable and flexible, bring talent and ideas to the shoot and be happy to graft. Having a small team on the shoot means someone can watch the shoot as it happens and view the images on a la[top as they are created, whilst someone else works on the next model.
Lots of different elements need to work together on a shoot including make up, clothing and locations so budget carefully for your external teams.
Here is a list of what will need to be included in the shoot budget:
Photographer’s fee
Studio & Equipment hire
Photographer’s assistant fee
Studio lunch and drinks
Polaroids
Model fees
Makeup artist’s fee
Clothes stylist’s fee
Clothes and props hire
Post-production on the images
Prints
C.D.’s
Choosing the right team
Successful photoshoots are a big team effort and it is important to know that we can work together on the day to get outstanding results. I am closely involved in each shoot at an early stage and can help with all aspects from model casting to finding a makeup artist and clothes stylist that can work successfully to your brief.
Model selection
Modelling is about much more than looking good in the flesh and goes beyond conventional beauty. The skill lies in performance – knowing how to move, express the colours and textures of the hair and makeup, wear the clothes and engage with the camera. Professional models use their eyes to draw the viewer into the image and are creative with their hand and body shapes.
Using an amateur will slow down the shoot (and time is money) and will show on the final photographs. Only a professional model will do justice to the team’s hard work, understand what you want to achieve, and can use their experience to bring an extra dimension to the shoot. Use a model agency such as Nevs or Models1.
Preparation work
From your moodboards and selection of models, you will know whether you need to make hair pieces, and if you want to practice certain styles beforehand. Pencil sketch your eight looks on a single piece of plain A4 to use as a reference and order on the day of the shoot.
Flexibility is important on the day of the shoot and the team may need to be proactive, for example if the model arrives late, or cancels. In London I can quickly get a replacement from one of the agencies.
How to make the most from your photoshoot
Stunning images of your work can have a big impact on the success of your business and attract prestige and new clients in a number of ways.
One shoot can produce a collection of photographs for your salon that can lead to great coverage in magazines, local, national and consumer/trade press.
Using the shoot photographs on your salon walls, appointment cards, website and brochures are the ultimate advertisement for your business.
The shoot can be used for hair competitions, and can attract the best stylists to boost your business. A photoshoot is also a great way to reward your
best stylists and generate fresh energy and creativity in the team.
Shoot Day
The team should arrive by around 8.30 a.m. so that kit can be unpacked, ready for a 9.00am start. The arrival of the models is staggered at 9.00am, 10.30am, 12.00pm and 1.00 pm to maximise the half day booking for each one (four hours) and so that the team is always working on a model.
The makeup artist will start on the first girl at 9.00am when the salon creative team can check through the clothes, accessories, moodboard and shot list so everything is prepped.
One person can watch the shoot while the other prepares the next model. I shoot digitally so, once the shot is taken, you can instantly see the images on the computer screen and what tweaks need to be made to the hair. Once you are happy with the hair and the shot, we can move on and get extra creative shots with the model, or move onto the next model.
Shots you like are marked with a green tag so we can quickly access preferred images. These are made into a CD of images that can be viewed on any computer and are sent to you after the shoot so there is time to reflect on the day and make sure we don’t miss a killer shot.
After the shoot
Once you’ve chosen images from the CD, careful retouch work may be needed to make them as strong and beautiful as they can be.
Hair and beauty re-touching is a very specific skill and a crucial part of any successful shoot, to deal with stray hairs, and skin blemishes using photoshop.
Once the images have been retouched, they will be supplied on a disc for you to send out to magazines to get your business the press it deserves.
Contact me
Please do get in touch on info@jackeames.com or pick up the phone on:
0207 683 3504 or 07960 423 735, if there’s anything else you would like to discuss.