Transcripts
1. Introduction: [MUSIC] A lot of
times they get asked, what do I do to get
magazine-like pictures? My answer always is, you should ask my team. Hi, I'm Nat and I'm a fashion, beauty, and product
photographer based in Italy. I work for commercial
clients all over the world and I've been published in
international magazines. This class is for those
photographers who want to go from amateur to I want to
hire this photographer. Today I'm here to talk to you about the importance
of building a team and the process of
reproduction when it comes to both commercial and
editorial photography. I'll show you exact process that took me from being the
photographer who took pictures of her friends
to the one who started working with established
brands and magazines. This course is for
all the photographers who feel like upgrading
their work in fashion, portraiture, beauty, and
product photography. If you're like me,
you must have a lot of questions like
how do I upgrade my work from working to my next door neighbor to a real model or how to
brands contact you? Should I be the one
contacting brands? How do I start making
collaborations? Should I work with
makeup on hair artists? What is the role of a stylist? Listen, I would have loved if somebody else has blamed
me this, when I started. No, you don't need to be
your professional and it doesn't matter if you
started last year. As long as you have done some experimentation
before you're ready to sign this class. This course will push your
time for comfort zone, so you can learn some
very crucial skills for your career as
a photographer. Our class project will
be creating a network of creatives and brands to collaborate in your
next shooting. All you need is your
phone or computer just to send some messages and to create very basic presentations. I swear, I wish somebody
had told me this before. I'm so thrilled to
teach you all of this. I can't wait to see your sign.
2. What You'll Be Learning In This Class: I would have loved if somebody else had explained me
this when I started. [MUSIC] I'm Nat. I'm a fashion and beauty
photographer based in Italy. I was born in Uruguay and studied in
Argentina and Israel, and two years ago
I moved to Italy. I've worked with lots of fashion and beauty
brands in Uruguay, Argentina, Czech
Republic, Israel, Italy, and the Netherlands. If there is one thing
that I can say about myself is that I know how to
start things from scratch. In this class, I will
explain what makes an amateur photographer and how we can easily change that. By taking these
very simple steps, you will be creating a
whole team of creatives, build the relationships with
model agencies and models, if you're a fashion and
beauty photographer. Also, you will learn how to build relationships with brands, which is key, and eventually
leads you to pay work. Most of the times, photographer think
that talent is the only thing that is needed when it comes to
this profession. While all of this
is absolutely true, there's another skill that
is equally important, if not even more, and this is public
relationships, aka being able to show
your work properly, make context work in teams, and spread work as
much as possible. I can't stress enough how important it is to
work with a team. Just imagine that
you're in charge of the pictures and the
wardrobe stylist choose to steep for outfits, or you have a food stylist so you don't have to worry
about the egg being cooked, or the prop stylist gets older
pieces ready for the ship. This basically will
help you to simplify your work and concentrate on what you know how to do well. I will not be teaching you the technical side of
photography in this course. I will tell you who should
you be working with, what are the best
allies you can have in a creative team to make it work. I will show you how
to build a mood board for a new shooting using just
Pinterest on your phone. I will teach you how to search creatives in your area
and how to approach them. Then I will give you some tips about teamwork and how to make things very smooth and cool between all the
members of your team. Then we're going to contact
some model agencies to get some professional models, if you're a fashion or
beauty photographer. Finally, we will reach on brands that will align
with your moodboard. It is not as hard as
it seems. Don't worry. I'm honestly so excited
to teach you all of this. I wish somebody
had explained this to me when I was just starting, and I really hope is the best shortcut you
can find out there. This course is not only for fashion and
beauty photographers, these skills that I'm
teaching inside this course can be also applied to
portrait photography, food photography, and
product photography. Every step of the way
requires some action. This is what this course is all about from the very beginning. Every experience is unique. So results will always vary. But I'm sure, once
you learn this, things are definitely
going to change for you. [MUSIC]
3. The Final Project: [MUSIC] Our project for this class has nothing
to do with photography, but I will need
to use Instagram, Pinterest, and send some
some messages and emails. You will see that taking
little action can lead you to big changes
in a professional career. For this project,
you'll be creating a mood board and a shooting
that you will love. You will create a network
of amazing creatives. You will be working
with amazing models, product, yummy
food or beverages. You will be starting to build long-lasting
relationships with brands that can potentially
lead you to paid work. Don't worry, I'll
teach you exactly how to send the perfect
pitch to get this done. After completing this project, you will feel much stronger
and quite fearless. This will completely
change everything for you. This project is for the ones
that already experimented with photography
a little bit and are ready for the
next big thing. All you need is
your phone, iPad, computer with Canvas,
Keynote, or PowerPoint.
4. Creating A Moodboard: [MUSIC] In this lesson, you will be creating a Pinterest mood
board, and eventually, we'll be creating a project on Canvas, Keynote or PowerPoint. We're going to make
this together. I will be choosing a
concept for our shooting, and we will be creating some backup images
which are going to help us to get a better picture of the mood of our shooting. Not only this will be super helpful for
you and your team, because this mood board is
going to make sure that everybody is going in the
same creative direction. A mood board will give you a clearer idea of what
you have in mind. Not only you will give a much more professional
image about the brand and the modeling agencies can better evaluate if this shooting
is suitable for them. The Internet is
full of resources, but my favorites are Pinterest, Instagram and Behance, they always have the best and most curating
material out there. Now, I'm going to
show you how to properly create a mood board on Pinterest with just your phone. We're going to go to Pinterest. As we said before, we want to take some
inspiration and ideas to create a
romantic mood board. What we're going to do is click here where it says Board, and we're going to call it board Skillshare Pinterest Moodboard Romantic, or
something like that. What we're going to do is
attach whatever image that gives us a clear idea of
what we're going to shoot. Since we're shooting
a romantic concept, I'm going to go and search
whatever comes to my mind first that I associate
with romantic. One of the things
that I'm thinking about are pastel colors. I will write fashion
pastel colors. As you can see, we're having a lot of results
for our specific research. You will see that even if we got the right results
for our research, not every picture I see gives me the romantic vibe
I was looking for. For example, I can see
some very pop images like this one that are not quite related to the
original idea we have. But for example, I
love this photo, it's so romantic,
it's so feminine, so I will add this
image to the board. I also love this image as well. Is so feminine, girly, romantic, and we can definitely see
the pastel colors as well. Since this image fits
our concept perfectly, I'll add this as well. One amazing thing
about Pinterest is that once you
click on an image, Pinterest will suggest similar photos to
the one you clicked, which can be absolutely
very helpful. As we can see, we can have a lot of good and different options
to keep adding to our board. Like this one over here, it is so pretty. Look at the delicate movements. Look at this other image, is so, so feminine and delegate. What I love the most
about this image is the texture of this dress. I'll add this one too, and also this other one. I love the shapes
and the volume, is very bold but
still super delegate. The only thing that I hate about Pinterest is that it's so full of information that you can spend the whole life
looking for inspiration, so be cautious about that. We don't need to
spend the whole day creating a moodboard. We just need to make sure we
have a few very good images so it represents very well
whatever we have in mind. Another way to get more images is by going
back to our profile, click on our moodboard and click in "More Ideas" over here. Based on the selection
of pictures you have, Pinterest is going to
suggest the more content. We're good to go, we made it. Once we have our images on Pinterest and downloaded
them to the computer, we want to create a PDF file
so we can easily organize all our ideas and
images to better showcase them to the
other creatives. Model agencies, food stylist, [inaudible] stylist, set
designers and [inaudible]. If you're using a Mac book, you will have a Keynote. Otherwise, if you're
using Windows, you can always use PowerPoint. I always recommend this
website called Canva, which is completely free
and also has a free app. You will click "Create a Design", and then
"Presentation". Then you will upload all the images that you
downloaded from Pinterest. Once you have them, you're
going to place them and fix them into the
workspace as you want. Again, don't spend
too much on this, it needs to be clear
and easy to understand. That's it. We're not making
a graphic masterpiece here. I will select the topography
that I think it fits the concept perfectly to write
the title of the project. The general idea, keywords, are super important
to understand the mood of the project. I'm also adding some images from a previous project that I did to create a good reference
for both makeup and hair. One of the things
I love about Canva is that you can actually
crop images very easily. Once we're done, we can download the document and there you go. We have our PDF ready. In this next lesson, I will teach you exactly what
to do within new moodboard. [MUSIC]
5. Building Your Creative Team: You have your idea ready to pitch to your
new creative team. I know I'm hearing you, you're on haven't
team yet and you have no idea how to
put it together. But don't worry, I'm
here to help you. I promise it's not that hard. First of all, I
will explain what I mean when I say creative
team and I'll tell you why you need
it if you want to upgrade your portfolio
and contexts. A team of creative
means, basically, that you will have a
trustee group of people, including you, doing
whatever they do best. I know that at the beginning, most photographers are a
bit of makeup artists, stylists, both stylists, set designers, and much more. While this is totally
fine at the beginning, we need to understand
that everything gets better when we concentrate on what we know how to do best. We can always worry
that many heads. Picture this, you arrive
at the studio or location, set your camera and lights while the makeup artist
prepares the model, same with the rest
of the creatives. Or the foodservice prepares the food that you're
going to shoot. After they finish, you realize that you
have a ready-to-go model prompts dish
done by professionals. Isn't that great? Narrowly, it will save
you time and energy, but also you will be
creating a valuable network. Because remember, in this field, talent is super important. But putting your
work out there is the thing that will help you
create a name for yourself. Imagine a picture
being posted in three or four social
media accounts instead of just yours, believe me, that
changes everything. Because most
probably the stylist is being followed by brands, models, modeling
agencies and the same goes with every
creative inside a team. How do I actually create a team? This is why I love
Instagram so much. In order to find this
creative for your new team, which believe me,
it's super-easy. We will open Instagram and type, for example, makeup artist. This way, Instagram will
show us a ton of results. Thankfully, for us, Instagram
works geographically, so that means that
we'll only show people that are near us.
Isn't that great? When it comes to the
makeup artist and you want to start working
with fashion, remember that less is more. Even if the makeup artist is amazing with artistic makeup, we need to make sure
that they know how to do very good and clean makeup. A good foundation is
definitely a must. Then it's just a matter of
finding the right fit for you. The one that you love the most. Most probably this
makeup artist will know a hairstylist then the
same process goes with a wardrobe stylist
that you can usually find just by typing stylist
or fashion stylist. Don't worry if you don't just
find a stylist right away, those are very hard to find. Especially if you don't
live in a big city. But sometimes fashion design
students or a friend with an outstanding sense
of fashion will be super happy to collaborate
in this project as well. When we're looking
for a stylist, we will try to look
into the work, something similar to
what we want to create. This way, we make sure that the stylist is used to
working with this mood board. The same goes with
problem foods stylist. You just need to type those
sorts on Instagram or just a friend who is a chef
or is studying to be a chef, would love to style the food
that you want to shoot. If you think you're
still not there to contact established
professionals, you can always
talk with friends. Remember, the most
important thing is to take some action. It doesn't matter if
you're trying to reach out the most famous
makeup artists in the industry or your best
friend that loves makeup. Now, what should you
write when you reach out? It is so simple. You will, first of all, introduce yourself
as a photographer then you will explain to him or her that you found their work on Instagram
and you just loved it. Also that you realize
that you were from the same area and you would love to collaborate with them. You will explain that
you actually created a mood board that you would
love to share with them. That's it. Out of the US, that's a scary idea. Same goes to all the creatives that you need for your team. Remember to always be friendly, but most of all open. What do we mean by this? You might be the one
that reaches out, but it doesn't
mean that you will take full control of everything. Be open to your team ideas. You need to understand
that they are as important as you
are in this project. Teamwork means working
as a group and a collaborative open
and respectful team will take all of you very fine.
6. Working With Models : [MUSIC] For this part, Instagram will be a key
part of the process, as well as Google. Unit a search on
Google model agencies plus the name of the city or the closest
city in your area. When you find a
model agency nearby, you will go to their
Instagram and website. On the website, you will see that there is
this section called new face or new faces for
male and female miles. What does this mean? The new faces are
the new models that have been recently
accepted in the agency. Most of them are
just super young and just starting to
professional life as a model. This also means
that they will need some new material in order
to have a wider portfolio. Believe me, nobody will hire model if they can't see great
work they already done. This is where your skills
become super-helpful. Most agencies are
going to be super happy if you are for free
shootings to the new faces. Not only because it
helps the model, but it also helps the agency. In most cases, you will need to pay for transportation costs, but you always need to
check with the agency. Also, if you're
not quite sure if you're ready to
contact an agency yet, I'm pretty sure you know some very beautiful people in your area that you
would love to shoot. When it comes to product
or food photography, you can contact small businesses to make tests, choose for them. For example, I recently
found out that in my area, there's a small business making gourmet chips with a
very curated packaging. As they are just starting out, I'm sure they would
be pleased to have somebody that is shooting
free content for them. Same with product photography. You can retard to small
businesses that are making some skin care products or perfume or just whatever
you decide to shoot. Companies work will always
happy because they will have new content and you will have new content for your
portfolio as well, as well as your whole team. This will not only help build your portfolio
in a professional way. Shooting professional
models or real brands will also help you to build
a relationship with them, which is a big plus. They're all followed
by a lot of brands and ad agencies and if they post some material on their
social media and website, this means that you
will be creating another free way of showing your work to relevant
people in the industry. Of course, this means that
if the brands loves to work, you will probably
get hired by them. This actually happened to me. You might be wondering
how to reach a modeling agency in
case you need one. What's right write when you
send a message or an e-mail, but don't worry, I
got you covered. You always need to
introduce yourself first saying that
you're a photographer, then you will link
your social media and your website if you
have one and remember, link in your work is crucial as they will need to see what
kind of work do you produce. You will then introduce
your team and attach their social media
or a website as well. You will say that you have
been planning this photoshoot. You will add your moodboard
link on Pinterest. Then you will say that you
took a look on the website and you would love to make a free tests with one
of their new faces. You can directly say
that you would love to collaborate with blank new face that you just saw
on the website. Or you can just ask the Booker, what does he or she thinks is the best fit
for the moodboard? Voila, that's it. Remember, always be nice. Remember you're
starting to build a long-term relationships
with coworkers, models, and modeling agencies. Be able to talk and
if you do a good job, it will take very little time to make yourself a good name. Write your e-mails, even if the fashion
agencies are interested in your work and what
you can do for them, there is no need to read
personal stories and talk about every little detail as
you did as a photographer. Bookers are very busy people, so keep your e-mails short and sweet we'll
take your file. If you want to work with
a specific model and the agency is proposing a different one,
be open to that. With time, you will build a much tighter
relationship with them and you will have way more freedom to choose whoever
you want to work with. If you're attaching a
PDF as your moodboard, make sure to keep the file
size under two megabytes. Don't worry if you
don't know how to do this with your computer, there's plenty of websites
that can do that for you. We all hate big files, especially coming from
people we don't know.
7. Reaching Out To Brands: [MUSIC] This is when
you and your team, especially if you
have a stylist, need to do some research. What do I mean by this? You will need to
find fashion brands that align and fit
with your mood board. You can't create a
very romantic and feminine moodboard board
contact fashion brands that sell baggy sweet style. It will make no sense. You will need to
find brands that are feminine and delicate,
and romantic. If you have a stylist on board, he or she will be
doing this work. Contacting the
clothing brands and making sure that all the
pieces arrive on time. Then they will be the ones to send the pieces
back to the brand. Also, the stylist will
have a clearer idea of which brands can be
the best fit for the shooting according
to the moodboard. If you don't have a stylist, you and the rest of the team will be deciding on the outfits. Let's see an example here. I have our mood board on the
right side of the screen, and on the left side, I randomly open
the asos website. As you can see, these
items here are not related at all with
our original idea. You see there's some
color coincidences, but the general style
is totally off. On the other hand though, I typed the word
boutique on Instagram, and as we said before, Instagram works geographically, so it will show results
closer to your location. Make sure they are small
boutiques at first, and they will probably
[LAUGHTER] need some fresh content to
publish all the time. As you can see here, this boutique has very
beautiful and similar things to the one that we
put on our moodboard. Color, style, textures are so similar. This is when we know we
have a very good fit. The email or messages to reach
the brands will be very, very similar to the
ones we wrote before. Hello, so-and-so. I hope this email
reaches you well. I am Nat the fashion and
beauty photographer based in, insert the name of the
city area you are. You can check my work here, put your Instagram
and website link. Me and my team are planning
to create a shooting. Moodboard is
attached down below, and we found your boutique. First of all, we love
everything we saw. We love the feminine vibes, the texture and the colors. This is exactly what we had in mind when we're
planning our shooting. Would you be interested
in collaborating with us? We will pick up everything
from the store if possible, and return it the day
after the shooting. Let me know what you think, Nat. [MUSIC] As I said before, remember to keep your emails
short and your file small. Always put as many links as possible to show your work
and your team's work. It is very important
to always have more than two brands when you're shooting with models
from agencies. Because otherwise if you do a whole shooting just
using one brand, you would be creating some
commercial work and you might have some problems
with the modeling agency. So, make sure that when you
plan the whole outfits, you combine at least two
different brands for one photo. [MUSIC]
8. Conclusion: [MUSIC] Yes, you made it. I'm so happy for you. You've got all of
this information. We can all get a camera
and start shooting, but not everybody knows how to go from newbie to professional. The fact that you want to take this big step makes
me super happy. Nowadays, it's super
easy to contact people. You just need to send a message. I know it's a little bit
scary at the beginning, I've been there myself. But once you do it, it empowers you so much. I know I said this already, but it's super important to be nice and open to
your team ideas. We're starting to
work as a group and everybody has an opinion. Collaborations like this
can lead you to paperwork. It really happened to
me and it felt great. I asked a really
nice local brand for a couple of pieces for our test shoot and they sent us some really,
really cool dresses. We got a shoot with a new face from a big modeling
agency, Milan. The brand liked those
pictures so much that they ended up hiring
me for the next campaign. I'm telling you, it's
just a matter of taking very little action to make amazing, amazing things happen. For our final project, I will divide the
class into categories; the beginners, and a
little bit more advanced. Why am I doing this? Because I really want photographers to
take the next step. If you still think that you're not ready to contact brands, you can start creating
a moodboard for a shooting that you
would love to make. Yes, if you're not
feeling quite there yet, don't worry, I will be happily
reviewing your moodboard. For the ones that wants to
take a little step further, you will create an email for a brand or a creative
that you would love to work with and I will
take a look to that email. I really hope you could take some valuable information
for this course. It has been such a
big pleasure for me to provide you with
all of this information. I'm 100 percent convinced that if you put
this into action, you will truly achieve great
things with little time. Thank you. [MUSIC]
Nat Niszakov, Beauty and Fashion photographer
