VISITING SPEAKER, HELEN KIRKBRIGHT

Today a visiting speaker came into my university and spoke about her experience as a fashion photographer. It was a nice insight into the industry that i appreciated wholeheartedly and enjoyed hearing about. She spoke about both her commercial and editorial work and how they differ from one another within the industry.

I learnt during this speaking that commercial photography usually pays higher, i was also informed that the images are a lot easier to take considering the lack of concept and imagination used when shooting the image. Since the images will be used to sell a product, the production is usually very high and the focus of the imagery is rarely the model and more likely the product being advertised. Kirkbright has shot commercial imagery for the likes of Peroni, The Evening Standard Magazine and ASOS. She spoke on how the models used for this imagery tend to be less ‘out there’ and more likely to be quite generic looking, not that there is anything wrong with this. She told us how she actually prefers shooting fashion imagery more than commercial due to the focus being on the model rather than a product. (Examples of Kirkbright’s commercial work below).

She then spoke about her fashion/editorial imagery and how it was a lot more fun but also more difficult to produce. She told us that the industry can however be a little difficult in regards to being a woman. Since most mainstream photographers tend to be older men, young women can sometimes be at a disadvantage when shooting. This is mainly due to being looked down upon as inexperienced or unprofessional, which simply is not true. She said that she has been mistaken for a hair stylist before due to her appearance and has almost been directed by male onlookers whom had no authority over her at all. This is a sad yet expected reality within the fashion industry and is therefore something i will have to work around. (Fashion images below shot by Kirkbright).