Stylists' Wardrobe Kit and Survival Tips

[zrzava]

How-To: style clothes on flat surfaces (for magazines)

I'd really be interested in getting a dialogue started about styling clothing on flat surfaces for service ("shopping") pages. Like the "Shopping" section in the back of Vogue, or the section in InStyle where the outfit is layed out flat.

I do this sort of work all the time for magazines. I'd say it makes up 30% of my monthly shooting but there are still some burning questions I have.

#1: How do you get trousers to look good? When you lay them down the bunch up at the crotch--especially when you're using jeans.

Check out another thread (and soon to be more tips) about this kind of shooting here.

So do you style product too?

 

[Lena]

moved this where it belongs...
i cant give you advice on this but i could ask a fellow stylist who works a lot with still life shootings and i'll get back to you

 

[BetteT]

I've just started to get into off model styling and am trying to learn the tricks of the trade. So I don't know many of the answers yet ... but I'm an analytical thinker and can figure things out easily. I have not worked with pants or jeans yet ... so the following is just a guess:

In this instance, I would guess that they cut away fabric at the crotch ... the part that comes to a point and tack the front down so the seam doesn't show and it all lays flat. At least, that is what I would try. Of course, the sample would be ruined, but I would think the designer would OK it because they are getting free publicity.

Then we could start a new trend ... crotchless jeans!!

I'm going to post this in that other blog too ... just to see what the response, if any, is.

 

[zrzava]

Thanks Lena. Please, pleeeease get back to us with any info from your friend. I've been doing these product shoots for over a year and they still kick my butt. No one in my city is doing them any better. I feel like I need to go to NYC or London for a week to sit in at InStyle. (If anyone's got a friend who works there, or at another major style mag, please pass on the word.)

Bette--good suggestion but I'm almost always using samples taken from the showroom (which everyone else needs to use after me) or directly from the boutique floor, therefore any snipping would be a major no-no. Besides, even cutting some of the crotch fabric away, wouldn't help the problem because the big trouble comes as a result of trousers/jeans having so much fabric in the butt. They look great on a 3-D model but 2-D they're tough. Generally I find, the better the brand (i.e. with a better fit), the worse they look when layed out flat.

Another annoying thing about trousers is that even if you get a size 0, they can still look really "fat" in the leg.

I've got my tricks for shirts, jackets, etc., down okay. But pants are killing me!

I did look at several magazines and notices that each has its own style. While Elle lays everything "flat", it has depth. InStyle is "flatter". Same with the shopping pages at Vogue for the most part.

So much to talk about here! Thanks for the comments. Keep them comin'!

 

[BetteT]

Well, once you are cutting, there's no reason not to cut the excess fabric off the butt too. But I do understand about them being samples for re-use ... but I'm wondering if the high end mags (like In STyle and Elle) are allowed to destroy a pair or two ... that they are given extras or something. No help if you can't do it, so it's a moot point, I guess. Haden't thought about legs looking fat ... so that's another challenge.

I have noticed that each magazine and each retailer has their own way of doing off model stuff ... so there may be more than one way to handle it. I'd be just as interested as you to know how it's done.

 

[BetteT]

OK ... I can't stop thinking about this and something just popped into my head about something else I would try.

I'd get a white foam board and cut a hole in it ... as small as possible to get the job done. I'd have to experiment with shapes and sizes of the hole. Then I'd to lay the jeans on the board to shoot them and poke the excess fabric trough the hole. I would hope that the jeans wouldn't sag ...

MIght work ... might not, but it's a thought and worth a try. In fact ... ya got me going ... as soon as I get back from my vacation in 2 weeks, I may start to experiment with this.

 

[Lena]

promising to remember to ask my friend next time i see her, i didnt had the chance yet, but i saw one of her recent still life shootings and her jeans looked fine..
wont take long to reply

 

[zrzava]

About dealing with models

Another interesting how-to from Stylebites. I'm loving this site!

This one talks about what models should bring on a shoot but the info is equally important for stylists. We should pack this stuff in case they don't. I also always pack a shower cap (the cheap plastic kind) to put over the model's face while she puts on/takes off clothes. Poke a few holes in it so she can breathe. Everyone laughs when I put it on the girls but I've never gotten makeup on my clothes yet!

Anyhow, check out Stylebites.

Any other tips you'd add?

 

[Lena]

a good alternative to the plastic cap is a silk scarf, feels better and the models wouldnt mind a all using it

 

[zrzava]

Absolutely, but the plastic cap doesn't budge because of the elastic. Someone here should make a fortune manufacturing showercap like silk scarves.

 

[jennifer716]

Finally! Some people who are feeling the woes of product styling too. Usually I bring in a photo for reference with me. Net-a-porter is great for getting styling ideas. For shirts with sleeves that just refuse to lay flat (despite the amount of steaming I do), I usually just fold them inwards just under where the elbow is. That way, it goes it a shape.

For trousers, the crotch area is always difficult so I usually just fold it in length wise and shoot it straight on, or bed the legs in a 'Z' shape.

 

[Lena]

^ product styling is so hard to do.. and now with mags cutting down on shooting production expenses..

i'd never have the nerve to try this myself..
you guys deserve a and a bon courage

 

[BetteT]

Zrzava ... I have this sheer, over the face hood that's made just for this ... with a short zipper up the back and it works well .... I got it in a beauty supply store. But the shower cap might work better, because of the elastic. And I am liking Stylebites too ... she is promoting it all over the web aspecially to photographer sites... so I'm sure it's just PR for her. But, hey .... it's a great blog and it's nice to see what other stylists are dealing with. Before I came here, I was pretty isolated in networking with any other stylists. I had to invent my own ways of doing things. There's a ton of makeup artists out there in cyberspace and they are great help too ... but this and Stylebites are a much better resource for me.

Jennifer, thanks for sharing and thanks for the tip on Net-a-Porter ... I'm already checking it out.

And Lena ... thanks for the appreciation. I would say that not too many people realize how much hard work goes in to styling ... the prep alone is so much work whether it's on or off models.

 

[JohnPaulMiller]

Absolutely, but the plastic cap doesn't budge because of the elastic. Someone here should make a fortune manufacturing showercap like silk scarves.

Use an extra fine hairnet. It's sheer, it breathes, and it keeps the makeup from rubbing directly onto the clothes.

 

[Lena]

^ great tip

 

[zrzava]

Oh, and for what it's worth (I learned this the hard way don't ever, ever iron colored silk with the steam function turned "on". Small disaster with a skirt that now has water spots.

 

[zrzava]

On one hand I think it would be great if there were workshops in product styling but on the other, I'd hate to think of all those new hands being trained. I've started a photo reference book of different techniques for product styling. Each takes a different sort of effort. In the end, when I'm doing 100 pieces it always takes at least 6 hours. Ugh! I did loads this week, on top of three other shoots, and it's all left me dead tired.

The thing about styling product is that I like it, given my perfectionist tendancies, but it's really tedious so you look up at the clock and realize that you and the photog have spent 45 mins getting one product "just right". This is especially true with anything shiny/silver...

Bette: I would think that the Style Bites girl is promoting herself but then again the site is annonymous so I guess it's more of a forum of sorts for one stylist. I wish there were more sites like it. I've searched for info on styling all over the net and even bought Jo Dingerman's (sp?) pointless book on the subject. In the end I think that everything you need to know is learning on the job or from assisting.

Great tip on the hair net John Paul! I'll totally go pick some up next week!

 

[jennifer716]

I get really dizzy and confused when I'm doing an upward of 60+ products. I hate being in the studio for more than 4 hours at a time. It's so exhausting. Also, when I'm doing men's shoes... after they are shot, sometimes the brand isn't so obvious and after I've returned the pair, I can't remember what brand they are anymore! And I have to scrutinise and zoom in real close on the high res photos and just work it out trial and error! Things get really messy as well with people coming in and out and touching the products having a look, and you hve to re-clean all the hardware.. ahhh.

 

[zrzava]

Also, when I'm doing men's shoes... after they are shot, sometimes the brand isn't so obvious and after I've returned the pair, I can't remember what brand they are anymore! And I have to scrutinise and zoom in real close on the high res photos and just work it out trial and error!

One trick is the make small sheets of paper which you can write a number or name on and slip them somewhere in the shot. Then when you look at the digital contact sheets you can remember what is what. I used to number 1-100 so that I could reuse them as neccessary. Ask the photographer first and make sure he's okay with having something else in the frame.

Another photographer I work with puts all the images into folders on the computer at intervals during the shoot. That way there's only one necklace in the folder "Hawaii" instead of trying to remember which necklace/shoes/bags/clothes go on which page. That has been the best way for me when I'm shooting for magazines.

 

[abstractbunny]

wow everyone! this thread is pretty much exactly what i was looking for! thanks!! i have my first styling assignment next week for an agency test shoot so very nervous!