by Alex Brown | Mar 30, 2017
How spreading out my creative versatility and skillset in a booklet turned my resume into a creative resume. How it all comes together.
I wanted my creative resume to be different enough, yet still be mainstream. I love booklets. I think they scream professional and they are so fun to work with especially because of the spread design.
My original creative resume plan wasn’t able to come to production because of unforeseen changes in what has been going on lately. The very essence of my original creative resume plan was a booklet that tied into something that you can eat. It was witty and original.
I went ahead and continued with doing a booklet for my creative resume. I wanted the size to feel more custom, more unique, so I made it an 8.5×5.5 landscape. Using a landscape design allowed me to make the design breathe, allow for more white space and increase readability.
The design is very simple and minimalistic with bold design elements and placement.
When designing a booklet, flow is critical to the overall experience. I arranged the content and spreads in the book that parallels my process and design cycle.
As a versatile designer and visual communicator, I have gained a lot of experience already, and I wanted to showcase my strong suits. The nature of a booklet follows something called the Gestalt theory. This theory suggests that the design as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
While there were certain areas of expertise I did not include in this book, the areas in which I highlight are all interlinked, making it nearly impossible to communicate the same message if they were separated.
If you want a copy of a printed booklet, feel free to reach out to me on my about page. I would love to send you one and answer any questions you might have. Plus, it’d be great to get to know you!
To see another awesome creative resume booklet, check out Gerardo Sumano’s on his blog post Creative Resume Handout.
by Alex Brown | Mar 25, 2017
Time to go through and pick my personal best from the amazing time I’ve had photographing for COMM 316.
Since January, I’ve been privileged to spend a lot of time learning more about photography and the business of photography in my COMM 316 class at BYU-Idaho. I cannot start to tell you how awesome and meaningful this class has been, and how wonderful everyone is in it, especially Sister Caryn Esplin. Words cannot describe the energy, tenacity and love she has for me and every other classmate of mine. Furthermore, her testimony and love of the gospel has inspired me to be a better person and further come unto Christ. One of the most special things at BYU-Idaho is the harmony between the learning model and how the spirit teaches.
Photography has become an outlet for me. It is another way that I can express myself, my feelings and save the memories in my life. It’s been interesting to see a transition throughout this semester in my photographic style. At first, my images were strongly low-key, with a lot of black. As the semester continued on and as I began learning new light techniques, it subtly and slowly changed, becoming more reminiscent of my true photographic style, which is bright and bold.
Here are my personal best from COMM 316. Even though these might not be my top photos, the memories behind these photos is why they are on my list.
For more amazing images that have influenced my style and techniques, visit Caryn Esplin’s website.
by Alex Brown | Mar 22, 2017
The importance of brand attitude in high end fashion photography
We all have our own personalities. Some of us may be quirky, some of us may be more mainstream. When it comes to a brand, it has a personality too. But what exactly is a brand personality? Millward Brown describes a brand personality as “the way a brand expresses and represents itself.”
People don’t react to brands as people, but do, it appears, react to brands in a consistent, measurable way, call it the Brand Five. -Whit.li
The Brand Five that Whit.li has developed includes sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. This brand five are some of the most common examples of how consumers perceive a brand’s personality.
When a new brand is being created, or a brand is being redefined, brand personality traits are the basis and guiding direction of the brand. Anything communicated, whether it be to the consumer or an employee, should identify and correlate with the defined brand personality.
It’s our job to make sure that all of our communications are consistent with the following brand personality traits. Our brand personality traits describe how we want our customers to perceive our company define a brand from the beginning. – Walmart Brand Guidelines
How can something intangible, like brand personality, be manifested through branding? One way is through photography.
When it comes to luxury fashion brands, Gucci is one of the most prominent and popular brands.
2015 was a major year for Gucci as it completely switched it’s creative direction, under the direction of Alessandro Michele.
Fashionista.com has described the new creative direction as having a “mysterious vibe that that leads consumers to wonder about the story behind them.”
The 2015 ad campaign featured a prominent use of wind, symbolic of the change of creative direction.
All of these photographs are in homage to the 2015 Gucci campaign. They feature the current brand placement of the logo with the creative direction of the 2015 campaign.
To see more high end fashion campaigns visit this website.
by Alex Brown | Mar 22, 2017
How adding two simple things can take a women’s fashion photoshoot to the next level.
This post is one in a series in what I like to call Fashion Focus. I love color. Always will. Whenever I can incorporate color into a photoshoot, I jump all over the opportunity. Recently I bought a 47″ octobox light modifier for my speedlights. It’s been a great purchase and I absolutely love it! However, I wanted to see fi there was a way to create a color gel for the modifier itself. And sure enough, there is.
Go to your local Michael’s or craft store and find rolls of colored cellophane. Buy whatever color you like and at your next fashion photoshoot, tape it over the octobox, as if it were your soft box cover. On this shoot we had pink cellophane covering the octobox on the right, with a strobe light and a yellow filter to her left.
When working with color, the hardest thing to master is what I call color spill. In this photo, my model Noelle turned enough just so that the pink gel only lit her hair.
Another cool thing that you can do to make shooting with color even cooler is use bubbles! In order to get a lot of bubbles, consider buying a bubble machine on Amazon or at your local store.
Take a look at Nordstrom’s 2017 Spring Campaign, the inspiration behind this shoot.
by Alex Brown | Mar 22, 2017
Why good chemistry is important between models for fashion photography.
This post is one in a series in what I like to call Fashion Focus. With fashion photography, there’s a very slim chance that your models you need will have real chemistry between them. As a photographer, we make photographs come to life, create interest in interactions, and emulate emotion. When shooting a scene that involves two people in an intimate setting or relationship, you have to make it believable.
Take a look at this photograph. This fashion photoshoot was inspired by the 1920s, also known as the roaring 20s. While I did direct my models, Ana and Josh, to pose this way, you can still notice how there isn’t any chemistry or a spark of connection between the two.
Compare the photo of Josh and Ana to this one of Brianna and Josh Miller. Isn’t this just already better?! When shooting couples or groups for fashion photography, it’s vital that you create the connection and chemistry between the models. I think the reason why the chemistry is more believable is because of how relaxed both of the models are. I love how Josh is leaning into Brianna and he has that love smize going on.
Here’s some more pictures of Josh and Brianna.
Take a look at some of the sample images from Lindsay Adler’s course on how to photograph couples.
by Alex Brown | Mar 22, 2017
Highlighting the two main styles when it comes to men in fashion photography.
This post is one in a series in what I like to call Fashion Focus. Typically when you think of fashion photography, you might think it’s a woman’s sport. Well, you’d be wrong! Men in fashion photography are just as popular as women are! On a recent fashion shoot workshop, I was able to photograph a variety of models with a variety of styles.
When it comes to men’s fashion photography, I would say there are at least two distinct styles: European and western. When I mean western, I don’t mean saloon shootouts, but more American.
EUROPEAN-INSPIRED MEN’S FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
I took these two pictures of my model, Etienne. Although he is from Canada, Etienne’s fashion photography shoot is a perfect example of a more european style. First off, the lighting is a lot more dramatic, the color and toning is more muted and stripped, in addition to the fashion itself being more European in style. Overall, the look and feel is dreamy and creamy.
Brands that come to mind that focus on this style include Calvin Klein, Zara, and H&M.
WESTERN-INSPIRED MEN’S FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
When it comes to western-inspired men’s fashion photography, the look and feel is more lived in, realistic and authentic. Instead of focusing on color toning and dramatic lighting, there is more focus put on the location and the attitude.
Brands that come to mind that focus on this style include American Eagle, Hollister, Abercrombie, and Old Navy.
Since european-inspired men’s fashion photography is more prominent, take a look at this great article by FStoppers where fashion photographer Chris Davis gives tips on how to pose male models.
