Behind the Scenes of a Fashion Editorial Campaign with Ben Sherman and The Vamps
WATCH ABOVE THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO OF Ben Sherman’S FASHION Editorial CAMPAIGN FEATURING the vamps
After the launch of their collection, I can finally release this video! I recorded it during a full day assisting Ben Sherman’s AW21 fashion editorial campaign featuring the famous pop-rock band “The Vamps”.
It was a very long day (around 12-14 hours), full of hard work and pure creative joy at the same time. I was booked for the day as a video assistant but I ended up also recording and editing the behind-the-scenes video you can watch above. And of course… if you follow my YouTube Channel or my work, you know that I love portrait photography and story-telling so I had to take some pictures as well.
I will show you below some of the stills I took during the day, I will give you some tips and advice when shooting behind the scenes, and I will link all the gear I used to record the video and to take the photos you will be seeing in this article.
Hopefully, you will get some story-telling inspiration for your work too! I enjoy a lot taking behind-the-scenes shots. It’s a great way to capture moments, emotions, situations, and surroundings documenting the day through your eyes.
wHICH PICTURES MAKE A GOOD STORY?
Well, this is a bit subjective but I strongly believe that a well-documented story is one that has a mix of photos. A variety of shots containing human emotion, actions, movement, objects, creatives, and artists doing their job on stage…
Taking just the same kind of pictures over and over through the day, won’t create a good story. You need to be able TO TELL visually. Think about it as a story that must be told with images. You want someone to look at the reportage and get the vibe and the idea of what happened that day without you saying a word.
Think also about doing it creatively. Experiment with angles, frames, perspectives, and think outside the box. I particularly love the photo you can see below, in the middle, with the feet of all members of “The Vamps” wearing Ben Sherman’s shoes. The bass guitar located in the middle, the amplifier behind, and the vintage carpet make a perfect composition. It’s all about the details, props, and objects, not just about the models! For me, that picture by itself, tells a story.
- The pictures below have been edited with my Lightroom Preset: Moody Greens
SHOOT the whole process, not just the main event
Most of the interesting shots are before the main event. Everyone enjoys seeing the “making off”. This could be a time-lapse clip or pictures showing the process.
Go to the dressing rooms and take pictures of the artists getting ready, of the make-up artists or hair stylists working, point your camera at the producers while they set up the stage, take pictures of the photography assistants setting up the lighting… There is a lot of room for creativity with everything that is going on around you! I was going crazy (in a good way), shooting moments, actions, and everyone getting ready to execute their roles.
I love this photo taken pointing at the mirror to capture Tristan Evans shaving before the Make-Up artist started to prepare him for the stage.
CAPTURE CREATIVES AT WORK
Nowadays, getting a good amount of pictures of the creatives from the production company you are working for, is crucial. Why? Because WE ALL need content for our social media channels, portfolio, website…
It’s more than proven that companies, freelancers, and creatives that post good behind-the-scenes shots of them at work, noticeably increase the number of bookings and/or sales. This is because those pictures, show professionalism, show the audience (aka potential clients) how they work, and people feel more at ease when they book someone they feel they know a bit better through their social media accounts.
Check below a few of the shots I took to the filmmaker while he was working on his footage with the models. I made sure I captured him within different setups and that the models were perfectly visible. That way, the pictures show perfectly what he was doing and with who. Currently, both the filmmaker and the production company are using these shots for their Instagram accounts and their websites.
Take the chance to shoot with the artists/models
I know it can be a bit intimidating and you can feel a bit “intrusive” when stepping in to take some shots of the artists. However, you can take the advantage of the setup and the lighting and take some good shots for both your portfolio and the brand’s social media channels.
Be always super careful to don’t bother other members of the team and don’t interrupt anybody’s creative flow. Be very discrete, be mindful, and if you see you are going to bother someone, just wait for the right moment.
Most of the time, the artists/models will be more than happy to pose for you, even if you are just shooting behind the scenes.
Every creative matters on-set and as long as you are with a camera, you won’t have any problem with getting them to work with you.
Trust me, it wasn’t easy at all to get these shots. The whole team was constantly moving back and forth to change the lighting set up, to fix the models’ outfits, to move props around… I had to make sure I was located in the right place without getting in the way of anyone, and at the same time, somewhere where I could get the exact frame I wanted to get with every artist within different scenarios.
Below, in the middle, you can see Bradley Simpson posing for me with a film camera. The other two pictures were captured casually while on-set. Always look for moments and actions that may look attractive on camera.
In the first picture, I used the fence to create depth and perspective while Bradley was going upstairs. In the last picture, Tristan Evans was hanging out on set before shooting the second part of the campaign.
GEAR I USED for video and stills (and I recommend)
MY MAIN CAMERA: https://geni.us/MlR4
MY BEST VERSATILE LENS: https://geni.us/jAehZeC
LENS I LOVE FOR PORTRAIT WORK & LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS: https://geni.us/cQSs
MY FAVOURITE PORTRAIT LENS: https://geni.us/6BOrR
If you don’t have enough budget, I highly recommend you to get a versatile lens. Mine is quite pricey (well worth the price though), but you can get cheaper ones with a similar range. The one I have is perfect for wide shots and close-ups and it’s very well known and highly rated by many other professional photographers out there.
I could have perfectly done the whole day with just that one. However, I would have struggled indoors as my 35mm f1.4 and my 105mm f1.4 did an incredible job under low light conditions!
Before having enough money to upgrade my gear, I was using an affordable 15-85mm for most of all my professional shootings and I was doing ok. However, good lenses make a HUGE DIFFERENCE. So if you can afford it, invest in one good versatile lens like the one I’ve linked above and stick to it till you can upgrade your gear with more lenses.
I particularly LOVE prime lenses and if you try them out, you will too! They offer an immaculate sharpness and they give you the best quality out of your camera. Mine are both f1.4 and the bokeh they create is incredibly beautiful!
- The pictures below were taken with my favourite lens: The Sigma 105mm ART f1.4
- All edited with my Lightroom Preset: Moody Greens
EDITING SOFTWARE I USE FOR ALL MY WORK
LUMINAR AI: Discount Link (Use LAURA at checkout to save an extra $10/£10) or try it for FREE here
ADOBE: Photography Bundle I use
VIDEO EDITING: Final Cut Pro
I used my own Lightroom Preset for all the indoors shots. You can get it here: Moody Green Preset
CONCLUSION
Beginner or not, taking behind-the-scenes pictures at editorial fashion campaigns or any other productions, is a great way to get creative, practise your photography, learn from other creatives, and network!
This day was a long day indeed… But I absolutely loved assisting with video, taking pictures, and recording footage to put together the video you saw above. Even if I have already a lot of professional experience, I still learned a lot! This industry is all about facing new challenges and learning from them.
You will also end up with a great portfolio which is crucial to get more bookings in the future with other production companies.
Just start pitching to companies you want to work with, and offer yourself as a behind-the-scenes photographer or assistant to get started! This will give you a great experience and you will learn a lot from other creatives within your field.
I hope you enjoyed this post and you found it useful! Please comment below if you have any questions. I will be more than happy to help! :)
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